Four players made their debuts for the Ireland Women's Sevens team (sponsored by TritonLake) over the weekend, gaining valuable experience against the world's leading sides at the HSBC SVNS Perth event.
A winning performance eluded them, but this youthful Ireland squad were competitive throughout with Katie Whelan, Alana McInerney, Ellen Boylan, and Lucia Linn all earning their first international Sevens caps.
They ended the weekend with a 24-12 play-off defeat to Spain, finishing 12th overall with Whelan and Ireland 15s winger Katie Corrigan both touching down. Robyn O'Connor, Lucinda Kinghan, and Hannah Clarke were the other try scorers across the three-day tournament.
This is a transitional period for the Ireland Women's Sevens programme, with 2025 obviously bringing a big focus on the 15s Rugby World Cup. Almost all of the Paris Olympians have been in Celtic Challenge action of late, apart from those who are injured or retired.
The group that head coach Allan Temple-Jones brought to Western Australia contained eight players aged between 19 and 21. Along with the debutants, six others had only played between one and four SVNS Series tournaments before.
The bulk of the experience was provided by captain Megan Burns, Kathy Baker, and Kate Farrell McCabe. It was brilliant to see Farrell McCabe back in the green jersey, playing for the first time since suffering an ankle injury back in June.
Ireland fell behind to an early breakaway try from Spanish teenager Juana Stella, who darted clear after Carmen Miranda Miralles' neat footballing skills to control a pass that had dropped short to her feet.
Stella continued to stamp her mark on the game, converting and then also adding the extras to her pacy fourth-minute effort. A dummy lineout throw was not picked up by the match officials, and Stella evaded the clutches of Burns and Alanna Fitzpatrick to run in under the posts.
Burns lifted the tempo as Ireland got some rare possession, but Beatriz Dominguez Sanchez's turnover saw Spain counter from deep. Abril Camacho Ruiz was fed on the right wing and her quick feet took her away from both O'Connor and Fitzpatrick to make it 19-0.
The half-time break saw Ireland regroup in the searing Perth heat, and Clare Gorman did well to chase down Stella and deny her a hat-trick. A Kinghan turnover penalty led to a purposeful attack that had O'Connor threatening down the left wing.
The girls in green kept the pressure on, with Miranda Miralles seeing yellow for a high tackle on O'Connor. Whelan made an immediate impact off the bench, crashing over for a try via Gorman's tap penalty inside Spain's 22.
The Old Belvedere and Leinster scrum half continued to catch the eye, winning a penalty and taking it quickly to put Spain the back foot. Her inviting pass out to the right sent Corrigan over from 10 metres out. Gorman converted crisply and suddenly the deficit was just 19-14.
Kinghan went close to regaining possession from the restart, yet Spain then struck for their match-winning score. Teenager Goreti Barrutieta's clever footwork, coupled with her speed and a strong fend, took her clear of Corrigan to dot down with 100 seconds remaining.
Miranda Miralles returned to bring las Leonas Sevens back up to their full complement, and Ireland's hopes of a late response were ended when experienced forward Olivia Fresneda forced a turnover penalty just past the final hooter.
With one point picked up in Perth, the Ireland Women remain eighth in the SVNS Series table ahead of the Vancouver Sevens on February 21-23. For more information, please visit www.svns.com. Tickets for Vancouver are available to purchase here.
The bulk of the experience was provided by captain Megan Burns, Kathy Baker, and Kate Farrell McCabe. It was brilliant to see Farrell McCabe back in the green jersey, playing for the first time since suffering an ankle injury back in June.
Ireland fell behind to an early breakaway try from Spanish teenager Juana Stella, who darted clear after Carmen Miranda Miralles' neat footballing skills to control a pass that had dropped short to her feet.
Stella continued to stamp her mark on the game, converting and then also adding the extras to her pacy fourth-minute effort. A dummy lineout throw was not picked up by the match officials, and Stella evaded the clutches of Burns and Alanna Fitzpatrick to run in under the posts.
Burns lifted the tempo as Ireland got some rare possession, but Beatriz Dominguez Sanchez's turnover saw Spain counter from deep. Abril Camacho Ruiz was fed on the right wing and her quick feet took her away from both O'Connor and Fitzpatrick to make it 19-0.
The half-time break saw Ireland regroup in the searing Perth heat, and Clare Gorman did well to chase down Stella and deny her a hat-trick. A Kinghan turnover penalty led to a purposeful attack that had O'Connor threatening down the left wing.
The girls in green kept the pressure on, with Miranda Miralles seeing yellow for a high tackle on O'Connor. Whelan made an immediate impact off the bench, crashing over for a try via Gorman's tap penalty inside Spain's 22.
The Old Belvedere and Leinster scrum half continued to catch the eye, winning a penalty and taking it quickly to put Spain the back foot. Her inviting pass out to the right sent Corrigan over from 10 metres out. Gorman converted crisply and suddenly the deficit was just 19-14.
Kinghan went close to regaining possession from the restart, yet Spain then struck for their match-winning score. Teenager Goreti Barrutieta's clever footwork, coupled with her speed and a strong fend, took her clear of Corrigan to dot down with 100 seconds remaining.
Miranda Miralles returned to bring las Leonas Sevens back up to their full complement, and Ireland's hopes of a late response were ended when experienced forward Olivia Fresneda forced a turnover penalty just past the final hooter.
With one point picked up in Perth, the Ireland Women remain eighth in the SVNS Series table ahead of the Vancouver Sevens on February 21-23. For more information, please visit www.svns.com. Tickets for Vancouver are available to purchase here.