Ireland Women To Face England In Final World Cup Game

The Ireland Women (sponsored by TritonLake) began the final day of the Rugby World Cup Sevens with a 24-0 defeat to Fiji in the 5th-8th place play-offs.

A tough draw has seen Ireland come up against New Zealand, the defending World Cup champions, and Fiji, the bronze medallists from the recent World Series, in the space of little over 14 hours.

Aiden McNulty’s side will look to end the tournament on a high when they play England at 5.31pm local time/4.31pm Irish time, with the winners finishing in seventh place overall.

Fiji’s power advantage was evident early on as they tapped two penalties, drawing up close to the try-line before Adi Vani Buleki lunged over in the second minute despite the best efforts of Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe.

Beibhinn Parsons knocked on a pass during a promising Lucy Mulhall-inspired attack, and Fiji took immediate advantage. They worked scrum ball infield where a dummying Reapi Ulunisau took off to romp in under the posts.

Ireland’s error count increased as they turned around with a 12-point deficit to overcome, and they continued to struggle to create openings on the restart with the Fijians ultra physical in defence.

Fiji captain Raijieli Daveua stepped inside Kate Farrell McCabe to run in a converted try in the ninth minute, before Parsons retrieved a loose Eve Higgins pass to retain possession from the restart.

However, Ulunisau read Ireland’s intentions at the next phase, stepping in to intercept a pass from Higgins and complete her brace with just over three-and-a-half minutes remaining.

A nice play off a scrum unleashed Murphy Crowe to bring Ireland back into Fijian territory, but the Pacific Islanders succeeded in making it a stop-start conclusion to the game as the girls in green were held scoreless.

All of Ireland’s games are live on the RTÉ Player in the Republic of Ireland, while there will be coverage across Irish Rugby social media channels and on IrishRugby.ie. A full list of broadcasters is available here.

The Ireland Men’s and Women’s Sevens teams are wearing their brand new Canterbury kit for the World Cup in Cape Town. Click here to buy the new jerseys online from Intersport Elverys.

IRELAND WOMEN’S SEVENS Squad (Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022, Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town, September 9-11, 2022):

Kathy Baker (Blackrock College RFC)
Megan Burns (Blackrock College RFC)
Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC)
Katie Heffernan (Railway Union RFC)
Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC)
Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC)
Erin King (Old Belvedere RFC)
Emily Lane (Blackrock College RFC)
Kate Farrell McCabe (Suttonians RFC)
Lucy Mulhall (Wicklow RFC) (capt)
Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe (Railway Union RFC)
Beibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College RFC)

IRELAND WOMEN’S RWC Sevens Schedule –

Friday, September 9:

Round Of 16 –

IRELAND 24 BRAZIL 12, Cape Town Stadium
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe 2, Lucy Mulhall, Beibhinn Parsons; Cons: Lucy Mulhall 2
Brazil: Tries: Bianca Silva, Mariana Nicolau; Con: Luiza Campos
HT: Ireland 14 Brazil 12

Match Report: Murphy Crowe Crosses Twice As Ireland Women Advance To Last-Eight

Team: Beibhinn Parsons, Stacey Flood, Eve Higgins, Emily Lane, Lucy Mulhall (capt), Megan Burns, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe.

Subs used: Katie Heffernan, Kate Farrell McCabe, Kathy Baker, Erin King. Not used: Brittany Hogan.

Rugby World Cup Sevens – Fixtures/Results

Saturday, September 10:

Championship Quarter-Final –

NEW ZEALAND 28 IRELAND 0, Cape Town Stadium
Scorers: New Zealand: Tries: Niall Williams, Portia Woodman, Alena Saili, Shiray Kaka; Cons: Risi Pouri-Lane 3, Tenika Willison
Ireland: –
HT: New Zealand 7 Ireland 0

Match Report: Ireland Women Knocked Out Of Cup Contention By New Zealand

Team: Beibhinn Parsons, Stacey Flood, Brittany Hogan, Emily Lane, Lucy Mulhall (capt), Megan Burns, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe.

Subs used: Eve Higgins, Kate Farrell McCabe, Kathy Baker. Not used: Katie Heffernan, Erin King.

Sunday, September 11:

Championship 5th-8th Place Play-Off –

IRELAND 0 FIJI 24, Cape Town Stadium
Scorers: Ireland: –
Fiji: Tries: Adi Vani Buleki, Reapi Ulunisau 2, Raijieli Daveua; Cons: Lavenia Cavuru 2
HT: Ireland 0 Fiji 12

Team: Beibhinn Parsons, Stacey Flood, Eve Higgins, Emily Lane, Lucy Mulhall (capt), Kate Farrell McCabe, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe.

Subs used: Megan Burns, Erin King, Kathy Baker. Not used: Katie Heffernan, Brittany Hogan.

Championship 7th-8th Place Play-Off –

ENGLAND v IRELAND, Cape Town Stadium, 5.31pm local time/4.31pm Irish time