New Zealand thrash Ireland; Japan bow out with victory

WRAP: Teenage rising star Braxton Sorensen-McGee grabbed a hat-trick of tries as reigning champions New Zealand secured top spot in Pool C of the Women’s Rugby World Cup with an emphatic 40-0 rout of Ireland in Brighton.

Victory saw the record six-time World Cup winners gain revenge for their shock 29-27 loss to Ireland at last year’s WXV tournament in Vancouver, with 18-year-old wing Sorensen-McGee leading the way on Sunday as the Black Ferns scored six tries in total.

Both teams had already reached the quarter-finals before kick-off in their concluding pool game on England’s south coast, with the only outstanding issue the finishing order.

But New Zealand’s third win from as many group matches means they will now face the loser of Sunday’s Pool D clash between France and South Africa in the last eight.

“Job done, pretty proud of that one,” said New Zealand coach Allan Bunting.

“Scott (Bemand) and the Irish ladies really threw everything at us and put us under a lot of pressure, but we were formidable on D (defence), we didn’t want to let them past, and that’s what it’s going to take to go further in this competition.”

Ireland, who will now take on the Pool D winners in the last eight, were unable to break down a dogged New Zealand defence, having defiantly stared down the Black Ferns’ pre-match Haka challenge.

A tough day for Ireland was made worse by fullback Stacey Flood leaving the field in a protective boot and centre Eve Higgins going off the pitch for a head injury assessment.

“New Zealand is a physical team so we’ve got to find a way to cross the whitewash when we get those opportunities,” said Ireland coach Bemand.

Japan bow out with Spain win

Earlier in Pool C, Japan bid farewell to this World Cup by overturning a nine-point deficit at half-time to beat Spain 29-21 in York.

Both sides were bidding for their first win of the tournament, and Spain were well-placed when leading 14-5 at the break.

Japan, however, scored three tries in 16 minutes in the second half before Spain lost Anne Fernandez de Corres to a yellow card.

Japan coach Lesley McKenzie was proud of how her side regrouped at half-time.

“(I told them) to collect all the positives, which were numerous in the first half, and keep some patience, and we will get the rewards in the second half,” she said.

“We were in control in terms of territory and possession but a little impatient, which is one of our vices… have some faith in the process, and we got there.”.

In another match between two previously winless sides at the tournament, Italy hammered Brazil, the first South American team to compete at a Women’s Rugby World Cup, 64-3.

Le Azzurre ran in 12 tries, six in each half, with Francesca Granzotto and Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi both scoring hat-tricks.

For Italy, there was the frustration of what might have been after losses to France and South Africa put paid to their quarter-final hopes.

Nevertheless, Italy coach Fabio Roselli said, “I am very proud. We have a lot of young players, who are at their first Rugby World Cup. They show great potential.”

Brazil’s counterpart Emiliano Caffera was proud that his side had shown “the world Brazil has rugby 15s” but pleaded for an enhanced fixture schedule in order to improve after a third heavy defeat in England.

“Now what we need is more games, more tournaments, more support,” he insisted. “We play two or three games a year; I want to play nine, 10, 12 games a year.”

New Zealand 40-0 Ireland

Scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries: Waaka, Viliko, Sorensen-McGee 3, Joseph
Cons: Holmes 5

Teams

New Zealand: 15 Renee Holmes, 14 Braxton Sorensen-McGee, 13 Stacey Waaka, 12 Sylvia Brunt, 11 Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, 10 Ruahei Demant, 9 Risi Pouri-Lane, 8 Liana Mikaele-Tu’u, 7 Jorja Miller, 6 Layla Sae, 5 Alana Bremner, 4 Maiakawanakaulani Roos, 3 Tanya Kalounivale, 2 Georgia Ponsonby, 1 Chryss Viliko.
Replacements: 16 Vici-Rose Green, 17 Kate Henwood, 18 Amy Rule, 19 Laura Bayfield, 20 Kennedy Tukuafu, 21 Maia Joseph, 22 Theresa Setefano, 23 Ayesha Leti-Iiga

Ireland: 15 Stacey Flood, 14 Beibhinn Parsons, 13 Aoife Dalton, 12 Eve Higgins, 11 Amee-Leigh Costigan, 10 Dannah O’Brien, 9 Aibheann Reilly, 8 Brittany Hogan, 7 Edel McMahon, 5 Sam Monaghan, 4 Ruth Campbell, 3 Linda Djougang, 2 Neve Jones, 1 Ellena Perry.
Replacements: 16 Cliodhna Moloney Macdonald, 17 Niamh O’Dowd, 18 Sadhbh McGrath, 19 Eimear Corri-Fallon, 20 Claire Boles, 21 Emily Lane, 22 Nancy McGillivray, 23 Anna McGann

Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)
Assistant Referees: Precious Pazani (ZIM) & Amelia Luciano (USAR)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (SARU)

Italy 64-3 Brazil

Scorers:

For Italy:
Tries: Mannini, Fedrighi, Granzotto 3, Minuzzi 3, Corradini, Buso 2, Stefan
Cons: Bitonci, Granzotto

For Brazil:
Pen: Kochhann

Teams

Italy: 15 Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi, 14 Aura Muzzo, 13 Giada Corradini, 12 Sara Mannini, 11 Francesca Granzotto, 10 Veronica Madia, 9 Alia Bitonci, 8 Elisa Giordana Duca, 7 Isabella Locatelli, 6 Francesca Sgorbini, 5 Alessandra Frangipani, 4 Valeria Fedrighi, 3 Sara Seye, 2 Vittoria Veccheni, 1 Silvia Turani.
Replacements: 16 Layra Gurioli, 17 Silvia Turani, 18 Alessia Pilani, 19 Beatrice Veronese, 20 Alissa Ranuccini, 21 Sofia Stefan, 22 Emma Stevanin, 23 Gaia Buso

Brazil: 15 Fernanda Tenorio, 14 Giovanna Barth, 13 Marina Fioravanti, 12 Mariana Nicolau, 11 Bianca Silva, 10 Raquel Kochhann, 9 Aline Mayumi Bednarski, 8 Camilla Carvalho, 7 Larissa Alves Carvalho, 6 Larissa Henwood, 5 Dayana Dakar, 4 Eshyllen Coimbra, 3 Pamela Santos, 2 Julia Leni, 1 Franciele Barros
Replacements: 16 Isabela Saccomanno, 17 Tais Prioste, 18 Giovana Mamede, 19 Marcelle Cruz, 20 Ana Carolina Santana, 21 Leticia Medeiros, 22 Leila Silva, 23 Edna Santini

Referee: Maggie Cogger-Orr (NZR)
Assistant Referees: Ella Goldsmith (RA) & Maria Heitor (FPR)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (SRU)

Japan 29-21 Spain

Scorers:

For Japan:
Tries: Nishimura, Nagata, Kitano, Imakugi, Nduka
Cons: Otsuka, Yamamoto

For Spain:
Tries: Blanco, Castelo, Martinez
Cons: Argudo 2, Pena

Teams

Japan: 15 Sora Nishimura, 14 Misaki Matsumura, 13 Mana Furuta, 12 Haruka Hirotsu, 11 Komachi Imakugi, 10 Ayasa Otsuka, 9 Megumi Abe, 8 Jennifer Nduka, 7 Iroha Nagata, 6 Masami Kawamura, 5 Otoka Yoshimura, 4 Yuna Sato, 3 Wako Kitano, 2 Asuka Kuge, 1 Sachiko Kato.
Replacements: 16 Kotomi Taniguchi, 17 Manami Mine, 18 Nijiho Nagata, 19 Ayano Sakurai, 20 Seina Saito, 21 Moe Tsukui, 22 Minori Yamaoto, 23 Mele Yua Havili Kagawa

Spain: 15 Amalia Argudo, 14 Claudia Perez Perez, 13 Claudia Pena Hidalgo, 12 Lea Ducher, 11 Clara Piquero, 10 Zahia Perez, 9 Anne Fernandez de Corres, 8 Alba Capell, 7 Nerea Garcia Rementeria, 6 Ana Peralta Baquet, 5 Lourdes Alameda 4 Monica Castelo, 2 Sidorlla Rodriquez, 2 Cristina Herrera, 1 Ines Fernandez.
Replacements: 16 Marieta Mallen, 17 Gemma Sierra, 18 Mireia De Andres, 19 Victoria Martinez, 20 Valentina Marquez, 21 Ariadna Bingbing Vergara Piqueras, 22 Tecla Bueriberi, 23 Ana Cortes.

Referee: Sara Cox (RFU)
Assistant Referees: Holly Wood (RFU) & Amber Stamp-Dunstan (WRU)
TMO: Ian Tempest (RFU)