Ireland celebrate their silver medal in Spain. ©INPHO/Martin Seras Lima
Sterling work across the weekend earned silver medals for the Ireland Women as they made an indelible mark on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series tournament in Seville.
In Pics: Ireland Women Bring Home Silver From Seville
Ireland Trio Feature In HSBC Dream Team Line-Up
A gut-wrenching 17-12 Cup final defeat to Australia failed to take the shine off a terrific three days for captain Lucy Mulhall and her team-mates, who put together wins over Poland, Brazil, Russia, Canada and England.
Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe starred with nine tries – a tournament high – and a tremendous 29-0 semi-final victory over England saw Ireland reach their first ever World Series decider.
Australia had defeated them in their only previous semi-final appearance in Sydney three years ago, but a fast start saw well-taken tries from Béibhinn Parsons and Stacey Flood fire Ireland into a 12-0 lead.
Aiden McNulty’s side created other opportunities and defended stoutly through some breathless phases, only for the current World Series leaders to show their clinical edge.
Faith Nathan got them on the board before half-time, Dominique du Toit brought them level in the 12th minute, and then a late Irish scrum went awry and Nathan floored the girls in green with the decisive breakaway try.
It was Australia’s third title of the season, but Ireland, having absorbed the heartbreaking finish, were justifiably proud of their milestone achievement in Seville.
A real sign of their progress is that they now sit fifth in the World Series standings, having picked up 18 points for this weekend’s hard work.
McNulty’s charges had started finals day in superb form, eager to follow up on last week’s 38-7 triumph over England in the Malaga play-offs.
Emily Lane’s neat switch opened up a gap for Murphy Crowe to cut in off her wing and score in the second minute. Mulhall narrowly missed the conversion.
A turnover penalty won by Flood, with the breakdown a key target for Ireland, kept the girls in green deep in English territory.
The pressure paid off when Eve Higgins carried strongly, and Erin King, Murphy Crowe and Flood fed the ball wide for Mulhall to make it 10-0.
Murphy Crowe was then first in at the breakdown, maintaining Ireland’s dominance of territory. From the resulting scrum, Mulhall and Higgins ran well and sucked in defenders before releasing Murphy Crowe to complete her brace.
Parsons brilliantly chased down Ellie Boatman to preserve Ireland’s 15-0 lead for half-time. Lane and King’s impact at the breakdown earned a clearing penalty.
More tenacious defence from Mulhall won Ireland an early second half scrum, and they went left and then right, Flood’s long pass setting up Parsons to jink inside Boatman and accelerate clean through for a try under the posts.
Mulhall converted and also added the extras to Parsons’ 13th-minute closer. The Ballinasloe youngster shrugged off Heather Cowell and reached out to score after the tireless Ireland skipper and Kate Farrell McCabe had linked neatly in midfield.
Kathy Baker (Blackrock College RFC)
Claire Boles (Railway Union RFC)
Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC)
Katie Heffernan (Mullingar RFC/Railway Union RFC)
Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC)
Brittany Hogan (Ballynahinch RFC/Old Belvedere RFC)
Erin King (Old Belvedere RFC)
Emily Lane (Blackrock College RFC)
Kate Farrell McCabe (Suttonians RFC)
Anna McGann (Railway Union RFC)
Lucy Mulhall (Rathdrum RFC) (capt)
Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe (Railway Union RFC)
Béibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College RFC)
Friday, January 28 –
POOL B:
IRELAND 14 POLAND 10, Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe 2; Cons: Lucy Mulhall 2
Germany: Tries: Anna Klichowska, Tamara Czumer
HT: Ireland 7 Poland 5
Team: Stacey Flood, Brittany Hogan, Béibhinn Parsons, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, Lucy Mulhall (capt), Eve Higgins, Emily Lane.
Subs used: Erin King, Kathy Baker, Kate Farrell McCabe, Claire Boles. Not used: Katie Heffernan.
IRELAND 29 BRAZIL 12, Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Stacey Flood, Béibhinn Parsons, Eve Higgins, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, Lucy Mulhall; Cons: Lucy Mulhall 2
Brazil: Tries: Raquel Kochhann, Bianca Silva; Con: Raquel Kochhann
HT: Ireland 17 Brazil 12
Team: Stacey Flood, Brittany Hogan, Béibhinn Parsons, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, Lucy Mulhall (capt), Eve Higgins, Emily Lane.
Subs used: Erin King, Kathy Baker, Kate Farrell McCabe, Claire Boles. Not used: Katie Heffernan.
Day 1 Round-Up: Ireland Women Register Back-To-Back Wins In Seville
Saturday, January 29 –
POOL B:
RUSSIA 14 IRELAND 21, Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla
Scorers: Russia: Tries: Alena Tiron, Viktoriia Em; Cons: Kristina Seredina 2
Ireland: Tries: Eve Higgins, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, Kate Farrell McCabe; Cons: Lucy Mulhall 3
HT: Russia 7 Ireland 7
Team: Stacey Flood, Béibhinn Parsons, Erin King, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, Lucy Mulhall (capt), Eve Higgins, Emily Lane.
Subs used: Claire Boles, Katie Heffernan, Kate Farrell McCabe. Not used: Anna McGann, Brittany Hogan.
HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series – Spain Sevens Results
HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series – Spain Sevens Pool Tables
CUP QUARTER-FINAL:
IRELAND 36 CANADA 12, Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Eve Higgins 2, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe 3, Lucy Mulhall; Cons: Lucy Mulhall 3
Canada: Tries: Elissa Alarie, Olivia Apps; Con: Olivia Apps
HT: Ireland 22 Canada 0
Team: Stacey Flood, Béibhinn Parsons, Erin King, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, Lucy Mulhall (capt), Eve Higgins, Emily Lane.
Subs used: Claire Boles, Katie Heffernan, Kate Farrell McCabe, Anna McGann, Kathy Baker.
Day 2 Round-Up: Ireland Women’s Winning Run Continues In Seville
Saturday, January 30 –
CUP SEMI-FINAL:
IRELAND 29 ENGLAND 0, Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe 2, Lucy Mulhall, Béibhinn Parsons 2; Cons: Lucy Mulhall 2
England: –
HT: Ireland 15 England 0
Team: Stacey Flood, Béibhinn Parsons, Erin King, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, Lucy Mulhall (capt), Eve Higgins, Emily Lane.
Subs used: Kate Farrell McCabe, Kathy Baker, Claire Boles, Katie Heffernan, Brittany Hogan.
CUP FINAL:
AUSTRALIA 17 IRELAND 12, Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla
Scorers: Australia: Tries: Faith Nathan 2, Dominique du Toit; Con: Sharni Williams
Ireland: Tries: Béibhinn Parsons, Stacey Flood; Con: Lucy Mulhall
HT: Australia 5 Ireland 12
Team: Stacey Flood, Béibhinn Parsons, Erin King, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, Lucy Mulhall (capt), Eve Higgins, Emily Lane.
Subs used: Kate Farrell McCabe, Kathy Baker. Not used: Katie Heffernan, Claire Boles, Kathy Baker.
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