Ireland have captured the Emirates Airline Dubai Invitational Women’s title after topping their pool yesterday.
On Thursday Ireland opened their account with a 12-12 draw against Russian side Moscow region. They followed this up with a 48-0 win over Georgia before accounting for Wales on a 33-5 scoreline.
In the last game of the day they sealed top spot in their pool and a semi-final place by beating the Kenyan Lionesses 47-5.
The semi-final proved a tough encounter with Almaty RFC running the Irish girls close in a 24-19 result.
Ireland went on to capture the title with a 19-0 victory over Aussie side Tribe 7s, who included a number of Dutch World Series players. Their tries were scored by Alison Miller, newly-appointed captain Jenny Murphy and Martina McCarthy, with Claire Keohane adding two conversions.
The invitational tournament runs alongside the top tier World Series and this win is an important stepping stone for Ireland as they chase Olympic qualification.
Speaking afterwards, Ireland head coach Jon Skurr said: “Coming to Dubai winning the invitational tournament and the girls getting to play on the main pitch in front of 30,000 people is something they won’t forget!
“Our performances improved throughout the tournament, culminating in a good display in the final.
It’s a step in the right direction but we have a lot of hard work ahead of us.
“The top (international) teams are getting better and we need to work harder than any team on the series circuit just to catch up with them, let alone overtake them.”
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