LAST UPDATE | 31 Jan 2022

THERE WAS HEARTBREAK for Ireland at the death in Seville yesterday evening as Australia scored a winning try with the clock in the red in the final but a first-ever silver medal on the World Series for the Irish women’s 7s team made it a good weekend.

After impressing in Málaga two weekends ago, Ireland were excellent in Seville as they beat Poland, Brazil, Russia, Canada, and England on their way to the final, hammering the English 29-0 in the semis.

Captain Lucy Mulhall and co. won’t play on the Series again until April but their performances over the weekend captured lots of public attention – as Eoin Toolan and Murray Kinsella discussed on today’s edition of The42 Rugby Weekly Extra – an analysis podcast available to members of The42 every Monday.

With powerhouses New Zealand absent due to travel restrictions, and Fiji also missing for the same reason, Ireland enjoyed a brilliant tournament.

Murray: “It felt like that big moment for people to really get excited about Irish women’s 7s, we’ve kinda been waiting for this. A first silver medal is a big deal. The IRFU have put resource into the 7s game and there was been some criticism of the focus on it, but this is something to build on now.”

Eoin: “Yeah, a good news story is apt around the women’s game and it’s a shot in the arm. If you’re putting in resource, you want to see progression and development and that was clearly demonstrated at the weekend.

“At half-time of the final, it looked like they could come away with the trophy (Ireland led 12-5) but it was an outstanding effort to convincingly beat England in the semi-final.

“In Australia, there is a lot of resource put into 7s because it’s an Olympic sport so they’re no joke. You just want to see that development continue for Ireland over the coming months.”

Murray: “They’ve got this really good squad of athletic, skillful players now. Look at Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe scoring nine tries over the weekend, remarkable performances again.

The Ireland squad in Seville. Martin Seras Lima / INPHO Martin Seras Lima / INPHO / INPHO

“Lucy Mulhall, the captain, just glues everything together. Stacey Flood is a brilliant playmaker and we’ve seen her do that in 15s as well. Eve Higgins is another one who has played 15s and 7s recently.

“Beibhinn Parsons… she is a star of the sport.”

Eoin: “That ability to sustain top-end pace for her try in the final. I was convinced that she was going to get caught about 35 metres out but she has obviously got huge durability there with her top-end pace.

“She is a brilliant asset for the Irish women’s game to have and she’s going to go from strength to strength on the 7s scene given that the collective around her.

Murray: “And a nod to Aiden McNulty who has come in as head coach this season and had good results so far.

“The big one this year is the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town in September, both the women’s and men’s teams still need to qualify but should be able to do that through the European competition so it could be a big year for the 7s.

“The men finished fourth in Seville so they’ve had a couple of decent weeks themselves. It’s definitely a happy weekend for the IRFU’s David Nucifora and Anthony Eddy, who have taken a fair bit of criticism but their 7s teams are starting to show signs of progress.”

Today’s episode of The42 Rugby Weekly Extra also involves Eoin and Murray breaking down the United Rugby Championship defeats for Leinster and Connacht, as well as discussing wins for Munster and Ulster.

There was focus on a big yellow card decision in the Ulster game and a call for place-kicking shot clocks to be enforced across the game, while the lads also looked forward to the opening round of the Six Nations.

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