Ireland stands out in Dubai from the 7th to the 8th

Ireland qualified for the quarter-finals of the World Rugby Women's Sevens Cup in Dubai after an impressive day in the UAE.

Victories over Russia and Kenya in Group A were won earlier in the day before Ireland showed their progress in the competition despite the 24-17 loss to New Zealand in the pool decision.

The women in green will now face a Canadian team that has three of three goals in their group for a semifinal place in the cup tomorrow.

The day's action started well from the Irish's point of view after a comfortable 26-0 victory over Russia, with Louise Galvin, Amee Leigh Murphy Crowe (2) and Anna McGann.

The second outing was another win, although forced to work harder by a Kenyan team that opened the scoring in the first minute.

Murphy Crowe continued with a hat-trick as Eve Higgins, 19, earned a double in the 27-12 win.

That meant a shoot-away against New Zealand, a team they had never beaten in the competition, for the first place in Pool A, with both teams already badured of progress.

It's the outsiders who hit first. Eve Higgins took the ball in contact and Hannah Tyrrell held a good line of support to tap the space and give a quick boost to the women in green.

In a first half full of twists, New Zealand seemed to have crossed the line but an incredible defense from Louise Galvin put her body under the ball carrier, but within a minute of the time. interval, they finally broke the Irish defense.

Michaela Blyde reduced the Irish coverage for her 98th round test as both teams were reduced in numbers.

Kelly Brazier of New Zealand and Lucy Mulhall of Ireland were both sent to the sinner. The Irish penalty for slowing the ball was fully exploited. Gayle Broughton showed her awareness of the place for space and to give New Zealand a 10-7 lead.

Ireland would have expected a similar start in the first half when the recovery, but it was the favorites who took the lead. Blyde approached for the second time while Ruby Tui made his way to dig the gap.

Ireland, however, refused to give up and Brittany Hogan almost blocked the ball in the corner, despite a last-minute challenge, overturning to narrow the gap to 12 points.

While New Zealand's Alena Saili is sent to the trash for a deliberate strike 20 seconds from the end of the game, the final act of the game fell into the hands of Higgins, with a clever back and forth before throw under the posts to qualify for the final. score 24-17.

Ireland will now play Canada for a semifinal spot, while New Zealand, with three wins out of three in the group, faces Russia.