Tyrrell Tops Off Superb Seven-Try Success For Ireland Women

The Ireland Women made a whirlwind start to the Six Nations with a 45-0 bonus point victory over Wales at Cardiff Arms Park.

Superbly marshalled by captain Ciara Griffin, Adam Griggs’ charges bagged the bonus point inside 18 minutes, had five line-breaks, five lineout steals and broke 43 tackles in all.

Beibhinn Parsons and Eimear Considine weighed in with two tries each, and Sene Naoupu also crossed as Ireland – in their first game in six months – built a 31-0 half-time lead.

Influential out-half Hannah Tyrrell, the player-of-the-match, finished with a try and five crisply-struck conversions. A scrappy second half also saw Dorothy Wall dot down for the first time at this level.

It was a record victory for Ireland in a Championship fixture against Wales, and their Pool B opener also saw Sevens regulars Eve Higgins, Stacey Flood and Emily Lane make their 15s international debuts.

It took Ireland just 127 seconds to get on the scoreboard, as Tyrrell broke two tackles through the middle and, with the defence opened up, full-back Considine was able to nip over near the left corner.

Tyrrell was short with the difficult conversion but split the posts in the 11th minute, topping off a terrific 65-metre solo try from Parsons. The 19-year-old winger shrugged off two defenders and sliced inside a third to go in underneath the posts.

Despite a Siwan Lillicrap turnover, Griffin soon threatened from a charged-down kick, and with clever use of possession, Tyrrell’s deft left-footed cross-field kick found Parsons to complete her brace in the corner.

Considine claimed the bonus point by the end of the opening quarter, coasting past two poor tackles and used a dummy and a neat burst of pace to weave her way to the try-line from halfway. Tyrrell converted for a 24-0 lead.

Wales continued to struggle, particularly at set piece time, and off a strong Irish scrum, Kathryn Dane drew in a couple of defenders and released Naoupu for a powerful finish to the right of the posts. Tyrrell made it the full seven points.

As Ireland continued to pressurise Wales’ scrum and lineout – Nichola Fryday rose to steal in the latter – they created one more try-scoring opportunity before the break, but Lindsay Peat’s effort was ruled out for a knock-on.

Wales improved on the resumption, evening up the breakdown battle, and Ireland’s error count increased as they continued to spend time in the right areas but without the control of the opening 40 minutes.

Lane provided some impact from the bench, joining Flood in a new-look half-back partnership with Dubliner Tyrrell showing her versatility in moving to full-back.

Parsons went close again, breaking three tackles before Cliodhna Moloney went off her feet. A Hannah O’Connor turnover penalty created another opening, only for Enya Breen to drop a pass 15 metres out.

Aoife McDermott, who had a fine return in the second row, was then stopped just short, as Ireland showed better penetration in attack with Parsons and replacement O’Connor both gaining good ground.

The second half deadlock was finally broken in the 72nd minute, good hands from Lane and McDermott setting up the ever-willing Wall to smash her way over in the left corner despite shipping a high tackle.

Tyrrell landed a pinpoint conversion from out wide, and it was the 30-year-old who fittingly had the final say, taking advantage of a missed tackle on a 40-metre run-in and converting to complete her 15-point haul.

Griffin and her team-mates are back at Energia Park next Saturday (kick-off 2.15pm) for a mouth-watering Pool B decider against France, who were 53-0 bonus point winners over Wales last week.

TIME LINE: 3 minutes – Ireland try: Eimear Considine – 0-5; conversion: missed by Hannah Tyrrell – 0-5; 11 mins – Ireland try: Beibhinn Parsons – 0-10; conversion: Hannah Tyrrell – 0-12; 14 mins – Ireland try: Beibhinn Parsons – 0-17; conversion: missed by Hannah Tyrrell – 0-17; 18 mins – Ireland try: Eimear Considine – 0-22; conversion: Hannah Tyrrell – 0-24; 28 mins – Ireland try: Sene Naoupu – 0-29; conversion: Hannah Tyrrell – 0-31; Half-time – Wales 0 Ireland 31; 72 mins – Ireland try: Dorothy Wall – 0-36; conversion: Hannah Tyrrell – 0-38; 80 mins – Ireland try: Hannah Tyrrell – 0-43; conversion: Hannah Tyrrell – 0-45; Full-time – Wales 0 Ireland 45

WALES WOMEN: Robyn Wilkins (Gloucester-Hartpury); Lisa Neumann (Sale Sharks), Hannah Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury), Kerin Lake (Gloucester-Hartpury), Courtney Keight (Bristol Bears); Elinor Snowsill (Bristol Bears), Jess Roberts (Sale Sharks); Cara Hope (Gloucester-Hartpury), Kelsey Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury), Cerys Hale (Gloucester-Hartpury), Natalia John (Bristol Bears), Gwen Crabb (Gloucester-Hartpury), Georgia Evans (Saracens), Manon Johnes (Bristol Bears), Siwan Lillicrap (Bristol Bears) (capt).

Replacements used: Megan Davies (Exeter Chiefs) for Roberts (29 mins), Caitlin Lewis (Cardiff Met) for Keight (34), Molly Kelly (Sale Sharks) for K Jones (39), Caryl Thomas (Worcester Warriors) for Hope, Donna Rose (Saracens) for Hale, Niamh Terry (Exeter Chiefs) for Lake (all half-time), Teleri Wyn Davies (Sale Sharks) for John (56), Bethan Dainton (Harlequins) for Johnes (57).

IRELAND WOMEN: Eimear Considine (UL Bohemians/Munster); Lauren Delany (Sale Sharks/IQ Rugby), Eve Higgins (Railway Union/Leinster), Sene Naoupu (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Beibhinn Parsons (Ballinasloe/Blackrock/Connacht); Hannah Tyrrell (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Kathryn Dane (Old Belvedere/Ulster); Lindsay Peat (Railway Union/Leinster), Cliodhna Moloney (Wasps/IQ Rugby, Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Aoife McDermott (Railway Union/Leinster), Nichola Fryday (Blackrock/Connacht), Dorothy Wall (Blackrock/Munster), Claire Molloy (Wasps/IQ Rugby), Ciara Griffin (UL Bohemians/Munster) (capt).

Replacements used: Stacey Flood (Railway Union/Leinster) for Delany (54 mins), Katie O’Dwyer (Railway Union/Leinster) for Peat, Brittany Hogan (DCU/Old Belvedere/Ulster) for Fryday (both 56), Enya Breen (UL Bohemians/Munster) for Considine, Emily Lane (Blackrock/Munster) for Dane, Hannah O’Connor (Blackrock/Leinster) for Griffin (all 63), Neve Jones (Malone/Ulster) for Moloney, Laura Feely (Blackrock/Connacht) for Djougang (both 70).

Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)