Ireland start World Cup campaign with victory as Reilly stars
Marie Louise Reilly won the 'Player of the Match' accolade as Ireland defeated Australia 19-17 in the Women's Rugby World Cup at the UCD Bowl this evening.Â
Reilly played a big part in engineering what was a perfect start to the campaign for the Girls in Green.Â
Larissa Muldoon went over for an early Irish try, converted by Nora Stapleton, Â and at the break the home side led 7-5 but the Australians hit back to push ahead in the second-half. Â
However in the closing stages Ireland got the upper hand to record a hard-earned victory before a crowd of around 3,500.Â
While Ireland struggled at times in the scrum they successfully secured possession from their line-outs with Reilly making one crucial steal from an Australian throw to help relieve the pressure. She was also prominent around the rucks and mauls.Â
In the second-half two more Irish tries scored by Sophie Spence and Ciara Griffin with one of them converted by Stapleton sealed the win. Those scores were needed as Ireland trailed 7-10 at one stage.Â
The experienced Reilly showed real leadership in the closing stages as the home side held onto the ball and denied the Aussies a chance to conjure up a match-winning try.Â
Next up for Reilly and the Irish is a game against Japan. Â