Irish Rugby | Ireland Women’s Sevens – Day One Preview

Boosted by the presence of fit-again captain Lucy Mulhall Rock, the Ireland Women have the honour of kicking off the Women’s Rugby Sevens tournament at the 2024 Olympics today. They face familiar rivals Great Britain at 2.30pm Irish time (live on RTÉ One).

Allan Temple-Jones’ charges will be gunning for a winning start at the Stade de France, before their second Pool B match against fellow Olympic newcomers, South Africa, at 6pm.

Both games are set to be broadcast live on RTÉ One and RTÉ 2 respectively, while there will be live coverage too on Eurosport via Discovery Plus.

The BBC are also expected to show the Ireland-Great Britain fixture on BBC One/Two and the iPlayer. Check listings in other regions for your local broadcaster.

Ireland Sevens Squads – 2024 Olympic Games

2024 Olympic Games – Match Schedule

Ireland Sevens – Where To Watch The Olympic Games

2024 OLYMPIC GAMES – WOMEN’S RUGBY SEVENS TOURNAMENT DAY ONE:

POOL B –

IRELAND v GREAT BRITAIN, Stade de France, 3.30pm local time/2.30pm Irish time – Match Centre

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

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.

GREAT BRITAIN Profile

Head Coach: Ciaran Beattie
Captain: Emma Uren

Olympic Record: Rio 2016 – 4th; Tokyo 2020 – 4th
Paris 2024 Seeding: 8th

2024 SVNS Series Ranking: 8th (Regular season)
2024 SVNS Series Top Try Scorer: Ellie Boatman (16 tries); Top Points Scorer: Emma Uren (99 points)

Did You Know?: Ellie Kildunne was named the Guinness Women’s Six Nations Player of the Championship in April after scoring nine tries and claiming three individual Player of the Match awards from five matches.

Player To Watch: Jasmine Joyce

Set to become the first rugby player to represent Team GB in three Olympic Games, Joyce has played at the highest level for Wales in both 15s and Sevens. An instinctive player blessed with pace and a real eye for the try-line, she will be hungry to make it a case of third time lucky after finishing fourth in both Rio and Tokyo.

Ireland v Great Britain – Head-To-Head Statistics:

World Series Matches: 9; Ireland Won: 6; Great Britain Won: 3

Last Five Meetings: 2023 – Great Britain 19 Ireland 15, Cape Town; Ireland 17 Great Britain 5, Cape Town; 2024 – Ireland 31 Great Britain 7, Perth; Ireland 21 Great Britain 7, Vancouver; Ireland 20 Great Britain 0, Madrid

– After narrowly winning their opening match of the season in Cape Town, Great Britain have lost each of their last four SVNS Series clashes with Ireland by an average margin of 17.5 points

– This is Ireland’s longest run of victories in their short SVNS Series history against Britain, and their most comprehensive run of results, after their first two wins in Dubai on the 2022 and 2023 World Series were by nine points or less

– Ireland have led at half-time in all five SVNS Series matches this season, but only twice by more than a converted try. Britain came back from a three-point deficit to win in Cape Town, their only half-time comeback in the history of this fixture

– They have only been drawn together in the pool stages three times in their history, in both rounds in Dubai on the 2022 World Series and this season in Cape Town

– Britain have won two of their three pool matches, but just one of their six Cup or placing games

– Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe has scored seven tries in eight appearances against Britain. Only in Vancouver last season has she failed to score a try in this fixture

– Olympic Games Head-to-Head: This is their first meeting

– World Series Head-to-Head in France: They have not met in France

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), 6. Kathy Baker (Blackrock College RFC), 7. Béibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College), 8. Megan Burns (Blackrock College RFC), 9. Lucy Mulhall Rock (Wicklow RFC) (capt), 10. Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC), 11. Erin King (Old Belvedere RFC), 12. Emily Lane (Blackrock College RFC).

GREAT BRITAIN Squad: 1. Lisa Thomson, 2. Jade Shekells, 3. Ellie Boatman, 4. Grace Crompton, 5. Heather Cowell, 6. Lauren Torley, 7. Emma Uren (capt), 8. Ellie Kildunne, 9. Isla Norman-Bell, 10. Meg Jones, 11. Jasmine Joyce, 12. Amy Wilson Hardy.

IRELAND v SOUTH AFRICA, Stade de France, 7pm local time/6pm Irish time – Match Centre

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

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

SOUTH AFRICA Profile

Head Coach: Renfred Dazel
Co-Captains: Zintle Mpupha and Mathrin Simmers

Olympic Record: Rio 2016 – Did not play; Tokyo 2020 – Did not play
Paris 2024 Seeding: 11th

2024 SVNS Series Ranking: 11th (Lost play-off at SVNS Series Grand Final so will not play in next season’s Series)
2024 SVNS Series Top Try & Points Scorer: Nadine Roos (22 tries, 178 points)

Did You Know?: South Africa won the African regional qualifier for both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 but were unable to take up the place due to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) rules at the time.

Player To Watch: Nadine Roos

She may be small in stature but her deft footwork and eye for a gap mean Roos is not a player to underestimate, especially given her pace as a former athlete and netball player. Nothing fazes the 28-year-old, who was raised by her grandmother after being abandoned by her mother as a baby. South Africa’s top scorer on this year’s Series, she is one of first names on the team list in both Sevens and 15s.

Ireland v South Africa – Head-To-Head Statistics:

World Series Matches: 4; Ireland Won: 4; South Africa Won: 0

Last Five Meetings: 2017 – Ireland 24 South Africa 7, Dubai; 2022 – Ireland 24 South Africa 0, Cape Town; 2024 – Ireland 28 South Africa 7, Vancouver; Ireland 20 South Africa 7, Hong Kong

– This will be the first time since the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament that these two teams have met outside the World Series

– All four previous meetings since then have come when South Africa has been either the invitational or core team at a SVNS Series event

– Ireland have never conceded more than seven points in a match against South Africa, enjoying an average winning margin of 16 points on the World Series circuit, and a seven-point victory (12-5) at the 2013 Sevens World Cup in Moscow

– Ireland were dominant in the second half this season, outscoring South Africa by a combined total of 24-7 after half-time across their two games

– They squandered just one chance in the opposition 22 overall against South Africa, with eight tries from nine visits in total

– South Africa will look to improve their defence after missing 16 tackles across both losses, averaging a completion rate of just 70%

– Nadine Roos scored nine of South Africa’s 14 points against Ireland this season with one try and two conversions, while Ireland ace Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe scored a double in each of their two victories

– Olympic Games Head-to-Head: This is their first meeting

– World Series Head-to-Head in France: They have not met in France

SOUTH AFRICA Squad: 1. Libbie Janse van Rensburg, 2. Byrhandre Dolf, 3. Ayanda Malinga, 4. Zintle Mpupha, 5. Marlize de Bruin, 6. Veroeshka Grain, 7. Maria Tshiremba, 8. Sizophila Solontsi, 9. Nadine Roos, 10. Mathrin Simmers (capt), 11. Kemisetso Baloyi, 12. Liske Lategan.