England Women beat Ireland in close encounter
England’s Izzy Noel-Smith scored a late try to snatch victory against Ireland in a tight game on a wet and windy night at Twickenham Stoop.
A tight game of rugby in heavy rain meant there were few scoring opportunities which put emphasis on the defensive resilience of both sides.
Despite the poor conditions England centre Lauren Cattel gave the home side an early lead from the kicking tee which carried them into half time 3-0 up.
The home side found themselves under pressure for a large parts of the second half and that increased when hooker Emma Croker received a yellow card for repeated infringements around the breakdown.
Heroic defence from England pushed the visitors back from the try line despite having 14 players on the pitch and the tireless work from flanker Marlie Packer and scrum-half La Toya Mason maintained an organised defence.
Despite missing her first attempt at goal, Ireland full-back Niamh Briggs slotted a long distance penalty to level the scores with 10 minutes left on the clock.
However England’s composure shone through and they found themselves with an attacking lineout on the Irish five meter line with only a few minutes until full time.
A well-worked set piece secured the ball for England allowing substitute Izzy Noel-Smith to drive over the line for the only try of the match.
A missed conversion from out wide left a five point lead but there was not enough time for Ireland to strike back and the final whistle blew giving England Women a well-earned victory.
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