Murphy Crowe Crosses Twice As Ireland Women Advance To Last-Eight

RWC Sevens Format: Ireland’s Route To Final Rounds

Ireland Squads Named For Rugby World Cup Sevens In Cape Town

In Pics: Ireland Women Begin World Cup Campaign With Four-Try Win

The Ireland Women (sponsored by TritonLake) faced another World Series side in their opening game of the tournament, and they got off to a dream start with early converted scores from Murphy Crowe and captain Lucy Mulhall.

Brazil showed their undoubted quality by closing the gap to 14-12 just before half-time, stringing together tries from Bianca Silva and Mariana Nicolau as Ireland’s defence gave way out wide and through the middle.

However, Aiden McNulty’s charges roared back straight from the restart with an excellent solo score from Parsons, who broke free from inside her own half, and Murphy Crowe made certain of the win in the 13th minute.

Having guaranteed themselves a top eight finish, Mulhall and her team-mates will face defending champions New Zealand, who beat Colombia 47-5, in tomorrow’s Championship quarter-finals (kick-off 8.05pm local time/7.05pm Irish time).

Giving her reaction afterwards, Murphy Crowe, the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series’ top try scorer in 2021/22, said: “We’re happy with the win. It was a tough fight out there. We knew it was going to be a tough fight against Brazil, they’ve been a great opponent of ours on the series over the years.

“At half-time we said just to take each moment at a time, don’t get too carried away on the game. Make sure we’re getting the gain-line at the breakdown, making our tackles and controlling the game at our pace and our tempo.

“If I have to cross the white line twice for my team that is absolutely what I’ll try to do but I just love being out there, second World Cup with another special group of people.

“So, it’s an absolute honour to be back in Cape Town, competing for our country and doing our country proud.”

Eve Higgins made an important tackle on Silva as Brazil attempted an early breakout, but all the territory was Ireland’s initially and they made it count with the opening try in the third minute.

Stacey Flood lifted the tempo with a quick tap and then Mulhall used a dummy to snipe through a gap and connect with Murphy Crowe who was able to scamper in behind the posts. The captain tagged on the extras for 7-0.

Mulhall then attacked the space, hurtling onto a precise Emily Lane pass to swiftly add a second try. It all came from Flood’s tapping back of the restart and a pacy set of phases which saw Parsons gain ground near the left touchline.

Nonetheless, Brazil found their attacking rhythm to mount a strong response. Silva got on the outside of Megan Burns for a 60-metre surge to the line, and then Nicolau was propelled through from halfway by Isadora Lopes de Souza’s inviting pass.

Stung by those concessions, Ireland wrestled back control when the second half got underway. Parsons fielded the restart, evaded a tackle and accelerated away, handing off Thalia Costa and brilliantly grounding the ball under immense pressure.

Following confirmation from the TMO, Mulhall’s conversion was off target and, importantly, with the margin back out to seven points (19-12), Ireland were able to pin the South Americans back inside their own half.

The Irish tackling was aggressive and accurate, and although a scrum infringement prevented Mulhall from scoring, replacements Kate Farrell McCabe, Kathy Baker and Erin King all made tackles as Brazil were hounded back over their own try-line.

Murphy Crowe made the finish look straightforward as she was fed by Katie Heffernan off a close-in scrum. Wrapping up the result, the Tipperary woman scored in the left corner despite the best efforts of the covering Luiza Campos.

All of Ireland’s games are live on the RTÉ Player in the Republic of Ireland, while there will be coverage across Irish Rugby social media channels and on IrishRugby.ie. A full list of broadcasters is available here.

The Ireland Men’s and Women’s Sevens teams are wearing their brand new Canterbury kit for the World Cup in Cape Town. Click here to buy the new jerseys online from Intersport Elverys.

IRELAND WOMEN’S SEVENS Squad (Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022, Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town, September 9-11, 2022):

Kathy Baker (Blackrock College RFC)
Megan Burns (Blackrock College RFC)
Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC)
Katie Heffernan (Railway Union RFC)
Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC)
Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC)
Erin King (Old Belvedere RFC)
Emily Lane (Blackrock College RFC)
Kate Farrell McCabe (Suttonians RFC)
Lucy Mulhall (Wicklow RFC) (capt)
Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe (Railway Union RFC)
Beibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College RFC)

IRELAND WOMEN’S RWC Sevens Schedule –

Friday, September 9:

Round Of 16 –

IRELAND 24 BRAZIL 12, Cape Town Stadium
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe 2, Lucy Mulhall, Beibhinn Parsons; Cons: Lucy Mulhall 2
Brazil: Tries: Bianca Silva, Mariana Nicolau; Con: Luiza Campos
HT: Ireland 14 Brazil 12

Team: Beibhinn Parsons, Stacey Flood, Eve Higgins, Emily Lane, Lucy Mulhall (capt), Megan Burns, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe.

Subs used: Katie Heffernan, Kate Farrell McCabe, Kathy Baker, Erin King. Not used: Brittany Hogan.

Rugby World Cup Sevens – Fixtures/Results

Saturday, September 10:

Championship Quarter-Final –

NEW ZEALAND v IRELAND, Cape Town Stadium, 8.05pm local time/7.05pm Irish time