USA v Ireland
This was a key game to test Ireland’s new found buoyancy. It took them a very long time to decide the issue.
They had wide options: Nicole Fowley’s big boot to send the ball deep, and their 7s players to add pace and trickery.
The Eagles conceded their first penalty inside four minutes. From there it was all Ireland; they hammered at the line. Was Aoife Wafer over? No. Now wider, and Stacey Flood was over – but on her back, so try denied again.
It was three penalties now, but an attacking Irish line-out went wrong, and Kate Zackary’s hacking clearance finished in Enya Breen’s face. Two more raids failed to produce; the only time the ball was sent wide the final pass went sky-high.
At last the Eagles showed their true worth. Tahlia Brody made a huge break, but Erin King got back to haul Lotte Sharp down. That tends not to happen at the StoneX.
Despite all those penalties at the other end, the Eagles built a multi-phase drive at the line and Hope Rogers was over. It was her boot lying all forlorn some distance back! 7-0
The Eagles were playing like champions till the Irish halted them with a turnover. From there a deep kick ahead did for the Eagles; an AR spotted Gaby Cantorna off-side. The Irish reacted fast, Erin King fastest – try! 7-7
After the hooter sounded Hope Rogers scored her second. And she had started the move with a tap. The Irish were paying for inaccuracy, especially at the line-out.
Half-time: USA 14 Ireland 7
The second spell would reveal a lot. The Eagles had suffered two losses; the Irish win in Round One probably seemed a distant memory. Scott Bemand started with Dannah O’Brien at out-half.
Two successive penalties brought drama. O’Brien stopped the first kick from drifting out, but left her team defending desperately on their own line. The next moment Maggie Cogger-Orr came to their rescue.
Another threatening moment came with a cross-kick to Cheta Emba who took it at full pace; the Irish just managed to halt the attack. With that Emba’s day was done. She had earned her pay.
On the hour the USA chalked up their fourteenth penalty; till now they’d hardly been punished for their misdeeds. And Aoife Wafer was at last feeling the effects of her constant activity. Some player.
As Ireland took a line-out a dozen metres out, it was Cli Moloney with the ball in hand. Could she bring more accuracy to this part of the Irish game? No! Once again a long throw led to a powerful counter-thrust.
The next line-out worked a heap better. The Irish leapt forward, then the TMO confirmed that Tahlia Brody had interfered with a scoring pass from an off-side position. It was yellow for her and seven points against her team. 14-14
The referee was completely unbiased, the TV producer slightly less so. The screen informed us that Erin King had committed the sin and the score was 21-7 in the Americans’ favour. No further comment.
With 13 minutes on the clock, the game turned into the harum-scarum we’ve come to expect. Linda Djougang made a sizeable break, the Eagles countered, but Taina Tukuafu committed two painful knock-ons as she tried to clear breakdown ball. Twice O’Brien aimed for her left corner; the second time Bulou Mataitoga nudged forward – just.
At last Rogers deserted the field having put in another monumental performance. Things went downhill for the Eagles. The Irish pressed hard; on the 5-metre Ruth Campbell was guilty of a “deliberate” knock-on. Now it was 15-13, once again. Another penalty, the 19th, and O’Brien went for the corner. What happened there? Back to the TMO: after several X-rays he declared that Moloney had not trimmed her finger-nail that morning and had applied downward pressure. I may have misheard him. (14- 21) The Irish were ahead at last.
There was time for Rachel Johnson to see yellow too, for a high tackle on the insatiable Wafer. Back to 15-13. A swinging move to the right let Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe complete the scoring.
You can offer all manner of reasons for American susceptibility to infringements. My best bet is that most of them have started playing the game late in life and have enjoyed minimal international competition. Rogers’ 50th cap and her performance were a huge tribute to her, but an indirect confirmation of my suspicion.
Result: USA 14 Ireland 26
Player of the Match: Erin King (my vote had gone to Wafer again)
Referee: Maggie Cogger-Orr (NZR)
Teams:
USA
15 Bulou Mataitoga 14 Cheta Emba 13 Alev Kelter 12 Gaby Cantorna 11 Lotte Sharp 10 McKenzie Hawkins 9 Cassidy Bargell 1 Hope Rogers 2 Kathryn Treder 3 Charli Jacoby 4 Erica Jarrell 5 Hallie Taufoou 6 Tahlia Brody 7 Kate Zackary (captain) 8 Rachel Johnson
16 Paige Stathopoulos 17 Maya Learned 18 Keia Mae Sagapolu 19 Rachel Ehrecke 20 Tessa Hann 21 Taina Tukuafu 22 Emily Henrich 23 Tess Feury
Ireland
15 Stacey Flood 14 Eimear Considine 13 Aoife Dalton 12 Enya Breen 11 Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe 10 Nicole Fowley 9 Emily Lane 1 Niamh O’Dowd 2 Neve Jones 3 Linda Djougang 4 Dorothy Wall 5 Fiona Tuite 6 Erin King 7 Aoife Wafer 8 Brittany Hogan
16 Clíodhna Moloney 17 Siobhán McCarthy 18 Andrea Stock 19 Ruth Campbell 20 Deirbhile Nic a Bháird 21 Molly Scuffil-McCabe 22 Dannah O’Brien 23 Eve Higgins
Afterthought: a really decent crowd turned out.
