NEW ZEALAND 27 IRELAND 29, BC Place, Vancouver
IRELAND WOMEN with Ulster’s Fiona Tuite and Brittany Hogan in the starting line-up, produced a performance out of the top drawer to beat reigning World Champions New Zealand by two points in the opening round of the WX1 tournament in Vancouver in the small hours of Monday morning. A late Erin King try and a nerveless Dannah O’Brien conversion in the dying minutes of the match sealed the victory on a famous night for Irish Rugby.
This was the teams’ first meeting since New Zealand won 38-8 at the UCD Bowl in November 2016, and Clíodhna Moloney was the only member of Ireland’s matchday squad that had previously faced the Haka.
Amy du Plessis made an early break, and Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe and Ruby Tui, old rivals on the Sevens circuit, quickly reintroduced themselves. A free-flowing first attack ended with Renee Holmes knocking on inside the Irish 22.
Despite a good clearance from O’Brien, New Zealand continue to press, winning a penalty after Tui was first to a kick from Holmes. Their lineout misfired, though, and O’Brien’s big left boot brought play up to halfway.
Ireland’s penalty count rose further as the Black Ferns remained on the front foot, and this time a well-executed lineout drive landed hooker Lolohea over for the opening points. Holmes converted.
Dorothy Wall followed up on Aoife Dalton’s excellent tackle on Sylvia Brunt to force a penalty at the breakdown. A bloodied nose and HIA for Dalton meant an entry entrance for Eve Higgins, and Chelsea Bremner managed to pinch the resulting lineout.
Ireland made sure their next possession counted, as a du Plessis error handed them a five-metre scrum. Player of the Match Aoife Wafer tapped a penalty and was unstoppable from there, beating du Plessis’ tackle and muscling over despite the presence of three defenders on the line.
Still leading 7-5, New Zealand were on course for a quick-fire response until Molly Scuffil-McCabe produced a brilliant try-saving tackle on Layla Sae. Stacey Flood won the breakdown battle to win a relieving penalty.
Holmes’ right boot kept the scoreboard moving with a 19th-minute penalty, following another Bremner lineout steal. Ireland began the second quarter in impressive fashion, a McMahon offload putting Enya Breen within five metres of the whitewash.
New Zealand’s defence held firm, but two solid mauls, coupled with an Eimear Considine penalty win, put Bemand’s charges back into scoring range. Scuffil-McCabe’s movement at a scrum caught the defence out, allowing Wafer to break to the blindside and crash over for her second of the night.
O’Brien tucked away the conversion from the right, before Brittany Hogan broke onto a Breen charge-down, putting the wheels in motion for a robust bout of carrying which ended with Ireland leading 17-10.
McMahon had carried up close, and then Jones’s pick, amid a pile of bodies, saw her touch down. The TMO review went in the Ballymena native’s favour, with Kennedy Tukuafu going off her feet as she went for the poach.
New Zealand closed out the first half on level terms, though, as Vahaakolo showed her pace to score from Ireland’s 10-metre line, invited through a gap by Maia Joseph’s pass back inside. Holmes slotted over the extras from the left.
Sylia Brunt had a try ruled out early on the resumption, the ball just falling out of her grasp, but the Black Ferns were looking the more threatening. A forward pass foiled a promising outside break.
Du Plessis found a way through the midfield traffic on the 50-minute mark, by which stage both benches were being utilised. Paul missed out on a try due to a prior knock-on at a maul, and the TMO review ended with O’Dowd being carded for collapsing it.
Obstruction from Maiakawanakaulani Roos also saw a subsequent maul try from Luka Connor cancelled out. Holmes took the points on offer in the 57th minute, firing over a central kick to edge her side in front at 20-17.
Having combined with Breen to drive Paul into touch, Murphy Crowe increased her influence with a defence-splitting burst when running back a Holmes kick. Just as Iritana Hohaia led a New Zealand surge, Hogan blocked a Demant kick and Wafer swooped on turnover ball.
Siobhán McCarthy then paired up with Murphy Crowe to earn a timely turnover penalty, just before making way for the returning O’Dowd. O’Brien kicked to the corner twice in quick succession, and a smart maul move duly paid dividends.
Erin King’s dummy carry to the right coincided with Wafer breaking to the short side, and the recent new cap followed up on a Moloney charge to burrow over from just a metre out. O’Brien’s conversion attempt from out wide bounced back off the woodwork.
Ireland lead by two points but the Black Ferns edged ahead when Mererangi Paul rounded off a sweeping move, Holmes adding her third conversion for a five-point lead with only 7 minutes left on the clock.
Step forward King for her second of the night as she forced her way over following phase after phase of pressure from Ireland. O’Brien was coolness personified as she kicked the winning conversion.
Scorers: New Zealand: Tries: Atlanta Lolohea, Katelyn Vahaakolo, Mererangi Paul; Cons: Renee Holmes 3; Pens: Renee Holmes 2
Ireland: Tries: Aoife Wafer 2, Neve Jones, Erin King 2; Cons: Dannah O’Brien 2
HT: New Zealand 17 Ireland 17
NEW ZEALAND: Renee Holmes (Chiefs Manawa/Waikato); Ruby Tui (Chiefs Manawa/Counties Manukau), Logo-i-Pulotu Lemapu-Atai’i (Sylvia) Brunt (Blues/Auckland), Amy du Plessis (Matatū/Canterbury), Katelyn Vahaakolo (Blues/Auckland); Ruahei Demant (Blues/Auckland) (co-capt), Maia Joseph (Matatū/Otago); Marcelle Parkes (Matatū/Canterbury), Atlanta Lolohea (Matatū/Canterbury), Amy Rule (Matatū/Canterbury), Chelsea Bremner (Chiefs Manawa/Canterbury), Maiakawanakaulani Roos (Blues/Auckland), Layla Sae (Hurricanes Poua/Manawatū), Kennedy Tukuafu (nee Simon) (Chiefs Manawa/Waikato) (co-capt), Liana Mikaele-Tu’u (Blues/Auckland).
Replacements used:Luka Connor (Chiefs Manawa/Bay of Plenty) for Lolohea, Chryss Viliko (Blues/Auckland) for Parkes, Tanya Kalounivale (Chiefs Manawa/Waikato) for Rule (all 45 mins), Alana Bremner (Matatū/Canterbury) for C Bremner, Lucy Jenkins (Matatū/Canterbury) for Tukuafu, Mererangi Paul (Chiefs Manawa/Counties Manukau) for Tui (all 52), Iritana Hohaia (Hurricanes Poua/Taranaki) for Joseph (57)
Luka Connor (Chiefs Manawa/Bay of Plenty), Chryss Viliko (Blues/Auckland), Tanya Kalounivale (Chiefs Manawa/Waikato), Alana Bremner (Matatū/Canterbury), Lucy Jenkins (Matatū/Canterbury), Iritana Hohaia (Hurricanes Poua/Taranaki), Hannah King (Hurricanes Poua), Mererangi Paul (Chiefs Manawa/Counties Manukau).
IRELAND: Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC); Eimear Considine (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster), Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Enya Breen (Blackrock College RFC/Munster), Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe (Railway Union RFC/Munster); Dannah O’Brien (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Molly Scuffil-McCabe (Leinster); Niamh O’Dowd (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury), Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Dorothy Wall (Exeter Chiefs/Munster), Fiona Tuite (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster), Aoife Wafer (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster), Edel McMahon (Exeter Chiefs/Connacht) (capt), Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster).
Replacements used:Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC) for Dalton (11-24 mins), Clíodhna Moloney (Exeter Chiefs) for Jones, Erin King (Old Belvedere RFC) for McMahon, Higgins for Dalton, Emily Lane (Blackrock College RFC) for Scuffil-McCabe (all 49), Siobhán McCarthy (Gloucester-Hartpury/Munster) for Tuite (55-64), Grace Moore (Trailfinders Women/IQ Rugby) for Tuite (69)
Clíodhna Moloney (Exeter Chiefs), Siobhán McCarthy (Gloucester-Hartpury/Munster), Andrea Stock (Trailfinders Women/IQ Rugby), Grace Moore (Trailfinders Women/IQ Rugby), Erin King (Old Belvedere RFC), Emily Lane (Blackrock College RFC), Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC), Vicky Elmes Kinlan (Wicklow RFC).
Referee: Sara Cox (England)
