England Women beaten by Ireland

England Women wing Sally Tuson in action

Ireland Women 25 England Women 0

A hat-trick from wing Alison Miller and a well taken try from full back Niamh Briggs was the difference for the hosts, while Briggs added five points with the boot.

It was tough from the off for England and Ireland took a deserved seventh minute lead when Miller dived over in the corner to make it 5-0 before Briggs extended the lead to eight with a well taken penalty five minutes later.  

With 27 played Ireland increased their lead further, again Miller proving difficult to stop as she dived over in the opposite corner to make it 13-0. She completed her hat-trick just before the break, sustained pressure from Ireland eventually freed up the Munster wing to go over in the corner and Briggs added the extras to make it 20-0.

After the break Ireland picked up where they left off and had their fourth try after 45 minutes as Briggs went over in the corner to give Ireland a 25-point advantage.

England struggled to create any momentum as Ireland continued to pin the visitors back and could have added to their lead but for some firm defence. There was a worry late on when wing Fiona Pocock – making just her second appearance since 2010 – was forced off on a stretcher as the game drew to a close.

Despite a late surge from England, they were unable to breach the Irish defence and the hosts held out for an impressive win.

Head Coach Gary Street said: “We’re obviously massively disappointed with the result, but Ireland were excellent today – they dominated us. They upped their game from last week and we just couldn’t deal with it. We’ll look at the video of this one and then move on and put all of our focus on the France game.”

Points:
England: N/A
Ireland: Miller 3T, Briggs 1T; Briggs 1P; 1C

England Women starting XV

15 Kay Wilson (Bristol)
14 Francesca Matthews (Richmond)
13 Abigail Chamberlain (Richmond)
12 Amber Reed (Bristol)
11 Sally Tuson (Bristol)
10 Ceri Large (Worcester)
9 La Toya Mason (Wasps) (VC)

1 Rochelle Clark (Worcester)
2 Victoria Fleetwood (Lichfield)
3 Sophie Hemming (Bristol)
4 Rowena Burnfield (Richmond)
5 Tamara Taylor (Lichfield)
6 Joanna McGilchrist (Wasps)
7 Hannah Gallagher (Saracens)
8 Sarah Hunter (C) (Lichfield)

Replacements:
16 Emma Croker (Richmond)  on for Victoria Fleetwood 53 mins
17 Laura Keates (Worcester) on for Sophie Hemming 53 mins
18 Roz Crowley (Lichfield) on for Rochelle Clark 42 mins
19 Rebecca Essex (Richmond) on for Rowena Burnfield 48 mins
20 Harriet Millar-Mills (Lichfield) on for Joanna McGilchrist 58 mins
21 Georgina Gulliver (Lichfield) on for La Toya Mason 68 mins
22 Lauren Cattell (Saracens) on for Kay Wilson 48 mins
23 Fiona Pocock (Richmond) on for Fran Matthews 58 mins

England’s Six Nations Fixtures:

• February 2, 2013 - England 76 Scotland 0
• February 9, 2013 - Ireland v England - KO 2pm, Ashbourne RFC
• *February 23, 2013 - England v France - KO 7.20pm, Twickenham Stadium (Live on BBC)
• **March 9, 2013 - England v Italy - KO 1pm, Esher RFC – live on www.rfu.com/englandwomenlive
• March 17, 2013 - Wales v England - KO 2.30pm, Aberavon RFC

*Free entry to Twickenham Stadium following the men’s Six Nations match
**Tickets available from www.ticketmaster.co.uk