Ireland Women 7s Team made their first appearance at the Olympics when they competed at Paris 2024.

They played in a total of six matches winning one and losing five for a win percentage of 17%. Their only win came against South Africa in the pool stages where they racked up enough scores to see them through to the last 8 on points difference.

Scorers

The team scored 90 points and conceded 127. Their points came from 14 tries and 10 conversions giving a successful conversion percentage of 71%. The individual scorers are shown below.

Eve Higgins was the leading scorer racking up 28 points through 4 tries and four conversions. Her Railway Union teammate Stacey Flood was next highest with 18 points from two tries and four conversions, Flood finishing the tournament with a 100% conversion success rate.

In a quieter than normal tournament Ireland’s leading try scorer Amee Leigh Murphy Crowe, also from Railway Union, chipped in with three tries, the loss of Ireland’s chief playmaker and captain Lucy Mulhall Rock after two games leaving Murphy Crowe an underused utility in the later stages.

A special mention for, travelling reserve, Enniskillen’s Claire Boles who picked up a try in her brief cameo in Ireland’s final game.

Summary

It was a strange tournament, I usually find the women’s games more exciting than the men’s as it tends to be more open. This one, to me at least, appeared to go off the boil fairly quicky after day one and the more physical teams dominated.

Ireland struggled to breakdown defences, particularly after Mulhall Rock’s departure, but, going on their performances in the World Sevens Series they ended up pretty much where expected. The main disappointments their defeats to the lower ranked Team GB.

They did make an impression with their viral clip of Erin King lifting Emily Lane but, in the real world were budgets have to be justified, the subsequent retirement of Mulhall Rock leaves a huge void to be filled in the Women’s 7s programme.

The main candidate for playmaker for the coming season may be our Ireland Women Player of the Tournament Eve Higgins.

Photo credit: Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby

Ireland Women 7s Squad

Kathy Baker (Blackrock College RFC), Megan Burns (Blackrock College RFC), Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe (Railway Union RFC), Alanna Fitzpatrick (Portarlington RFC), Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC), Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC), Erin King (Old Belvedere RFC), Vicky Elmes Kinlan (Wicklow RFC), Emily Lane (Blackrock College RFC), Ashleigh Orchard (Cooke RFC), Béibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College RFC), Lucy Mulhall Rock (Wicklow RFC) (C)

Travelling Reserves: Claire Boles (Railway Union RFC), Amy Larn (Athy RFC)