IRELAND 27-21 SCOTLAND
Ireland recovered from a slow start to record a fine 27-21 victory over Scotland in their opening World Cup warm-up match at Virgin Media Park in Cork.
Scott Bemand's side found themselves 14-0 down in the 22nd minute and looked rusty on what was their first outing of the season.
Scotland were playing their second game in a week and struck early with tries from Lisa Thomson and Lucia Scott, athough Ireland will be disappointed at how easily their defence was breached.
However, with captain Sam Monaghan on her comeback after a year out with injury, and Eve Higgins leading the way, the hosts hit back.
Sadhbh McGrath and Méabh Deely scored tries in a five-minute spell before the break, while debutant Nancy McGillivray, Niamh O’Dowd and Deirbhile Nic a Bháird all crossed in the second half to get Ireland’s World Cup preparations off to a solid start.
They will face a step up in class against Canada in Belfast next Saturday but head coach Bemand, who handed out three debuts and welcomed back Monaghan, Eimear Corri-Fallon and Béibhinn Parsons from long-term injuries, will be pleased with the team’s resolve and how they grew into a game that threatened to get away from them.
Speaking during the week, Bemand and the players stressed that their two warm-up games were about ushering in the 'green wave' and putting themselves in the best position to get out of Pool C where they will face Japan, Spain and New Zealand.
The slow start was perhaps understandable with a new-look team containing two starting debutants, including flanker Ivana Kiripati, and the returning players taking time to find their feet, while star forwards Erin King, Dorothy Wall, both of whom will miss the World Cup, and Aoife Wafer absent.
They did have an early chance when Molly Scuffil-McCabe (above) raced clear but the support was too slow to arrive and Scotland won a penalty.
Poor handling and discipline allowed Scotland to work position from which centre Thomson and winger Scott finished well, with the centre converting both tries.
Higgins and Clíodhna Moloney-MacDonald combined to win a penalty when Hannah Ramsay tried to counter from her own half and the subsequent territory and possession yielded two tries.
Firstly, McGrath (above) powered over from close range, while Deely raced onto a delayed pass from Higgins to run in at the corner.
Dannah O’Brien missed the first but landed the more difficult kick to get Ireland within two points at the break, by which point the superb Monaghan had made way for Fiona Tuite in a pre-planned substitution.
Parsons and Tuite were both involved ahead of Ireland's third try with O’Brien supplying McGillivray (below) with a perfect pass for the centre to rush in as the hosts took the lead for the first time.
Winger Coreen Grant was sin-binned for a deliberate knock on and, with Brittany Hogan carrying strongly, Ireland looked to extend the lead but the referee reversed a penalty under the Scottish posts when Moloney-MacDonald was pinged for a dangerous clearout.
With four of the last five encounters between the sides going down to the wire, Ireland knew Scotland would not lie down.
But the home side became sloppy in possession again and Scotland made them pay when Emma Orr cut through from 40 yards to score under the posts.
However, once again, Ireland found an extra gear to retake the lead. A multi-phase move, with Tuite and Amee-Leigh Costigan prominent, ended with O’Dowd scoring a 'quarter-back sneak' try.
Connacht’s Ailish Quinn came on for her debut with 10 minutes to play and was part of the pack that paved the way for Ireland’s fifth.
Replacement Nic a Bháird (above) sheared off a lineout maul and dived in for the try.
However, Enya Breen missed her second conversion attempt and gave Scotland, who won the Six Nations fixture with a last-gasp try, a final chance.
But Bryan Easson’s side lost the ball forward in midfield and Ireland wound the clock down to secure a morale-boosting victory.
SCORERS
Ireland: Tries - McGrath, Deely, McGillivray, O'Dowd, Nic a Bháird
Cons: O'Brien
Scotland: Tries - Thomson, Scott, Orr
Cons: Thomson (3)
Ireland: Méabh Deely; Béibhinn Parsons, Nancy McGillivray, Eve Higgins, Amee-Leigh Costigan; Dannah O'Brien, Molly Scuffil-McCabe; Siobhán McCarthy, Clíodhna Moloney-MacDonald, Sadhbh McGrath; Eimear Corri-Fallon, Sam Monaghan (capt); Grace Moore, Ivana Kiripati, Brittany Hogan.
Replacements: Neve Jones (Moloney-MacDonald 69), Niamh O’Dowd (McGrath 50), Linda Djougang (McCarthy 50), Fiona Tuite (Monaghan 36), Deirbhile Nic a Bháird (Moore HIA 3, Hogan 60), Ailish Quinn (Kiripati 69), Emily Lane (Scuffil-McCabe 60), Enya Breen (O'Brien 60).
Scotland: Chloe Rollie; Coreen Grant, Emma Orr, Lisa Thomson, Lucia Scott; Hannah Ramsay, Caity Mattinson; Anne Young, Lana Skeldon, Elliann Clarke; Emma Wassell, Rachel Malcolm (capt); Rachel McLachlan, Alex Stewart, Evie Gallagher.
Replacements: Elis Martin (Skeldon 32), Leah Bartlett (Young 40), Molly Poolman (Clark 54), Adelle Ferrie (Wassell 63), Eva Donaldson (Malcolm 63), Leia Brebner-Holden (Mattison 51), Beth Blacklock (Ramsay 56), Evie Wills (Brebner-Holden 70).
Referee: Clara Munarini (Ita)
