FROM THE HIGH of beating England first up, Ireland Women were brought low by reigning champions New Zealand in the Sevens World Cup quarter-final.
By the end, Ireland found themselves starved of possession, on the wrong end of a 45-0 defeat as they made just 11 passes to New Zealand’s 61.
The writing was on the wall early for Ireland as the Black Ferns showcased their skill before unleashing their speedsters.
Fizzing passes around in their own territory, the Black jerseys probed left, before returning right where Portia Woodman needed only a glimpse of a gap to deem it an invite, flick on the after-burners and scorch home from over 80 metres.
The deficit was soon doubled as Michaela Blyde sliced through the green line on a gorgeous angle to get under the posts on a clinical set-play.
It was 26-0 by half-time as Niall Williams took on Kelly Brazier’s offload to dive over and then Woodman showed her power lies in contact as well as space as she bounced off Katie Fitzhenry’s tackle before storming away.
The second half was all about Blyde, and whether there was a way of preventing the Kiwis from cutting loose.
Blyde opened the second half scoring and almost instantly completed her hat-trick, raiding space as Ireland flagged and Stacey Flood was the poor soul subjected to her raid as she made full use of the space in the middle of AT&T Park.
With little chance for Ireland to register a riposte at the other end, Stacey Waaka raced away for the game’s final try to send New Zealand towards a semi-final clash against hosts USA.
Ireland will face Russia at 18.58 Irish time (eir Sport) on Saturday evening.
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