Higgins And Costigan Both Reach Half-Century Mark In Cape Town

The Ireland Women’s Sevens team (sponsored by TritonLake) ended up in eighth position at the HSBC SVNS Cape Town event, but the weekend will be most remembered for the appearance milestones achieved by Eve Higgins and Amee-Leigh Costigan.

Higgins played in her 50th international Sevens tournament, spanning the HSBC SVNS Series, Olympic Games, Rugby World Cup Sevens and Rugby Europe Sevens competitions, and she marked the occasion with three tries in four matches.

Ireland suffered back-to-back defeats on the final day at DHL Stadium, losing out to Japan (26-22) and Great Britain (24-7) as they picked up six SVNS Series in the South African heat, leaving them eighth overall (16 points) after the season’s first two legs.

Unfortunately a number of players in both the Ireland Men’s and Women’s camps had to receive medical attention this week due to a bacterial infection, and it was a battle for both teams to field enough players and compete against opposition that had their full complement.

Having been sidelined for day one, Costigan (formerly Murphy Crowe) and Emily Lane were able to play some part in the Cape Town play-offs, albeit that the Tipperary speedster only got on for a late cameo against Britain.

Following on from her historic 200th try in Dubai last week, Costigan set another record today as she became the first Ireland Sevens player, male or female, to make 50 SVNS Series tournament appearances. The 29-year-old has scored 203 tries in 233 games on the circuit.

Despite illness and injury (Béibhinn Parsons was stretchered off yesterday against France) having a big impact, other players did step up and rise to the challenge with Megan Burns captaining her country for the first time, while teenager Hannah Clarke matched Higgins’ three-try tally.

Allan Temple-Jones’ side will hope for a clean bill of health and improved results when the season’s third leg takes place in Perth on January 24-26. Tickets are available here for the bumper three-day event in Western Australia, where the girls in green enjoyed a breakthrough title win almost twelve months ago.

The shortened four-match format in Cape Town, based on player welfare considerations following consultation with the teams, featured four pools of three teams with the group winners proceeding directly to the semi-finals, the runners-up contesting the 5th-8th place play-offs, and the remaining sides playing off for 9th to 12th.

The seventh place finishers in Dubai, Japan showed signs of their improvement by beating China and giving New Zealand quite a contest yesterday. They pounced on a first-minute turnover against Ireland, working an overlap for Mayu Yoshino to give them a 7-0 lead.

Hana Nagata sped away from a third-minute scrum, teeing up captain Mei Ohtani to go over in the right corner. Ireland had to work hard to respond, Burns using Erin King’s bouncing pass to score having originally retrieved a Stacey Flood kick to spark the attack.

However, scrum half Nagata soon provided a crisp assist for Japan’s third try. She broke to the left of a ruck and passed for Hanako Utsumi to inject the pace, darting in behind the posts despite Robyn O’Connor’s committed chase. The try scorer’s conversion made it 19-5 at half-time.

A classy Clarke try from distance lifted Ireland early on the resumption, as the young Galwegian, stepping in as first receiver off a ruck, ghosted through a gap and showed a clean pace of heels to the Japanese chasers. Flood added the extras from straight in front.

Frustratingly, those seven points were quickly cancelled out as the Sakura Sevens carved their way through the middle, a switch move unleashing Ohtani to complete her brace. Utsumi’s conversion had Ireland trailing by two converted scores – 26-12.

Lane entered the fray with just under five minutes remaining, and her half-break got the sixth seeds on the front foot again. Clarke was stopped a few metres short, but King did really well to disrupt a subsequent lineout, pinching possession for an opportunist try.

Ireland gave themselves a shot at snatching a last-gasp victory, with replacement Anna McGann forcing a penalty at the breakdown and taking it quickly to break past two defenders and cross to the right of the posts.

There was just enough time for a final restart from Higgins, yet her kick out to the right failed to go 10 metres and Japan were able to see out the result, setting them up for a crack at Olympic silver medallists Canada in the 5th place play-off.

Lane came into the starting line-up for Ireland’s 7th place play-off against Britain, who swept through for an early try. Higgins’ kick-off dropped short, and Heather Cowell’s decoy run opened up the space for Abbie Brown to release Katie Shillaker for the left corner.

Vicky Elmes Kinlan was tackled into touch as Ireland tried to work their way out of their own half. Following an exchange of knock-ons, Britain then pounced to go 10 points up in the fifth minute, as scrum possession was worked wide for Shillaker to score past Clarke.

Britain held the edge at the breakdown, as Lauren Torley and Ellie Boatman both forced penalties either side of a well-won Higgins turnover. Shillaker saw yellow for a high tackle on King, but Ireland could not capitalise right on half-time.

Temple-Jones’ charges did make decent headway early in the second period, courtesy of direct running from McGann and Higgins along with a couple of penalties. Britain’s defence stood firm though, with Georgie Lingham bundling Lane into touch.

The resulting possession from the lineout led to the impressive Boatman sprinting clear down the right to score from 65 metres out. Eloise Hayward converted and also added the extras to fellow replacement Reneeqa Bonner’s smartly-taken 14th-minute effort.

Costigan had come on at that late stage to make her only appearance of the weekend, and Ireland did at least have the final say. O’Connor and King drove them downfield, and Higgins used a penalty advantage to slice her way over from the left and convert.

IRELAND WOMEN’S SEVENS Squad (HSBC SVNS Series – HSBC SVNS Cape Town, DHL Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa, Saturday, December 7-Sunday, December 8, 2024):

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)

IRELAND WOMEN’S SEVENS Results – HSBC SVNS Series – Cape Town:

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.

Day 1 Round-Up – Ireland Women Beaten By France In Cape Town Pool Decider

Sunday, December 8 –

5TH PLACE SEMI-FINAL:

JAPAN 26 IRELAND 22, DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Scorers: Japan: Tries: Mayu Yoshino, Mei Ohtani 2, Hanako Utsumi; Cons: Hanako Utsumi 3
Ireland: Tries: Megan Burns, Hannah Clarke, Erin King, Anna McGann; Con: Stacey Flood
HT: Japan 19 Ireland 5

Team: Vicky Elmes Kinlan, Erin King, Eve Higgins, Robyn O’Connor, Stacey Flood, Megan Burns (capt), Hannah Clarke.

Replacements used: Anna McGann, Emily Lane, Clare Gorman. Not used: Amee-Leigh Costigan.

7TH PLACE PLAY-OFF:

IRELAND 7 GREAT BRITAIN 24, DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Scorers: Ireland: Try: Eve Higgins; Con: Eve Higgins
Great Britain: Tries: Katie Shillaker 2, Ellie Boatman, Reneeqa Bonner; Cons: Eloise Hayward 2
HT: Ireland 0 Great Britain 10

Team: Vicky Elmes Kinlan, Erin King, Eve Higgins, Emily Lane, Stacey Flood, Megan Burns (capt), Hannah Clarke.

Replacements used: Anna McGann, Clare Gorman, Robyn O’Connor, Amee-Leigh Costigan.