The stats probably go a long way to pinpointing the reasons behind Ireland’s two losses in the final stages of the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup. Going into the final rounds Ireland had a core of 13 players who had been involved in the three pool games with three key players, Lynne Cantwell, Tania Rosser and Gill Bourke each totalling over 200 minutes on the pitch over 9 days, including two particularly brutal games against the USA and, of course, New Zealand.
By the end of the tournament a core of 11 players had featured in all five matches with the front row of Fiona Coghlan, Bourke and Ailis Egan all averaging over 60 minutes each on the pitch over the five games. In the end Bourke played a phenomenal 377 minute in total or 75 minutes per match! Next up was Rosser who averaged 70 minutes per game, closely followed by Coghlan who averaged 69.
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