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Higgins Rewarded For Electric Form With Dream Team Place

Eve Higgins races towards the try-line during Ireland's Emirates Dubai 7s opener against Spain ©INPHO/Martin Seras Lima

Eve Higgins’ five-try salvo and electric play in the Dubai heat saw her earn a deserved place in the HSBC Dream Team line-up for the weekend.

Higgins starred as the Ireland Women (sponsored by TritonLake) topped their pool on day one, scoring tries against Spain, Japan and Fiji (2), before touching down against Great Britain as they ended up in sixth spot following the play-offs.

The 23-year-old was Ireland’s joint-top try scorer in Dubai alongside Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe. She is just four scores away from becoming only the second woman to register 50 World Series tries for Ireland.

Higgins’ elusive running saw her regularly unlock defences, particularly during the pool stages, and she maintained an infectiously high work-rate throughout the tournament, moving effortlessly from defence to attack and back again.

It was a memorable few days for the IRFU Sevens Programmes in the desert, as the Ireland Men won silver, and the Development teams got some valuable game-time together. In addition, captain Harry McNulty and Mark Roche made the Men’s Dream Team.

With nine tackles, five breaks, five offloads and 31 carries, Higgins was third on the DHL Impact Player Tracker list in Dubai, just behind New Zealand’s Michaela Blyde and table topper Murphy Crowe.

The Railway Union star last received HSBC Dream Team recognition at the start of 2022, when the Ireland Women made a historic breakthrough by winning silver in Seville.

Joining her as Dubai’s ‘best of the best’ are Madison Ashby, Maddison Levi and Faith Nathan from champions Australia, Black Ferns Sevens duo Blyde and Tyla Nathan-Wong, and USA powerhouse Ilona Maher.

The Ireland Women’s and Men’s Sevens squads move on to the HSBC Cape Town Sevens this week, with Aiden McNulty’s side returning to a venue where they finished seventh at September’s Rugby World Cup Sevens.

The girls in green will join World Series leaders Australia, familiar rivals Spain and tournament hosts South Africa in Pool A. The action in Cape Town gets underway on Friday.