Briggs boots Ireland to famous win
IRELAND………………………………….. 11
ENGLAND…………………………………. 08
By Daire Walsh
RBS Women’s Six Nations
Niamh Briggs’ late penalty proved to be the difference between the sides at Ashbourne RFC last evening, as Ireland got their RBS Women’s Six Nations campaign back on track with their second-ever victory against England.
England out-half Katy McLean was presented with an ideal opportunity with an 11th minute penalty but was off-target from her first kick at the posts. However, after Irish skipper Niamh Briggs high-tackled Alexandra Matthews from the subsequent attack, she made no mistake from close-range.
McLean was also wide of the mark with an audacious strike from long-distance, and when Briggs stepped up to the kicking tee on 25 minutes, she confidently restored parity.
There were signs that Ireland were building momentum again, and Alison Miller made a dash towards the line eight minutes prior to the break, only for England to turn-over possession when the play was recycled.
However, in a game where every score was going to be vital, English number 8 Harriet Millar-Mills crossed over for an unconverted try in stoppage-time to offer the world champions an 8-3 interval advantage.
This certainly wasn’t an insurmountable deficit for Ireland to deal with. Indeed, after establishing a foothold in the opposition ‘22’ upon the resumption, they eventually broke the stern English resistance 50 minutes in.
The ever-impressive Miller and Briggs almost found a way through on either flank, and courtesy of powerful work by the pack, scrum-half Larissa Muldoon applied the finishing touches to a lengthy move on the right-hand side.
Briggs failed from a tricky two-point attempt, though, and moving into the final half-hour, the tie remained delicately poised.
With so much at stake, the fact that try-scoring opportunities were at a premium came as little surprise.
England did enjoy a dominant period of possession during the final-quarter, but they received precious little leeway from a watertight Irish defence.
Ireland experienced the same difficulties when they ventured into enemy territory, but their relented pressure ultimately led to Briggs’ decisive injury-time three-pointer.
There were some nervy moments for the hosts before their win was secured, but they can now embark on their remaining fixtures with a large degree of confidence.
Scorers for Ireland: L Muldoon try, N Briggs 2 pens.
Scorers for England: H Millar-Mills try, K McLean pen.
IRELAND: N Briggs; H Tyrrell, J Murphy, K Fitzhenry, A Miller; N Stapleton, L Muldoon; R O’Reilly, G Bourke, A Egan; S Spence, ML Reilly; P Fitzpatrick, C Molloy, H O’Brien.
Replacements: F Hayes for O’Reilly (48), T Rosser for Muldoon (71).
ENGLAND: L Cattell; R Laybourn, A Brown, C Large, S Gregson; K McLean, B Blackburn; R Clark, V Fleetwood, L Keates; T Taylor, A Scott; A Matthews, H Gallagher, H Millar-Mills.
Replacements: A Reed for Laybourn (76), H Field for Cattell (79).
Referee: L Berard (USA).