Ireland Women To Face Russia Following Cup Quarter-Final Exit
The pace and finishing ability of Portia Woodman and Michaela Blyde went a long way to deciding the Rugby World Cup Sevens quarter-final between Ireland and New Zealand, as the pair ran in five tries between them in the Black Ferns’ comprehensive 45-0 win.
WOMEN’S RUGBY WORLD CUP SEVENS – CUP QUARTER-FINAL: Friday, July 20
IRELAND 0 NEW ZEALAND 45, AT&T Park, San Francisco
Scorers: Ireland: –
The heavy defeat leaves the Ireland Women licking their wounds, but they still have plenty to play for on day two of the tournament. They begin Saturday’s schedule against European rivals Russia, who were beaten 33-17 by the USA, in the 5th-8th place play-offs (kick-off 10.58am local time/6.58pm Irish time) (live on eir Sport 1/live streaming via www.rwcsevens.com (in certain countries)/highlights on ITV 4).
Ireland, the conquerors of England in the previous round, pressed high from captain Lucy Mulhall’s kick-off against New Zealand, yet flying winger Portia Woodman’s acceleration off the mark saw her burn clear of Katie Fitzhenry to run in a long-range opening try after only 41 seconds.
Louise Galvin fumbled the subsequent restart which had not gone ten metres, allowing the Black Ferns to strike from the scrum for their second try. Michaela Blyde opened her account, bursting onto a Niall Williams pass in midfield to break clear of Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe and go in under the posts.
14-0 quickly became 19-0 with New Zealand continuing to dominate possession – Mulhall was penalised for playing a loose ball from an offside position – and Williams scored from Kelly Brazier’s pass at the end of a patient fifth-minute move.
When Ireland finally got some belated possession, scrum half Stacey Flood was a lively runner and full of endeavour. However, Williams was fortunate to avoid being penalised for offside in defence, and from a subsequent turnover, New Zealand fed Woodman who profited from Fitzhenry’s poor attempted tackle to make it 26-0 at the interval.
Ireland’s defence was brittle again on the resumption, affording the New Zealanders too much time and space on the ball. This time it was Blyde whose brilliant footwork left Fitzhenry and Flood in her wake for her team’s fifth try of the game, converted by Tyla Nathan-Wong.
Midway through the second half, Blyde completed her hat-trick after sweeping onto an inside pass from replacement Gayle Broughton and cutting inside and out to get free of Flood, Ireland’s final defender and best performer in testing circumstances alongside Mulhall.
The seventh and final try arrived with two minutes left on the clock, Nathan-Wong jinking past Audrey O’Flynn and passing out of a tackle for replacement Stacey Waaka to finish off from 40 metres out. The buoyant Black Ferns move on to a semi-final clash with the host nation, while Ireland, who still have fifth place to aim for, will look to regroup against the Russians.
TIME LINE: 1 minute – New Zealand try: Portia Woodman – 0-5; conversion: Tyla Nathan-Wong – 0-7; 3 mins – New Zealand try: Michaela Blyde – 0-12; conversion: Tyla Nathan-Wong – 0-14; 5 mins – New Zealand try: Niall Williams – 0-19; conversion: missed by Tyla Nathan-Wong – 0-19; 7+1 mins – New Zealand try: Portia Woodman – 0-24; conversion: Tyla Nathan-Wong – 0-26; Half-time – Ireland 0 New Zealand 26; 9 mins – New Zealand try: Michaela Blyde – 0-31; conversion: Tyla Nathan-Wong – 0-33; 11 mins – New Zealand try: Michaela Blyde – 0-38; conversion: Tyla Nathan-Wong – 0-40; 13 mins – New Zealand try: Stacey Waaka – 0-45; conversion: missed by Tyla Nathan-Wong – 0-45; Full-time – Ireland 0 New Zealand 45
Team: Louise Galvin, Ashleigh Baxter, Katie Fitzhenry, Stacey Flood, Lucy Mulhall (capt), Aoife Doyle, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe.
Subs used: Eve Higgins, Audrey O’Flynn, Hannah Tyrrell, Kathy Baker, Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird.
The Ireland Sevens jerseys are available to buy online here from Elverys Intersport, official sports retailer of the IRFU.
IRELAND WOMEN’S SEVENS Squad (2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens, AT&T Park, San Francisco, USA, Friday, July 20-Saturday, July 21):
Kathy Baker (Blackrock/Leinster)
Ashleigh Baxter (Cooke/Ulster)
Claire Boles (Railway Union/Ulster)
Aoife Doyle (Shannon/Railway Union/Munster)
Katie Fitzhenry (Blackrock/Leinster)
Stacey Flood (Railway Union/Leinster)
Louise Galvin (UL Bohemian/Munster)
Eve Higgins (Railway Union/Leinster)
Lucy Mulhall (Rathdrum) (capt)
Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe (Railway Union/Munster)
Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Audrey O’Flynn (Ireland Women’s Sevens Programme)
Hannah Tyrrell (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
IRELAND WOMEN’S RWC SEVENS Results/Fixtures –
Friday, July 20:
Round of 16: England 14 Ireland 19, AT&T Park, San Francisco
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Ashleigh Baxter, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe 2; Cons: Lucy Mulhall 2
Match Report: Murphy Crowe Double Does The Damage For Ireland Women Against England
Team: Louise Galvin, Ashleigh Baxter, Katie Fitzhenry, Stacey Flood, Lucy Mulhall (capt), Aoife Doyle, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe.
Sub used: Audrey O’Flynn. Not used: Hannah Tyrrell, Kathy Baker, Eve Higgins, Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird.
Cup Quarter-Final: Ireland 0 New Zealand 45, AT&T Park, San Francisco
Scorers: Ireland: –
Team: Louise Galvin, Ashleigh Baxter, Katie Fitzhenry, Stacey Flood, Lucy Mulhall (capt), Aoife Doyle, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe.
Subs used: Eve Higgins, Audrey O’Flynn, Hannah Tyrrell, Kathy Baker, Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird.
Saturday, July 21:
5th-8th Place Play-Off: Ireland v Russia, AT&T Park, San Francisco, 10.58am local time/6.58pm Irish time
More details on the Rugby World Cup Sevens are available here. Tickets are available to purchase here via the tournament website. There are single-day tickets in all seating categories and three-day tickets.