Ireland beat Great Britain in HPC 7s
After withdrawing from the European Championship, Ireland hosted Great Britain as their visitors continued their Olympic preparations.
Published by John Birch, June 6th, 2021
2 minute read
A month after Great Britain hadhosted Ireland and FranceIreland returned the favour with the HPC Sevens at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Dublin. However, on this occasions only Great Britain could provide opposition.
On the first day Ireland coachAiden McNultysplit his squad across two teams, each playing Great Britain twice, as well as having one inter-squad game.
Ireland (1) produced a standout performance to defeat GB Women 24-7 in the tournament’s opening game, withEmily Lane,Megan Burns,Eve HigginsandAmee Leigh Murphy-Croweall crossing for tries.
Great Britain beat Ireland (2) comfortably 52-5 in the second game before Ireland (1) won their inter-squad game 43-5.
In the second round of games Great Britain gained their revenge with a narrow 26-24 win against Ireland (1), and ended the day with a 24-0 win against Ireland (2).
Speaking afterwards, McNulty said: “It was really positive day. We’ve spoken about going from good to great and we produced some really strong performances, mainly in defence. There is stuff we can get better at for sure, but we’re really excited about Day 2 and the opportunities that it’ll bring.”
On the second day Ireland combined their squad for a three game series with Great Britain.
Ireland began with an impressive win in the first match with Amee Leigh Murphy-Crowe to the fore in the home side’s 31-21 victory. GB bounced back in the second game of the day with a 47-5 victory before Ireland, led by Lucy Mulhall, ensured they finished the tournament with a flourish as they secured a 24-12 victory.