Ireland Women’s Sevens coach Jon Skurr has today announced the squad that will travel to Moscow next weekend to contest the FIRA-AER Women’s World Cup Sevens qualifying tournament.
Jon Skurr has shown his belief in the players by announcing an unchanged squad from the one which recently won the first round qualifying tournament in Ghent, Belgium.
Ireland will face Italy, Switzerland and Netherlands in the pool stages in Moscow and after that, they have been paired with Pool D for the Cup/Bowl/Plate section.
Speaking about the tournament, Skurr said: “We are really looking forward to going to Moscow and stepping our game up to the next level. We began our Sevens journey only 11 weeks ago and the commitment that the ladies have shown has been instrumental in noticeable improvements in our skill levels.
“We go into this tournament having come off the back of winning the first qualifying tournament in Belgium without conceding a point. However, we have no doubt that there are a lot of top quality teams both from a traditional and non-traditional rugby culture who will be competing in Moscow.
“All of the players are excited about getting the opportunity to play in the tournament and are looking forward to bringing the Irish spirit to Moscow.”
Russia automatically qualify for the IRB Women’s Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2013 as they are tournament hosts. In order for Ireland to qualify for next year’s event, the team needs to rank in the top five of this weekend’s tournament.
Captain Claire Molloy believes that this is something that the Irish squad can achieve, stating: “At the start of the programme, we set out our goals which included qualifying for the WRWC in 2013. It is not going to be an easy goal to achieve as there are some top class rugby teams competing in Moscow.
“However, I believe that the quality of players that we have along with the progression that we have made over the last number of months will help us to be successful in qualifying.”
IRELAND WOMEN’S SEVENS Squad (FIRA-AER Women’s World Cup Sevens Qualifying Tournament, Moscow, Russia, June 30-July 1):
Alison Miller (Portlaoise/Connacht)
Amy Davis (Blackrock/Leinster)
Ashleigh Baxter (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
Ashling Hutchings (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Claire Keohane (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Claire Molloy (Bristol/Connacht) (capt)
Jeannette Feighery (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Jennifer Murphy (Richmond/Exiles)
Joy Neville (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Lynne Cantwell (Richmond/Exiles)
Niamh Kavanagh (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Sophie Spence (Sharks/Exiles)
POOL FIXTURES:
Saturday, June 30
11.06am – Italy v Ireland
1.50pm – Netherlands v Ireland
4.34pm – Switzerland v Ireland
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