Ireland made the perfect start to their Women’s Rugby World Cup campaign, with a 42-14 win against Japan getting the ball rolling.
Scott Bemand’s side scored six tries in total, dominating from the first whistle, and aside from a slow start to the second half, never looked in danger of falling to a surprise defeat.
Here’s how we rated the Irish players:
Stacey Flood – 7
Efficient and experienced in the backfield, and made a brilliant covering tackle in the build-up to Japan’s first try, which was ultimately in vain. Contributed to a strong kicking game, but had a frustrating knock-on under little pressure during Ireland’s sloppy period early in the second half.
Beibhinn Parsons – 7
Positioning still needs some work in the backfield as evidenced by one Japanese kick which she lost over her head in the first half. Parsons (below) took her try well, while she claimed one brilliant restart just after Japan’s second half try, which put Ireland back on the front foot.
Aoife Dalton – 7
So important to Ireland’s defensive plans, and while she only made five tackles, her ability to get off the line and force players into split-second decisions provided the platform for others to make dominant hits. One huge carry laid the platform for Enya Breen’s try.
Eve Higgins – 9
Looked a class above at times. Created Beibhinn Parsons’ try when she sucked in Japanese defenders before releasing Amee-Leigh Costigan into space, and then showed majestic footwork to sidestep two defenders and offload to Fiona Tuite for the bonus-point try. Her own intercept try capped off an incredible display, galloping 95 metres to kill the game.
Amee-Leigh Costigan – 8
Started things off with the opening try (below), which still needed plenty of work as she handed off Komachi Imakugi to race down the wing. Latched onto Higgins’ pass to break into space and set up Parsons for Ireland’s third try.
Dannah O’Brien – 7.5
A brilliant World Cup debut from the 21-year-old. Kicked brilliantly out of hand in the opening half, including one from close to her own tryline which went out on halfway. Managed the game with maturity for the opening hour, although a couple of errors late on drop the rating down by half a point. Flawless off the tee, with some of those coming at tricky angles.
Aoibheann Reilly – 7
Stayed on beyond 70 minutes and made the most of Ireland’s dominance up front by quickly recycling play and keeping the pace of Ireland’s game high. Frustrated not to score the opening try a couple of minutes in, but put in a big defensive shift with 11 tackles.
Niamh O’Dowd – 7.5
Always one of Ireland’s most active on defence, contributing 11 tackles in her 60 minutes and forcing a turnover, while she made some hard and direct carries in the opening half of the game. Part of a scrum that didn’t budge.
Neve Jones – 6.5
Only Brittany Hogan made more tackles than Jones (above), and she was crucial to a couple of Ireland’s defensive stands in their 22 during the first half and third quarter when the game was in the balance. Scored Ireland’s second try off a maul, but two crooked lineouts, and two other lost lineouts will frustrate her, even if she did iron out those creases before departing on 60 minutes.
Linda Djougang – 7
Had one destructive scrum which forced a penalty in the first half, and won a penalty at the breakdown. Second half yellow card for preventing a quick penalty drops her down one point.
Ruth Campbell – 7
Got on the ball a couple of times early on, but for the most part, her job was to do the dirty work. Very effective protecting Irish ball at the breakdown, and contributed an impressive nine tackles in her 60-minute shift.
Sam Monaghan – 8
Playing the full 80 minutes was huge, while the co-captain packed plenty of good work into it. Logged a combined 26 tackles and carries, more than anyone else in green. Combined with Edel McMahon to win a penalty close to the Irish line late on. Could have scored even higher if not for a couple of penalties, one of which led to the disallowed penalty try.
Fiona Tuite – 8
Tuite (above) become a hugely important player in the last 12 months, and should be even more valuable after showing she can cover in the back row. Was Ireland’s main lineout target, logged nine carries and eight tackles, and scored her first Irish try to secure the BP, showing plenty of rugby nous to stay on Higgins’ shoulder and be ready for the offload.
Edel McMahon – 7
Like Monaghan, it was great to see McMahon log pretty much an entire game after her injury break. Didn’t get onto the ball a lot, but was relentless on defence, chipping in with 13 tackles.
Brittany Hogan – 9
The official player of the match, Hogan put in an all-action back row display, with 10 carries for 34 metres, and a team-high 15 tackles. Set the tone early on with a powerful carry, which Ireland eventually scored off.
Replacements:
Clíodhna Moloney-MacDonald – 8
Only played for 20 minutes, but moved like a train. Eight carries was serious going in such a short period of time, and bounced a couple of Japanese defenders in the process.
Elenna Perry – 7
Only her second cap after featuring in the warm-up campaign, but the former England international (above) made a real impact off the bench, getting involved on both sides of the ball, with four carries and four tackles.
Eimear Corri-Fallon – 7
Made a good contribution in defence during the final quarter, when Japan were pushing hard for a consolation score.
Enya Breen – 6.5
Took her try well with a hard running line, but with the game pretty much over when she came in, the contest had become fractured, and she will be frustrated with some elements of handling, and overplaying the ball in Ireland’s in-goal area.
Anna McGann – 6
Came on for Costigan after an hour, but with the nature of the game at that stage, she saw very little action through no fault of her own.
Other replacements not on long enough to be fairly rated.
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