Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe crossed for two tries as Ireland ground out a 24-12 victory over Brazil in their Rugby World Cup Sevens opener.
The 27-year-old, who top-scored in this season's World Series with 36 tries in 34 matches, took less than four minutes to open her account in Cape Town, with captain Lucy Mulhall extending their lead less than a minute later.
A late Brazil surge saw them cut their deficit to 14-12 at half-time but Beibhinn Parsons scored a stunning solo try after the restart to put them back on track.
Ireland pinned Brazil into their own 22 for the majority of the second half and forced a five-metre scrum late on, which resulted in a second try for Murphy Crowe.
Ireland will face holders New Zealand in Saturday’s quarter-finals (kick-off 7.05pm Irish time), live on RTÉ Player.
The other last-eight games see Australia playing England, Canada meeting the United States and France tackling Fiji.
Ireland were run close by Brazil in their last meeting on the World Series and Eve Higgins had to be alert early on as the South Americans threatened a breakaway score from inside their own half.
But Ireland grew into the contest and opened the scoring when a brilliant dummy and offload from Megan Burns put Murphy Crowe over.
Mulhall then scored their second after Ireland won her inch-perfect restart, the skipper taking Emily Lane's pass to charge through a gaping hole in the Brazil defence.
Racing into the last eight in Cape Town! 🔥#Ireland7s | @TritonLake | #RWC7s pic.twitter.com/ZFup1odVeO
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) September 9, 2022
Brazil responded with fine tries from Bianca Silva and Mariana Nicolau, the latter taking a lovely delayed pass from Isadora Lopes De Souza to leave two points between the teams at the interval.
However, Parsons’ stunning score put Ireland back in control. The 20-year-old claimed the kick-off and charged down the left wing, withstanding the valiant efforts of Thalia Costa to touch down.
Ireland refused to give Brazil a route back into the match, some aggressing defending keeping them inside their own 22. Those efforts were rewarded late on when Murphy Crowe sniped down the blindside off a scrum to score.
