Cork-born scrum half Emily Lane is pictured in Olympic Games action for the Ireland Women ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Hosts France are the Ireland Women’s first opponents on the final day of the Women’s Rugby Sevens tournament at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Both teams are aiming to rebound from their quarter-final disappointment last night, with Ireland beaten 40-7 by Australia, and France knocked out by a late try from Canada’s Chloe Daniels.
The 5th place semi-final kicks off at 2pm Irish time, with coverage on RTÉ 2 and the RTÉ 2 Player, as well as Eurosport via Discovery Plus). The winners will play either China or Great Britain this evening.
Ireland Sevens Squads – 2024 Olympic Games
2024 Olympic Games – Match Schedule
Ireland Sevens – Where To Watch The Olympic Games
5TH PLACE SEMI-FINAL –
FRANCE v IRELAND, Stade de France, 3pm local time/2pm Irish time – Match Centre
FRANCE Profile
Head Coach: David Courteix
Captain: Carla Neisen
Olympic Record: Rio 2016 – 6th; Tokyo 2020 – Silver medallists
Paris 2024 Seeding: 3rd
Paris 2024 So Far: Won 26-0 v Brazil; Won 49-0 v Japan; Won 31-14 v USA; Lost 19-14 v Canada
Paris 2024 Top Try Scorers: Iän Jason, Séraphine Okemba (5 tries each); Points Scorer: Caroline Drouin (27 points)
2024 SVNS Series Ranking: 3rd (Regular season; Grand Final runners-up in Madrid)
2024 SVNS Series Top Try & Points Scorer: Anne-Cécile Ciofani (33 tries, 165 points)
Did You Know?: France’s David Courteix is returning for a third shot at Olympic gold, having just missed out with silver in Tokyo. He is the only head coach in charge for a third Women’s campaign.
Player To Watch: Anne-Cécile Ciofani
A heptathlete before finding rugby, to say Ciofani comes from a sporting family is an understatement. Both her parents were Olympians in the 1980s, and her sisters are hammer throwers. A tall and rangy player, she covers the ground very well and knows her way to the try-line.
IRELAND Profile
Head Coach: Allan Temple-Jones
Captain: Lucy Mulhall Rock
Olympic Record: Rio 2016 – Did not qualify; Tokyo 2020 – Did not qualify
Paris 2024 Seeding: 5th
Paris 2024 So Far: Lost 21-12 v Great Britain; Won 38-0 v South Africa; Lost 19-14 v Australia; Lost 40-7 v Australia
Paris 2024 Top Try Scorers: Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, Eve Higgins (3 tries each); Points Scorer: Eve Higgins (21 points)
2024 SVNS Series Ranking: 7th (Regular season)
2024 SVNS Series Titles: 1 (Perth)
2024 SVNS Series Top Try & Points Scorer: Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe (33 tries, 165 points)
Did You Know?: Ireland’s success in the Perth round of the HSBC SVNS Series in January was the first title won by an Irish team on the World Series circuit.
Player To Watch: Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe
Murphy Crowe has carried the weight of expectation on her shoulders for a long time, her pace providing a regular outlet for Ireland to quickly turn defence into attack. The first northern hemisphere player to finish a World Series as top try scorer in 2019, her leadership qualities have seen her captain the side in the injury-enforced absence of Lucy Mulhall Rock for part of the season.
France v Ireland – Head-To-Head Statistics:
World Series Matches: 28; France Won: 24; Ireland Won: 4
Last Five Meetings: 2023 – France 26 Ireland 14, Hong Kong; Ireland 27 France 7, Toulouse; 2024 – France 21 Ireland 5, Los Angeles; France 31 Ireland 7, Hong Kong; France 31 Ireland 5, Madrid
– France won all three meetings with Ireland during this season’s HSBC SVNS Series, with their biggest margin of victory coming in their most recent encounter, in the Grand Final in Madrid last month. Alycia Chrystiaens and Séraphine Okemba scored a brace in a 31-5 win
– Ireland have not scored more than seven points against France this season after averaging 17.4 per game during the World Series in 2022/23
– All four of Ireland’s victories over France on the World Series circuit have come since May 2022
– Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe has scored Ireland’s only tries in their last two defeats to France
– Olympic Games Head-to-Head: This is their first meeting
– World Series Head-to-Head in France: Ireland won the teams’ most recent clash on French soil, 27-7, in Toulouse during last season’s World Series. However, les Bleues Sevens had won the first four, two of them in Paris at the 2019 tournament at Stade Jean-Bouin. France also enjoyed their biggest margin of victory in this fixture in their first match in Clermont-Ferrand, winning 40-0 in 2016
FRANCE Squad: 1. Séraphine Okemba, 2. Anne-Cécile Ciofani, 3. Chloé Pelle, 4. Lou Noel, 5. Joanna Grisez, 6. Yolaine Yengo, 7. Chloé Jacquet, 8. Camille Grassineau, 9. Carla Neisen (capt), 10. Caroline Drouin, 11. Iän Jason, 12. Lili Dezou.
IRELAND Squad: 1. Ashleigh Orchard (Cooke RFC), 2. Vicky Elmes Kinlan (Wicklow RFC), 3. Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC), 4. Alanna Fitzpatrick (Portarlington RFC/Blackrock College RFC), 5. Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe (Railway Union RFC) (capt), 6. Kathy Baker (Blackrock College RFC), 8. Megan Burns (Blackrock College RFC), 10. Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC), 11. Erin King (Old Belvedere RFC), 12. Emily Lane (Blackrock College RFC), 13. Claire Boles (Railway Union RFC), 14. Amy Larn (Athy RFC).
7TH PLACE PLAY-OFF –
CHINA/GREAT BRITAIN v FRANCE/IRELAND, Stade de France, kick-off 6pm local time/5pm Irish time
5TH PLACE PLAY-OFF –
CHINA/GREAT BRITAIN v FRANCE/IRELAND, Stade de France, kick-off 6.30pm local time/5.30pm Irish time
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