IRELAND have qualified for the 2015-16 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series following a shock 26-14 win over South Africa at the UCD Bowl in Dublin at the weekend.
In what was the semi-final of a two-day Qualifier Tournament, Ireland gained revenge on the Springboks – who had beaten them in the Pool stages of event – as captain Lucy Mulhall scored two of their four tries.
Although the semi-final victory assured Ireland of their place in World Series, the weekend ended on a sour note as Japan staged a remarkable comeback to defeat the Irish in the final.
However, qualification for the World Series was the main aim heading into the tournament, and head coach Anthony Eddy will be delighted with how his troops responded to the initial defeat to South Africa.
Ireland approached the second meeting with much greater aggression and determination, illustrated best by Alison Miller, who denied Veroershka Grain a certain try with a last-gasp tackle.
"It is everything that we have ever wanted, last year was a very difficult year being off the World Series and we set sights on August and this tournament in qualifying," said Mulhall.
"I think playing against the top teams is the best way that you can learn and you learn so much quicker than you could ever learn on the training fields. It is going to be a big year of rugby for us but we are very excited."
Ireland will join defending champions New Zealand, Canada, Australia, England, USA, France, Russia, Fiji, Japan and Spain in the 2015-16 Series.
