Coached by James Topping, Ireland emerged as the dominant team over the three-day tournament which concluded with their 26-12 Cup final win over a resilient Poland side.
Their six-match unbeaten run over the weekend, which saw them score 30 tries and concede just four, was a big improvement on their sixth place finish at the recent Hamburg leg.
Eve Higgins deservedly won the Player of the Tournament award, having starred in the playmaker role, and her presence in the squad was a significant boost, along with the returning Emily Lane, Robyn O'Connor, and Vicky Elmes Kinlan.
With coaches Topping and Neill Alcorn and team manager Audrey O'Flynn watching on, Ireland topped Pool A on Saturday, and they proved too strong for both Portugal (27-0) and Germany (22-0) to reach the decider.
An Alanna Fitzpatrick brace helped them to get the better of Poland, the Rugby Europe Series champions for this year, with Higgins finishing as Ireland's top try scorer with five.
Victorious captain Megan Burns, Fitzpatrick, and Alanna McInerney ran in four tries each, while Kathy Baker, Amy Larn, and Katie Corrigan all crossed the whitewash three times.
Winning their first Rugby Europe Sevens tournament since the Krakow leg in 2022, when Burns, Higgins, and Elmes Kinlan were also part of the squad, is an important step forward for the Women's programme.
Earlier today, Ireland set the tone against first-time Cup semi-finalists Germany with a promising first attack. The post-contact metres earned by O'Connor provided the momentum.
Lane was hauled down inside the opposition 22, having linked nicely with McInerney, before the German side, in response, struggled to make much headway with ball in hand.
Burns then injected some pace when tapping a penalty, inviting Fitzpatrick to gain ground down the left with defenders hanging off the young winger.
With just under three minutes on the clock, McInerney timed her run onto a Lane pass to perfection, fending off Steffi Grubber to score and give Higgins a central conversion.
A forward pass saw Fitzpatrick denied a probable try out wide, but the Portarlington native was unstoppable in the sixth minute, as a crisp move off a scrum saw Burns play her in to make it 12-0.
The teams turned around at the break with a seventeen-point differential, as Ireland finished the first half with a third score. Fitzpatrick's rip in the tackle got them back on the attack, and Burns skilfully put McInerney in under the posts.
Two minutes into the second half, the lead was extended by another five points. A well-won Lane turnover had Germany back on the defensive, and O'Connor got her hands free to send Baker over from seven metres out.
It was another shutout secured by the robust Irish defence, which was typified by Faith Oviawe racing back to foil a dangerous break, and Corrigan also catching Gesine Adler with a try-saving tackle.
Wearing their alternate white and black kit for the evening's Cup final against Poland, Ireland continued their trend of scoring early, aided by a turnover penalty won by Higgins.
Lane used the scrum platform to threaten out to the left, with Baker taking them closer, before a sidestepping O'Connor got the ball free for Fitzpatrick to power in under the posts.
Following Higgins' straightforward conversion for a 7-0 advantage, the 21-year-old try scorer bundled Katarzyna Paszczyk into touch to keep Poland out of the Irish half.
The Hamburg 7s runners-up suffered a big setback in the fourth minute when Sylwia Witkowska caught O'Connor with a high tackle and was promptly sin-binned.
Ireland's first attempt to capitalise on their numerical advantage was a false start, but nice link-up play in the sixth minute saw Fitzpatrick cut in from the left, stretching her legs for a stylish score that Higgins converted.
14-0 ahead at the interval, some terrific teamwork saw Topping's outfit break from deep to open the second half's scoring through the ever industrious McInerney.
Burns' quick feet took her past three defenders, and Fitzpatrick, Baker, and O'Connor all got their hands on the ball, leading to McInerney going clear of Witkowska on the outside for a textbook finish from halfway.
Ireland looked primed to make it back-to-back tries, with Baker first to the breaking ball from the restart. Instead Paszczyk got her hand to a pass, and her deliberate knock-on landed her in the bin.
From the resulting 10th-minute scrum, Lane fed Higgins whose gliding run out to the right was rewarded with a deserved converted try for a 26-0 scoreline.
Poland rallied and were lifted by an excellent lung-busting effort from Anna Klichowska. They added a second try past the final hooter, when Oliwia Krysiak latched onto a Natalia Pamieta kick.
IRELAND WOMEN'S SEVENS SQUAD (2026 Rugby Europe Women's Sevens Championship Series - Croatia 7s, Stadion Park Mladeži, Split, Croatia, Friday, July 24-Sunday, July 26):
Alana McInerney (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster)
Alanna Fitzpatrick (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster)
Amy Larn (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)
Chisom Ugwueru (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster)
Clare Gorman (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)
Emily Lane (Blackrock College RFC/Munster)
Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC/Leinster)
Faith Oviawe (Railway Union RFC/Connacht)
Kathy Baker (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster)
Katie Corrigan (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)
Megan Burns (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster) (capt)
Robyn O'Connor (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)
Vicky Elmes Kinlan (Wicklow RFC/Leinster)
IRELAND WOMEN'S SEVENS RESULTS - Croatia 7s Tournament:
Friday, July 24 -
POOL A:
IRELAND 33 CZECHIA 5, Stadion Park Mladeži, Split
Ireland: Tries: Eve Higgins, Megan Burns 2, Kathy Baker, Katie Corrigan; Cons: Eve Higgins 2, Clare Gorman 2
Czechia: Try: Veronika Bolfova
HT: Ireland 14 Czechia 5
Team: Faith Oviawe, Kathy Baker, Vicky Elmes Kinlan, Emily Lane, Eve Higgins, Megan Burns (capt), Alanna Fitzpatrick.
Replacements used: Robyn O'Connor, Alana McInerney, Clare Gorman, Katie Corrigan, Amy Larn.
IRELAND 43 TÜRKİYE 5, Stadion Park Mladeži, Split
Ireland: Tries: Amy Larn, Robyn O'Connor, Katie Corrigan, Chisom Ugwueru, Eve Higgins, Alana McInerney, Kathy Baker; Cons: Eve Higgins 3, Clare Gorman
Türkiye: Try: Ayca Akcinar
HT: Ireland 26 Türkiye 0
Team: Katie Corrigan, Robyn O'Connor, Faith Oviawe, Amy Larn, Clare Gorman, Eve Higgins (capt), Chisom Ugwueru.
Replacements used: Alana McInerney, Megan Burns, Vicky Elmes Kinlan, Emily Lane, Kathy Baker.
Saturday, July 25 -
POOL A:
FRANCE 0 IRELAND 33, Stadion Park Mladeži, Split
France: -
Ireland: Tries: Eve Higgins 2, Emily Lane, Amy Larn, Megan Burns; Cons: Eve Higgins 3, Clare Gorman
HT: France 0 Ireland 14
Team: Vicky Elmes Kinlan, Kathy Baker, Alana McInerney, Emily Lane, Megan Burns (capt), Eve Higgins, Alanna Fitzpatrick.
Replacements used: Robyn O'Connor, Clare Gorman, Amy Larn, Faith Oviawe, Chisom Ugwueru.
CUP QUARTER-FINAL:
IRELAND 27 PORTUGAL 0, Stadion Park Mladeži, Split
Ireland: Tries: Emily Lane, Megan Burns, Alana Fitzpatrick, Katie Corrigan, Amy Larn; Con: Clare Gorman
Portugal: -
HT: Ireland 12 Portugal 0
Team: Faith Oviawe, Kathy Baker, Alana McInerney, Emily Lane, Clare Gorman, Megan Burns (capt), Alanna Fitzpatrick.
Replacements used: Katie Corrigan, Robyn O'Connor, Chisom Ugwueru, Vicky Elmes Kinlan, Amy Larn.
Sunday, July 26 -
CUP SEMI-FINAL:
IRELAND 22 GERMANY 0, Stadion Park Mladeži, Split
Ireland: Tries: Alana McInerney 2, Alanna Fitzpatrick, Kathy Baker; Cons: Eve Higgins
Germany: -
HT: Ireland 17 Germany 0
Team: Robyn O'Connor, Kathy Baker, Alana McInerney, Emily Lane, Eve Higgins, Megan Burns (capt), Alana Fitzpatrick.
Replacements used: Faith Oviawe, Amy Larn, Vicky Elmes Kinlan, Katie Corrigan, Chisom Ugwueru.
CUP FINAL:
IRELAND 26 POLAND 12, Stadion Park Mladeži, Split
Ireland: Tries: Alanna Fitzpatrick 2, Alana McInerney, Eve Higgins; Cons: Eve Higgins 3
Poland: Tries: Anna Klichowska, Oliwia Krysiak; Con: Natalia Pamieta
HT: Ireland 14 Poland 0
Team: Robyn O'Connor, Kathy Baker, Alana McInerney, Emily Lane, Eve Higgins, Megan Burns (capt), Alanna Fitzpatrick.
Replacements used: Faith Oviawe, Amy Larn, Clare Gorman, Vicky Elmes Kinlan, Katie Corrigan.
Click here for the Croatia 7s results & standings.
(Photos by Neil Kennedy and Travis Proctor via Rugby Europe)
