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Murphy Crowe Brace Books Paris Ticket For Ireland Women

Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe notched seven tries in Toulouse in May, as the Ireland Women's Sevens team qualified for the Olympics for the first time ©INPHO/Martin Seras Lima

The 163rd and 164th tries of Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series career could go down as her most important ones after they clinched Olympic qualification for the Ireland Women.

Murphy Crowe scored at either end of a bruising and intense first half against Fiji, as an eventual 10-5 win in this morning’s 5th place semi-final in Toulouse guaranteed Ireland’s ticket to Paris 2024.

After the Ireland Men’s breakthrough in reaching the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, the Women’s team, sponsored by TritonLake and led by long-time captain Lucy Mulhall, have made history of their own by qualifying for next year’s Games.

In securing a fifth place finish for this season, they are the first ever Ireland side to book an automatic Olympic qualifying spot via the World Series. Champions New Zealand, Australia and the USA are also through, with host nation France occupying fourth place.

Savouring the moment and acknowledging the familiar faces in the crowd that have followed the girls in green to the south of France, Mulhall said: “It’s been a journey for us. I’m just so grateful to have a team like that around us – players, family, staff.

“It’s been an amazing year and our goal is just to grow Sevens in Ireland. It’s great to see some young kids here wearing an Ireland Sevens jersey. The support means so much.

“We do it for our families. Rugby has become a family and all our families have joined it, so they’ve all got to know each other and have a great weekend. I’m just so glad we could make them happy again.”

Combining with Ireland’s record try scorer Murphy Crowe, who is fourth on the World Series’ all-time list and won her first cap back in 2014, Mulhall and Stacey Flood provide an experienced backbone to a squad that has pocketed two World Series medals in the last 16 months.

Along with the unfortunately-nicknamed ‘Crusty Dustys’ of the group, Eve Higgins, Emily Lane and Béibhinn Parsons continue to thrive on the global stage, as part of a settled side that has come through a coaching change from Aiden McNulty to the returning Allan Temple-Jones.

Eighth place finishes in Vancouver and Hong Kong threatened to derail their bid for automatic Olympic qualification, but Ireland got the job done in Toulouse, setting the tone with a big win over France on day one.

The future is certainly bright for this talented group of players, in Paris next summer and beyond. Nine of the squad that played in the Toulouse leg are aged between 19 and 24, with Blessington teenager Erin King the youngest of the lot.

Vicky Elmes Kinlan and Natasja Behan made their debuts over the past twelve months, while Brittany Hogan and Katie Heffernan have also played their part this season as the girls in green posted fourth place finishes in Cape Town, Hamilton and Sydney.

Temple-Jones’ charges finished the Toulouse competition in sixth position, having lost 14-0 to a well-drilled Japanese outfit in their final game at Stade Ernest Wallon.

Backed by their brilliant travelling support led by family members, friends and team-mates, Ireland kicked off against Fiji in overcast conditions. Flood provided the game’s first turnover, batting back a Fijian pass into Mulhall’s hands.

Higgins showed her strength to straighten up a couple of attacks, before some of this Olympic shootout’s tension was released by an opening second-minute try.

Lane invited Flood through a gap and her looping offload sent Murphy Crowe jinking through for a well-taken score, from just inside the Fijian 10-metre line.

Mulhall was unable to convert from out wide, and Ireland’s tigerish defence was typified by Flood who hunted down Fijian ball carriers to keep them pinned back inside their own half.

However, the Pacific Islanders opened their account with a cleverly-worked long-range effort in the fifth minute. Ilisapeci Delaiwau took a return pass from Raijieli Daveua, the wraparound move setting her free up the right wing to score from just outside Fiji’s 22.

Nerves were evident as Ana Maria Naimasi hit the straightforward conversion off the post and then failed to make 10 metres with her restart kick. It gave crucial possession back to Ireland and they were soon back in front.

Scrum half Lane expertly tidied up set-piece possession to snipe past halfway, her inviting pass gobbled up by Murphy Crowe who accelerated down the left wing, handing off the chasing Naimasi to complete her brace.

Young replacement King made an immediate impact off the bench with a steal, but it remained 10-5 heading into the second half. A ball-dislodging tackle from Lane, coupled with a big clear-out from King, saw Ireland’s defence hold firm.

While a Flood kick temporarily clawed back some territory, Murphy Crowe needed to react quickly to halt the progress of Meredani Qoro. The Tipperary speedster soon popped up in attack again, drawing a high tackle for a 12th-minute penalty.

The greasy ball led to a rare knock-on from Mulhall, while Reapi Ulunisau responded to a Fijian error with a turnover penalty. Their last throw of the dice was Younis Bese’s kick chase, but Flood covered it and earned a penalty to seal a priceless victory.

Back out on the pitch for the 5th place play-off against Japan, Ireland suffered an early setback when Flood was yellow carded for what was deemed a deliberate knock-on.

Japanese captain Yume Hirano sent Michiyo Suda over for an opening third-minute try, with Anna McGann and Kate Farrell McCabe brought on by Ireland before half-time as they enjoyed a better share of territory following a Flood kick.

Hirano impressed again with a strong hand-off to get past Farrell McCabe, laying off for Chiharu Nakamura to run in under the posts. Parsons’ pace took Ireland back into Japanese territory, but their late rally fell short of a consolation try.

A sixth place finish in Toulouse pocketed 10 points, leaving Ireland on 74 points for the 2022/23 season and in possession of that historic Olympic place. They finished six points clear of both Fiji and Great Britain.

IRELAND WOMEN’S SEVENS Squad (HSBC France Sevens, Stade Ernest Wallon, Toulouse, Friday, May 12-Sunday, May 14, 2023):

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

IRELAND WOMEN’S SEVENS Schedule – HSBC France Sevens:

Friday, May 12 –

POOL B:

FRANCE 7 IRELAND 27, Stade Ernest Wallon
Scorers: France: Try: Séraphine Okemba; Con: Caroline Drouin
Ireland: Tries: Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe 3, Lucy Mulhall, Megan Burns; Con: Lucy Mulhall
HT: France 0 Ireland 22