Ireland 51
Trinidad & Tobago 0
Daire Walsh reports from UCD
ALISON MILLER HELPED herself to four tries at UCD, as Ireland’s Women 7s side kick-started their World Rugby Global Repechage Tournament with a comprehensive Pool C victory over Trinidad & Tobago.
In order to qualify for this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio, Anthony Eddy’s charges need to secure top honours at this competition, and they hit the ground running in their opening game in Belfield.
The clinical Miller (a highly-experienced performer for Ireland at 15s level) secured a hat-trick inside the opening five minutes, and with skipper Lucy Mulhall also adding a conversion, they had developed a 17-point cushion.
An error in the Trinidad defence subsequently enabled Ashleigh Baxter to put Megan Williams through for another five-pointer on the left-wing, and with Miller touching down just before the dead-ball line in first-half stoppage-time, the hosts brought an insurmountable 29-0 lead into the interval.
Ireland 15s captain Niamh Briggs (a recent addition to the Sevens programme) also added her name to the scoresheet upon the resumption, before replacement Amee Leigh Murphy-Crowe registered a brace of tries either side of a routine score under the posts by former Irish Hockey star Audrey O’Flynn.
Kim Flood supplied the bonuses following O’Flynn’s effort to ensure that the Irish finished with all of 51 points to spare.
They can now look forward to 3.40pm encounter with Portugal – who were defeated 24-5 by China in an earlier clash.
Ireland scorers:
Tries: Alison Miller (4), Amee Leigh Murphy-Crowe (2), Megan Williams, Niamh Briggs, Audrey O’Flynn
Conversions:Lucy Mulhall (2), Kim Flood
IRELAND: Niamh Briggs, Megan Williams, Ashleigh Baxter, Nicole Cronin, Lucy Mulhall (captain), Louise Galvin, Alison Miller.
Replacements: Audrey O’Flynn, Stacey Flood, Amee Leigh Murphy-Crowe, Aoife Doyle, Kim Flood.
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Dalia Jordan-Brown, Kenisha Vincent, Ornella George, Nicollette Pantor, Appia Glasgow, Fayola Jack, Alesha Bruce.
Replacements: Akila Lowman, Latifah Carliste, Victoria Carliste, Kathleen Stephen, Ayana Skeete (captain).
Referee: Sara Cox (England).