A late try from Eve Higgins gave Ireland their first gold medal in the Sevens World Series against hosts Australia in a close final in Perth.
Higgins’ goal in the 13th minute added to earlier scores from Amy-Lee Murphy-Crowe and Lucy Mulhall as Alan Temple Jones’ side defeated the current World Series leaders 19-14. I decided.
Ireland captain Mulhall, who was named man of the match in the final, took advantage of Australia’s Charlotte Caslick’s yellow card to score just before half-time, giving Ireland a 14-7 lead going into half-time. . Australia quickly erased the lead early in the second half thanks to Teagan Levi’s efforts, but Higgins stepped in late on after a break from Bavin Parsons to give Ireland a historic victory.
Mulhall scored two tries in a 31-7 win over Great Britain in the semi-final early Sunday morning.
This latest victory was Ireland’s revenge for their previous final defeat in the World Series competition, which came against Australia in Seville two years ago. Sunday’s success was Ireland’s second World Series cup final appearance and a welcome return to form in an Olympic year.
With this victory, Ireland moved into fourth place in the overall standings, ahead of the United States.
In the men’s bracket, Ireland defeated Fiji 24-7 in the third-place match, finishing with the bronze medal. Ireland failed to advance through Sunday morning’s cup semi-finals after losing to the World Series leaders and eventual champions in Perth, Argentina.
With Ireland offering little resistance, Argentina held their own, scoring three tries for the series-leading nation until Zach Ward finally crossed for James Topping’s side in the ninth minute.
However, in the third-place match, Ireland responded to Fiji’s opener from Terry Kennedy midway through the first half with his two goals either side of half-time.
Gavin Mullin, who came on as a substitute, scored consecutive tries in the final stages and won the result and the bronze medal. Ireland are currently tied for fourth in the table, level on points with South Africa, and two points behind Fiji and Australia in third and second place.
The Irish men’s and women’s teams will return to action on February 23, when the World Series is suspended in Vancouver.
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