Ireland women clinch first Sevens win in Perth

Allan Temple-Jones' side become the first team from the Ireland Sevens Programme to win a World Series title.

Sun, 28 Jan, 2024 - 10:58

Examiner Sport

Ireland's Women's Sevens claimed gold at the HSBC SVNS Series in Perth on Sunday morning, defeating Australia 19-14 in the final.

The victory is a first tournament victory for Ireland.

Eve Higgins pounced for a decisive 13th-minute try in an epic 19-14 Cup final victory over the hosts, the current table toppers.

Having lost to the Australians in their only previous Cup final appearance in Seville two years ago, Allan Temple-Jones' charges gained revenge with stalwarts Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe and Lucy Mulhall both touching down during the first half.

Captain Mulhall had starred with two tries during an impressive 31-7 semi-final defeat of Great Britain in sweltering conditions. She then capitalised on Charlotte Caslick's sin-binning in the final to squeeze in under the posts just before half-time.

Ireland's 14-7 interval lead was erased when Teagan Levi evaded a diving tackle from Higgins for a breakaway ninth-minute effort, yet Mulhall, the HSBC player of the final, and her team-mates brilliantly held their nerve in a tense end-game.

They got back on the front foot, with Béibhinn Parsons accelerating through into the opposition 22, before replacement Aoibheann Reilly fed Higgins on the left wing and she stepped inside Isabella Nasser, shrugging off her attempted tackle to score.

Mulhall pushed her conversion narrowly wide, but it was not needed in the end as Australia knocked on from the restart. Reilly got the ball out of the scrum swiftly, allowing her skipper to kick the ball dead and crown a superb team performance

Elsewhere, the men's side also enjoyed a good morning as they took bronze following a 24-7 triumph over Fiji.