IRELAND were cruelly beaten in the quarter final of the Women’s Rugby World Cup as France edged a thrilling match by 18-13.
The Green Wave support was also out in force as Ireland fans made themselves heard throughout the game in Exeter.
They were treated to a performance to be proud of that just fell short against an experienced French side that weathered the storm and did enough to seal a semi final place against England.
Ireland and dominated territory and possession in the first half and adapted to the swirling weather conditions better than France.
Ireland captain Sam Monaghan had an early try ruled out by the TMO but Ireland were not to be held out and on five minutes, Linda Djougang powered over the line for the opening score of the game.
The return of Aoife Wafer was marked by a host of powerful carries throughout the first half while Niamh O’Dowd and Neve Jones forced turnovers with some dominant choke tackles.
Rose Bernadou was yellow carded for a high tackle on Eve Higgins on 17 minutes and French discipline was poor throughout the first half as they conceded a number of scrum penalties to a dominant Irish eight.
Manae Feleu followed on 40′ for collapsing a maul
Stacey Flood added Ireland’s second try on 23 minutes with Danah O’Brien adding a penalty on 37 minutes to give Ireland a 13-0 lead at half time as the French defence held strong with the clock in the red.
In the end that resistance was to prove crucial as Ireland failed to register a score in the second half.
Morgane Bourgeois notched up the first French points with a penalty on 47 minutes, Grace Moore replaced Brittany Hogan on 57 minutes but almost immediately saw yellow for a an upright tackle.
Charlotte Escudero scored from the resulting tap penalty with Bourgeois the conversion to make it a three point game at 10-13.
France pilfered an Ireland ruck in their own 22 and put the ball wide to send Joanna Grisez away to give them a 15-13 lead on 67 minutes.
Ireland continued to attack but could not assert the same level of dominance in the second half and a second penalty from Bourgeois on 76 minutes made it 18-13.
The Green Wave crashed again and again on the French at the end of the game and a late penalty gave Ireland a lineout on the French line but they lost the ball and the whistle brought down the curtain on an incredible effort.
It was a cruel finish to a game that saw them give their all.
