Hannah Clarke is pictured scoring Ireland's opening try against Spain at the HSBC SVNS Cape Town tournament ©INPHO/Martin Seras Lima
The Ireland Women’s Sevens team (sponsored by TritonLake) missed out on a semi-final place at the HSBC SVNS Cape Town event, following a 15-0 defeat to France in the deciding Pool C match.
A new competition format, based on player welfare considerations for the back-to-back tournaments, saw the teams split into four pools of three for this weekend, with the four group winners progressing straight through to the semi-finals.
The Ireland Women put themselves in the running with a 34-5 win over Spain, which saw Hannah Clarke and Eve Higgins score two tries each, but they were held scoreless by France whose superior breakdown work was a key factor in the outcome.
Unfortunately Ireland only had 10 fit and available players on day one, as a bacterial infection impacted both the Men’s and Women’s squads this week. Captain Amee-Leigh Costigan (formerly Murphy Crowe), Emily Lane, and Kathy Baker were notable absentees.
Tullamore’s Megan Burns stepped up to captain her country for the first time, while the ever-influential Eve Higgins became the latest member of the Ireland Sevens programme to reach a half-century of international Sevens caps.
Following last week’s sixth place finish in Dubai, Allan Temple-Jones’ charges can still match or better that as they are through to face Japan in tomorrow’s 5th place semi-finals (kick-off 9.44am local time/7.44am Irish time – live on RugbyPass TV).
Higgins led the team out for their Cape Town opener against Spain, with it being her 50th tournament appearance between HSBC SVNS Series, Olympic Games, Rugby World Cup Sevens and Rugby Europe Sevens competitions.
Robyn O’Connor, a debutant in Dubai, had a crucial interception near her own try-line to prevent Maria Garcia from opening the scoring for Spain. An O’Connor break almost put Burns away in the third minute, but Garcia forced a turnover penalty.
A nice move off a scrum unlocked the Spanish defence three minutes later, as O’Connor and Burns combined to send Higgins slicing through and she sidestepped around Jimena Blanco-Hortiguera to pick up a seven-pointer under the posts.
Ireland took a 12-0 lead into half-time, with their second score coming past the hooter. O’Connor ran hard off the back of a scrum, and the quick ball was capitalised on by Anna McGann and Higgins who fed Clarke to finish off to the right of the posts.
Into the second half, Higgins lunged over from a close-in ruck in the 10th minute, getting the grounding despite the presence of two defenders. Burns added the fourth try, breaking clear of Carmen Miranda Miralles after good work from Clare Gorman on the left wing.
There was still time for two more unconverted Irish scores, as Clarke ran clear from Spain’s 10-metre line – making it three tries in two tournaments for the 19-year-old newcomer – before Béibhinn Parsons surged over from the left after Stacey Flood had got her hand to Higgins’ restart.
The only blot on Ireland’s copybook was allowing Spain to score past the final hooter. A miscued restart and a couple of penalties invited las Leonas Sevens forward, and Zahia Perez crashed over in the right corner following a strong carry and offload from Abril Camacho Ruiz.
The girls in green’s second game saw them renew rivalries with France. Top spot in the pool and qualification for the semi-final stage were up for grabs, and there were promising early signs with Parsons threatening and McGann showing her strength at the breakdown.
However, there was a serious setback when Parsons was stretchered off after falling awkwardly in a tackle from Marie Dupouy. Clarke then chased back to foil Léa Trollier’s blindside break, but it was a glimpse of how dangerous the French could be from deep.
France captain Anne-Cecile Ciofani duly profited from a fourth-minute turnover to open the scoring. It remained 5-0 up to half-time, with Clarke, the newly-introduced Erin King, and Vicky Elmes Kinlan all making important tackles before a forward pass denied Trollier a try.
Ireland struggled for territory at the start of the second half, and France’s patient build-up play was rewarded with a score from Lili Dezou, who won an initial penalty at the breakdown. That left 10 points in it with just under three-and-a-half minutes remaining.
France’s bench managed to sew up the result, despite King, the World Rugby Women’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year, doing brilliantly to hold up Carla Neisen. Well-timed offloads from Ciofani and Rose Marie Fiafialoto played in Hawa Tounkara for a 13th-minute clincher.
Kathy Baker (Blackrock College RFC)
Megan Burns (Blackrock College RFC) (capt)
Hannah Clarke (Tuam/Oughterard RFC/Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
Amee-Leigh Costigan (Railway Union RFC)
Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC)
Clare Gorman (Old Belvedere RFC)
Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC)
Erin King (Old Belvedere RFC)
Vicky Elmes Kinlan (Wicklow RFC)
Emily Lane (Blackrock College RFC)
Anna McGann (Railway Union RFC)
Robyn O’Connor (Wexford Wanderers RFC/Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)
Béibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College RFC)
Saturday, December 7 –
POOL C:
IRELAND 34 SPAIN 5, DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Eve Higgins 2, Hannah Clarke 2, Megan Burns, Béibhinn Parsons; Cons: Eve Higgins 2
Spain: Try: Zahia Perez
HT: Ireland 12 Spain 0
Team: Vicky Elmes Kinlan, Béibhinn Parsons, Anna McGann, Robyn O’Connor, Megan Burns (capt), Eve Higgins, Hannah Clarke.
Replacements used: Clare Gorman, Erin King, Stacey Flood.
FRANCE 15 IRELAND 0, DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Scorers: France: Tries: Anne-Cecile Ciofani, Lili Dezou, Hawa Tounkara
Ireland: –
HT: France 5 Ireland 0
Team: Vicky Elmes Kinlan, Béibhinn Parsons, Anna McGann, Robyn O’Connor, Megan Burns (capt), Eve Higgins, Hannah Clarke.
Replacements used: Clare Gorman, Erin King, Stacey Flood.
Sunday, December 8 –
5TH PLACE SEMI-FINAL:
JAPAN v IRELAND, DHL Stadium, Cape Town, 9.44am local time/7.44am Irish time
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