Ireland’s ‘special’ SVNS Series season comes to a bittersweet end in Madrid

When referee Maggie Cogger-Orr brought an end to an enthralling Pool Championship clash with a few blows of her whistle, many of the Irish players threw their hands in the air. It wasn’t an over-the-top celebration but rather a moment to cherish in the Madrid Grand Final.

Just over five months on from their historic Cup final triumph at SVNS Perth, Ireland started their quest for overall Series glory with a matchup against a familiar foe. The Irish had beaten Australia on home soil in January, and they played them again in Madrid.

Australia ran away with it in the end to win 33-14 at Civitas Metropolitano, and Ireland couldn’t quite bounce back as they were handed another heavy defeat against France on day two. That result ensured they wouldn’t play in the semi-finals.

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As you can imagine, they were “disappointed” with that outcome.

But true to the ‘fighting Irish’ character they’ve shown all season, the women in green made sure to finish their Pool Championship on a high note by beating Fiji in a thriller. Amee Leigh Murphy Crowe was the heroine by scoring a hat-trick in the 26-19 victory.

“Obviously, this weekend is about that big grand finale but for us it’s still a stepping stone into Paris in the coming months,” Murphy Crowe told RugbyPass.

“We’re disappointed with yesterday and disappointed with this morning but we found really good positives in both those games and that was the key. The key was to keep those positives, drive it through the team, through the culture.

“In there, we’re in that game with Fiji and they’re such a tough opponent and we go head-to-head so often. But credit to the team, they put it out there and they got us into the best position to be coming into the final few seconds.

“To defence like that, we pride ourselves on defence and holding a green wall up to win it in the end, there’s no better way to finish it off.”

Murphy Crowe, who is a veteran of more than 225 matches on the SVNS Series with just shy of 1000 career points to her name, spoke proudly about what it means to play for Ireland after the seven-point victory.

“It’s an honour just to be out there with that team,” the SVNS veteran told this writer. You could also see just how much they cared in the way the team huddled together and took in the moment after beating Fiji.

Body language would’ve told you just how disappointed the team was with their two losses from three starts in pool play. But with the memories of that SVNS Perth triumph over Australia forever etched into rugby sevens history, there’s certainly a reason to be proud.

Ireland had never won a Cup final on the SVNS Series before that January afternoon. But after making history, and with the Paris Olympics not too far away, it’s more than safe to say this has been a “special” year for the Irish women.

“Our program has been through a lot as well off-pitch so we’ve had some difficult times with the group in personal things,” Murphy Crowe reflected.

“The way we come together, find a way, find this ‘fighting Irish’ culture that we have is so special.

“We are a family – we truly are. You saw the success in Perth and the lows that we had following into Vancouver, LA, but we learnt a lot and that’s the most important thing.

“If you learn and you put it out there into action on what you have learned, that’s how you grow throughout the season. It’s a long season, it really is… it’s just an honour to be out there for your country, to be able to represent this jersey, the people.”

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