In the third round of the WXV 1 tournament, the women’s rugby team of Ireland prevailed over USA with a score of 26-14, thanks to three impressive tries in the last 20-minute stretch of the game. This victory held at BC Place, Vancouver, allowed them to conclude their WXV 1 journey on a winning note.
After the previous week’s loss to the home team, Canada, Ireland bounced back swiftly, dominating the early minutes of the game. Early on, Stacey Flood, their full-back, was impeded from crossing the try line by USA’s stringent defence.
USA managed to weather the initial offensive wave from Ireland, with Erin King’s spectacular tackle foiling Lotte Sharp’s attempt at securing a try from Tahlia Brody’s pass. Building on this momentum, USA’s Hope Rogers, a loosehead prop, scored the first converted try of the game in the 18th minute, putting Ireland slightly on the backfoot.
Erin King, having previously shone in the tournament, brought Ireland back into the game with a try at the 28th minute mark, through a swift ‘tap and go’. Despite the immense defensive pressure from USA, King was able to cross the try line.
The bonus point kick by Nicole Fowley following this try seemed to equalise the game till half-time. However, Rogers managed her second try in the stoppage time of the first half. The conversion by McKenzie Hawkins left Ireland trailing by seven points (14-7) at the break.
Fowley’s effective kicking kept the Irish hopes alive, though she was substituted in favour of Dannah O’Brien, the Carlow native, whose contribution as the outhalf was significant in keeping Ireland in the chase towards the final quarter.
The crucial game-changing moment arrived at the 63rd minute. A misguided attempt by America’s Brody to intercept a pass resulted in a penalty try for Ireland and the USA back-row was sin-binned. The dismissals of Brody and Rachel Ehrecke, who was yellow carded at 72 minutes, gave Ireland a two-player advantage, shifting the game dynamics irreversibly in favour of the Irish women.
Straightaway, Ireland took control of the game as Cliodhna Moloney made a successful try from a lineout maul manoeuvre. In the 76th minute, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe from Tipperary also scored to guarantee that the Green Army concluded WXV 1 with two victories out of three games.
Point scorers for Ireland include E King, C Moloney, A-L Murphy Crowe contributing one try each, plus a penalty try and conversion. N Fowley and D O’Brien also contributed with one conversion each. The USA’s scorers were H Rogers with 2 tries and M Hawkins with 2 conversions.
In the Irish team were S Flood, E Considine, A Dalton, E Breen, A-L Murphy Crowe, N Fowley, E Lane, N O’Dowd, N Jones, L Djougang, D Wall, F Tuite, E King, A Wafer, and B Hogan. During the game, replacements were made D O’Brien for Fowley at half-time; C Moloney for Jones, M Scuffil-McCabe for Lane, both at 60, S McCarthy for O’Dowd, E Higgins for Flood, both at 65 mins; R Campbell for Tuite, A Stock for Djougang, both at 75 mins; D Nic a Bháird for King at 78 mins.
The USA team included B Mataitoga, C Emba, A Kelter, G Cantorna, L Sharp, M Hawkins, C Bargell, H Rogers, K Treder, C Jacoby, E Jarrell, H Taufoou, T Brody, K Zackary, and R Johnson. Substitutes during the match were K Mae Sagapolu for Jacoby at half-time; P Stathopoulos for Treder at 53 mins; T Feury for Emba at 56 mins; E Henrich for Cantorna at 63 mins, R Ehrecke for Jarrell at 65 mins; T Tukuafu for Bargell at 67 mins; M Learned for Rogers at 70 mins.
The referee for the game was M Cogger-Orr from New Zealand.