Although disappointed following several defeats on the final day, the Ireland women’s sevens team still managed a best-ever finish at the Emirates Dubai 7s.
The Irish squad finished 6th overall in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
The squad got off to a great start and topped Pool C with three wins from three beating Spain (21-7), Japan (31-24) and Fiji (24-17). Eve Higgins was a stand-out scoring four tries across the wins with captain Lucy Mulhall, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe and Béibhinn Parsons also influential in a very impressive start to the tournament.
Mulhall's got some serious skills! 🦵#Dubai7s | #HSBC7s | @IrishRugby pic.twitter.com/8667nIp0P5
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) December 2, 2022
Through to the quarter-finals, Ireland faced the USA who were runners-up in Pool A, in the last eight on Saturday morning (5.22am Irish time) which marked the team’s fifth successive quarter-final appearance in the World Series.
The quarter-final was a competitive, defensive game and the Irish squad struggled to maintain possession in the first half. A loose Irish line-out lead to Naya Tapper scoring the only try in their gut-wrenching quarter-final exit that ended 5-0 with the USA’s physicality and organised defence ultimately keeping Ireland scoreless.
The squad bounced back from their quarter-final defeat beating Great Britain 21-12 in the 5th place semi-final, with tries from captain Mulhall, Eve Higgins and Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe.
Next was the 5th place final which saw Fiji exacting revenge for Saturday’s pool defeat and taking advantage of the sin-binning of Parsons, with a final score of 28-12.
A tough end to the weekend for Ireland Women, who finish sixth in Dubai.#Ireland7s | @TritonLake
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) December 3, 2022
Still, it was a best-ever result for the girls in green at this years Emirates Dubai 7s. Higgins and Murphy Crowe were both excellent across the weekend, scoring five tries each with Parsons, who turned 21 on Wednesday, kicking off the new season with a four-try haul.
Previously the Ireland Women’s best result in Dubai was last year when they came 7th. They move on to Cape Town next week for the first World Series leg in South Africa since December 2019.