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Ireland Finish Eleventh Overall In Dubai Sevens

The Ireland Women overcame Tunisia in their final match at the Emirates Dubai Rugby Sevens today, with the 17-0 triumph sealing an 11th place finish for Jon Skurr’s new-look squad.

Ireland played two closing matches on day 2 in Dubai, losing the Bowl semi-final 38-10 to France before ending the tournament on a winning note by defeating Tunisia 17-0 in a final play-off.

The girls in green – missing some key figures from the Rugby World Cup Sevens squad, including captain Claire Molloy, Lynne Cantwell, Jeannette Feighery and Jenny Murphy – finished 11th overall of the 12 competing teams in Dubai.

As head coach Jon Skurr predicted, it is the start of ‘a learning curve’ for the new squad members, such as Niamh Ni Dhroma, Anna Caplice and Siobhan Barrett, as they get used to competing regularly against the top Sevens sides in the world.

They will benefit hugely from the exposure to this high intensity two-day tournament, targeting areas for improvement and looking to come back stronger for February’s second and third legs of the IRB Women’s Sevens World Series in Atlanta and São Paulo.

Securing an elusive victory at the end of day 2 was a welcome boost, as was Grand Slam star Alison Miller’s impressive haul of tries.

The Portlaoise flyer has transferred seemlessly from the 15-a-side game to Sevens, with her hard-running and finishing skills helping her to touch down five times on the second day in Dubai – including a hat-trick against Tunisia.

Miller ended the tournament with six tries in five starts and was a key attacking weapon for Skurr’s side, with her powerful bursts also paving the way for scores for Ashleigh Baxter and Claire Keohane.

IRB WOMEN’S SEVENS WORLD SERIES – FIRST LEG:

EMIRATES DUBAI RUGBY SEVENS: BOWL SEMI-FINAL: Friday, November 29

IRELAND 10 FRANCE 38, 7he Sevens Stadium Pitch 2, Dubai, UAE

Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Alison Miller 2
France: Tries: Koumiba Djossouvi 2, Shannon Izar, Chloe Pelle, Rose Thomas, Jennifer Troncy; Cons: Shannon Izar 4

TIME LINE: 2 minutes – France try: Koumiba Djossouvi – 0-5; conversion: missed by Shannon Izar – 0-5; 4 mins – France try: Shannon Izar – 0-10; conversion: Shannon Izar – 0-12; 5 mins – France try: Koumiba Djossouvi – 0-17; conversion: Shannon Izar – 0-19; 7+2 mins – Ireland try: Alison Miller – 5-19; conversion: missed by Alison Miller – 5-19; Half-time – Ireland 5 France 19; 10 mins – France try: Rose Thomas – 5-24; conversion: Shannon Izar – 5-26; 11 mins – France try: Jennifer Troncy – 5-31; conversion: missed by Shannon Izar – 5-31; 14 mins – Ireland try: Alison Miller – 10-31; conversion: missed by Nikki Caughey – 10-31; 14+2 mins – France try: Chloe Pelle – 10-36; converson: Shannon Izar – 10-38; Full-time – Ireland 10 France 38

IRELAND: Niamh Ni Dhroma, Shannon Houston (capt), Larissa Muldoon, Alison Miller, Claire Keohane, Ashleigh Baxter, Amy Davis.

Subs: Siobhan Barrett, Christine Arthurs, Anna Caplice, Nikki Caughey, Laura O’Mahony.

FRANCE: Marjorie Mayans, Koumiba Djossouvi, Camille Grassineau, Rose Thomas, Audrey Amiel, Jennifer Troncy, Shannon Izar.

Subs: Joanna Sainlo, Laura Delas, Elodie Guigliou, Chloe Pelle, Alexandra Pertus.

Referee: Marlize Jordaan (South Africa)

EMIRATES DUBAI RUGBY SEVENS: 11TH-12TH PLACE PLAY-OFF: Friday, November 29

IRELAND 17 TUNISIA 0, 7he Sevens Stadium Pitch 2, Dubai, UAE

Scorers: Ireland Tries: Alison Miller 3; Con: Claire Keohane
Tunisia: –

TIME LINE: 4 minutes – Ireland try: Alison Miller – 5-0; conversion: missed by Claire Keohane – 5-0; 6 mins – Ireland try: Alison Miller – 10-0; conversion: missed by Claire Keohane – 10-0; Half-time – Ireland 10 Tunisia 0; 10 mins – Ireland try: Alison Miller – 15-0; conversion: Claire Keohane – 17-0; Full-time – Ireland 17 Tunisia 0

IRELAND: Niamh Ni Dhroma, Shannon Houston (capt), Larissa Muldoon, Alison Miller, Claire Keohane, Ashleigh Baxter, Amy Davis.

Subs: Siobhan Barrett, Christine Arthurs, Anna Caplice, Nikki Caughey, Laura O’Mahony.

TUNISIA: Ines Souissi, Ameni Gharbi, Khouloud Gmir, Rim El Haj Ali, Houda Ben Abdeljelil, Mariem Mekni, Sinda Ben Saad.

Subs: Dhekra Khemili, Rawia Othmani, Saoussen Dellagi, Wejdene Hammami, Refka Ammari.

Referee: Leah Berard (USA)

IRELAND WOMEN’S SEVENS Squad (Emirates Dubai Rugby Sevens, Dubai, UAE, November 28-29):

Christine Arthurs (Tralee/Connacht)
Siobhan Barrett (Tralee/Munster)
Ashleigh Baxter (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
Anna Caplice (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Nikki Caughey (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
Amy Davis (Blackrock College/Ulster)
Shannon Houston (Blackrock College/Leinster) (capt)
Claire Keohane (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Alison Miller (Portlaoise/UCC/Connacht)
Larissa Muldoon (UWIC/Exile)
Niamh Ni Dhroma (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Laura O’Mahony (Tralee/Munster)

IRELAND RESULTS:

Thursday, November 28 –

Pool A:

IRELAND 12 USA 12, 7he Sevens Stadium Pitch 1
IRELAND 0 New Zealand 29, 7he Sevens Stadium Pitch 1
IRELAND 5 Fiji 38, 7he Sevens Stadium Pitch 1

Video Highlights: Dubai Sevens Day 1 Highlights

Friday, November 29 –

Bowl Semi-Final:

IRELAND 10 France 38, 7he Sevens Stadium Pitch 2

11th-12th Place Play-Off:

IRELAND 17 Tunisia 0, 7he Sevens Stadium Pitch 2

2013/14 IRB WOMEN’S SEVENS WORLD SERIES – DATES AND VENUES:

First leg: Dubai, United Arab Emirates – November 28-29, 2013