Daire Walsh 

The World Cup hopes of the Ireland women’s rugby team hangs in the balance after they suffered a shock one-point defeat to Spain in their qualification opener at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi in Parma this evening.

Leading 7-3 at the break courtesy of Beibhinn Parsons’ ninth-minute try, Adam Griggs’ side came unstuck when Spanish replacement Lea Ducher touched down in the left-corner with eight minutes remaining.

Despite falling behind to an early penalty from Exeter Chiefs scrum-half Patricia Garcia, Ireland were quick to settle with a converted score from Parsons. Although the 2014 World Cup semi-finalists were expected to push on, a series of basic errors either side of the interval ensured Spain remained in the reckoning.

The sin-binning of debutant Sam Monaghan on 67 minutes piled the pressure on Ireland and when Spain opted for a ‘tap and go’ off a close-range penalty, Ducher was ideally placed to supply the finishing touches.

A wayward Garcia bonus strike left the door open for Ireland, but after Cork native Enya Breen fell short from a last-minute penalty, they were consigned to a morale-sapping defeat.

Scorers for Spain: L Ducher try, P Garcia pen.

Scorers for Ireland: B Parsons try, S Flood con.

SPAIN: I Echebarria; B Dominguez, A Erbina, A Argudo, M Garcia; A Fernandez de Corres, P Garcia; S Jaurena, M Rodriguez, L Delgado; A Puig, M Castelo; O Fresneda, M Calvo, L Alameda.

Replacements: I Rico for Jaurena (47), C Castellucci for Castelo (55), L Ducher for Echevarría (61), M Brust for Delgado (65), E Aguirre for Argudo (68), C Blanco for Rodriguez (73).

IRELAND: E Considine; A-L Murphy Crowe, L Mulhall, S Naoupu, B Parsons; S Flood, K Dane; L Peat, C Moloney, L Djougang; A McDermott, N Fryday; D Wall, C Griffin, B Hogan.

Replacements: S Monaghan for McDermott (52), L Delany for Parsons, E McMahon for Hogan (both 54), E Breen for Flood (56), N Jones for Moloney, L Feely for Peat, L Lyons for Djougang (all 66), E Lane for Naoupu (74).

Referee: N O’Donnell (England).