Considine Try The Highlight As Ireland Lose To Canada In Langley

The Ireland Women (sponsored by Aon) more than held their own against second-ranked Canada, but a second WXV1 scalp eluded them in a 21-8 defeat to the tournament hosts in Langley.

WXV1 – ROUND 2:

Saturday, October 5 –

CANADA 21 IRELAND 8, Langley Events Centre, Langley
Scorers: Canada: Tries: Penalty try, Claire Gallagher, Julia Omokhuale; Cons: Pen try con, Alex Tessier 2
Ireland: Try: Eimear Considine; Pen: Dannah O’Brien
HT: Canada 21 Ireland 3

Despite having the better of the opening quarter, Ireland were held scoreless, and yellow cards for props Linda Djougang and Niamh O’Dowd, either side of a 25th-minute penalty try, gave Canada the momentum.

Dannah O’Brien closed the gap to 7-3, profiting from Alexandria Ellis’ sin-binning, but well-taken scores from Claire Gallagher and Julia Omokhuale, in the space of four minutes, stretched the lead to 18 points by half-time.

O’Brien’s sweetly-struck cross-field kick played in Eimear Considine for her second try in three matches, yet there were no further scores during a scrappy final 30 minutes on the artificial pitch.

Prop Andrea Stock won her first Ireland cap off the bench, and fellow Cork woman Deirbhile Nic a Bháird made her long-awaited return from an ACL injury. Enya Breen was ‘proud’ of the team performance after captaining her country for the first time.

Courtesy of their bonus point win over New Zealand last Sunday, Scott Bemand’s side remain third in the WXV1 table ahead of the final match against the USA at BC Place next Friday (kick-off 12.30pm local time/8.30pm Irish time – live on RugbyPass TV/BBC iPlayer).

On her maiden Test start, Erin King disrupted the first Canadian lineout, allowing Djougang to mop up the possession. Both teams kicked for early territory gains before the athletic Omokhuale burst into space off the back of a lineout.

Canada built some pressure closer in, only for Omokhuale’s opposite number, King, to force a penalty at the breakdown. O’Brien’s left boot used a couple of penalties to put the girls in green downfield, and a Brittany Hogan charge breached the hosts’ 22.

O’Brien responded to an Ellis turnover with a pinpoint 50:22 kick, yet a crooked throw from Clíodhna Moloney allowed Canada to move back up the touchline.

Nearing the midpoint of the first half, Ireland were building some promising phases, with Hogan again making the initial incision. However, it was the number 8’s infringement that saw an advancing maul pulled back for a penalty to Canada.

The Irish back-three combined with O’Dowd to hold up Alex Tessier, breaking up a threatening Canadian attack. Stacey Flood thwarted them soon after with a well-timed turnover, allowing O’Brien to find a terrific touch down the left.

However, with King caught offside from a subsequent kick, Canada grasped their chance to break the deadlock. Djougang’s deliberate knock-on landed her in the sin bin, and the momentum swiftly swung behind Kévin Rouet’s charges.

O’Dowd’s defensive efforts at a Canadian maul resulted in a collapse, and the double blow of a penalty try and a yellow for the young loosehead. An Irish scrum quickly followed the restart, requiring both Stock and Siobhán McCarthy to enter the fray.

Launching forward from a penalty won by King at the breakdown, Aoife Wafer sliced open the defence and combined with Breen. Ellis saw yellow for not rolling away, which was Canada’s 10th penalty in all, and O’Brien claimed the points on offer.

The home side were quick to respond, invited forward by an O’Brien knock-on, and they made their 14-against-13 advantage count. There was space down the blindside of a ruck for Gabrielle Senft to send Gallagher over in the left corner.

Tessier nailed the difficult conversion and also added the extras to Omokhuale’s closing effort before the break, the busy flanker the beneficiary of Shoshanah Seumanutafa’s turnover which set up a 30-metre run-in on the right.

Boosted by King’s late lineout steal, Ireland began the second period in determined fashion. They had the early territory, and a tremendous 30-metre carry from Wafer, off the base of a scrum, saw her beat three defenders. It took three to eventually bring her down.

Armed with a penalty advantage, Dorothy Wall took the ball on to suck in more defenders, before O’Brien’s nicely-weighted kick was plucked down by Considine in the right corner. The Tullow youngster’s conversion dropped just short.

There were some stop-start passages of play coming up to the hour mark, as both defences were able to force knock-ons. Connacht’s Nicole Fowley slotted in at out-half for her WXV1 debut, using her big right boot to find grass on a number of occasions.

Number 8 Senft spoiled an Irish lineout right on Canada’s 22-metre line, but an excellent touchfinder from Fowley pinned the Pacific Four Series champions back. The handling errors increased in both halves as the tempo lifted again.

Hogan hammered into Courtney Holtkamp who lost the ball forward, and just when Nic a Bháird carried well from a scrum, and Fowley’s accuracy with the boot drew an error from the covering Julia Schell, the Ireland maul was penalised for obstruction.

Canada increased their own maul threat, but great work from Neve Jones and Djougang earned turnover ball. Emily Lane also made an important tackle on Laetitia Royer as the home side, encouraged by a scrum penalty, pressed for a closing bonus point try.

Aoife Dalton and Higgins surged back up to halfway, with Nic a Bháird’s impressive timing at the breakdown launching the counter attack. That was the best that the girls in green could muster in the final minutes, as Canada claimed a hard-fought victory.

TIME LINE: 24 mins – Ireland yellow card: Linda Djougang; 25 mins – Canada penalty try & conversion – 7-0; Ireland yellow card: Niamh O’Dowd; 31 mins – Canada yellow card: Alexandria Ellis; 32 mins – Ireland penalty: Dannah O’Brien – 7-3; 33 mins – Canada try: Claire Gallagher – 12-3; conversion: Alex Tessier – 14-3; 36 mins – Canada try: Julia Omokhuale – 19-3; conversion: Alex Tessier – 21-3; Half-time – Canada 21 Ireland 3; 45 mins – Ireland try: Eimear Considine – 21-8; conversion: missed by Dannah O’Brien – 21-8; Full-time – Canada 21 Ireland 8

CANADA: Taylor Perry (Oakville Crusaders/Exeter Chiefs); Fancy Bermudez (NWAA/Westshore RFC/Saracens), Shoshanah Seumanutafa (Counties Manukau), Alex Tessier (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC/Exeter Chiefs), Alysha Corrigan (CRFC/Saracens); Claire Gallagher (Aurora Barbarians/Leicester Tigers), Justine Pelletier (Club de rugby de Québec/Stade Bordelais); Brittany Kassil (Guelph Goats), Emily Tuttosi (Calgary Hornets/Exeter Chiefs), Alexandria Ellis (Barrhaven Scottish/Stade Français Paris), Tyson Beukeboom (Cowichan Piggies/Aurora Barbarians/Trailfinders Women) (capt), Courtney Holtkamp (Red Deer Titans Rugby), Julia Omokhuale (Calgary Irish Rugby Club/Leicester Tigers), Caroline Crossley (Castaway Wanderers), Gabrielle Senft (Castaway Wanderers/Saracens).

Replacements used: Rori Wood (College Rifles RFC) for Crossley (32 mins-half-time), Laetitia Royer (St-Anne-de-Bellevue/Concordia University/ASM Romagnat) for Beukeboom, Fabiola Forteza (Club de rugby de Québec/Stade Bordelais) for Crossley (both half-time), Olivia Apps (Lindsay RFC) for Seumanutafa, Julia Schell (Guelph Goats/Castaway Wanderers/Trailfinders Women) for Perry (both 48), McKinley Hunt (Aurora Barbarians/Saracens) for Kassil (50), Karen Paquin (Club de rugby de Québec) for Omokhuale (64), Wood for Ellis (67), Sara Cline (Leprechaun Tigers) for Tuttosi (72).

IRELAND: Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC); Eimear Considine (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster), Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC), Enya Breen (Blackrock College RFC/Munster) (capt), Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe (Railway Union RFC/Munster); Dannah O’Brien (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Emily Lane (Blackrock College RFC); Niamh O’Dowd (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Clíodhna Moloney (Exeter Chiefs), Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Dorothy Wall (Exeter Chiefs/Munster), Fiona Tuite (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster), Erin King (Old Belvedere RFC), Aoife Wafer (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster), Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster).

Replacements used: Andrea Stock (Trailfinders Women/IQ Rugby) for Considine (27-35 mins), Siobhán McCarthy (Gloucester-Hartpury/Munster) for Tuite (27-37), Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury) for Moloney (43), Nicole Fowley (Galwegians RFC/Connacht) for O’Brien, Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) for Higgins (both 49), Higgins for Flood (64-76), Grace Moore (Trailfinders Women/IQ Rugby) for Tuite, Deirbhile Nic a Bháird (Old Belvedere RFC/Munster) for Wafer (both 64), McCarthy for O’Dowd (67), Stock for Djougang (72). Not used: Molly Scuffil-McCabe (Leinster).

Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa)