It came down to the final minutes in a hotly contested match between perennial rivals Scotland and Ireland before a Paula Chalmers drop goal gave the Scots a lead that would see them home 11-10.
Evenly matched bursts from the backlines and fierce defence kept the game scoreless for much of the first half. Scottish flanker Susie Brown opened the scoring after several near scores.
Fly half Erin Kerrr had a huge run to set up several phases of patient play just short of the Ireland line. Brown popped through to the left of a ruck to touch down. The scored remained 5-0 through the half.
In the second half, Ireland built up momentum with several well-placed kicks. They threatened to score from a scrum deep in Scottish territory, but number 8 Joy Neville was stopped by Scotland’s defence.
Scotland maintained possession, driving into Ireland’s 22. Centre Rimma Petlevannaya found a huge hole and was tackled just short of the line by Ireland’s Jeannette Feighery. An Irish penalty for diving over the ruck gave Scotland a shot at the posts. Captain Paula Chalmer’s kick was true and Scotland led 8-0.
Ireland, awakened by the score, came back hard at Scotland. After punching their way down the field, they worked through several phases to set up a lineout. Lock Germaine Healy rolled off the maul to dot down near the sideline, and Ireland were on the board 8-5.
Scotland applied immediate pressure on the return, working their way deep into the Ireland half with a backline breakaway down the middle. Chalmers saw referee Nicky Inwood signal for advantage after an Irish offside infringement. Seeing a half gap and knowing she had nothing to lost, Chalmers executed a successful drop goal, the first of the tournament. Scotland led 11-5 with little time remaining.
Not willing to give up, Ireland came back with the pace and continuity they had searched for the entire match. Fly half Jo O’Sullivan found a hole to run 30 metres, setting off a series of well-paced passes to the Irish backline. The back three communicated well to charge right to the line and wing Feighery touched down right near the touch line. The screaming crowd fell silent as Grace Davitt’s conversion sailed just left of the posts, leaving Scotland 11-10 victors.
Scotland advance to play the USA for fifth place in Commonwealth Stadium on Sunday while Ireland face Australia for seventh place on Saturday.
Quotes
Scotland captain Paula Chalmers: “The win gives me a great sense of relief. We knew it was going to be an intense match. They kept fighting right to the bitter end.
“We were under a lot of pressure from Ireland and we struggled to get out of our own 22. We knew if we could get down in their end, we had to get points whenever possible.
“The US are a very good side. We are going to get our homework done to win against them this weekend. It’s going to be a really tough match.”