Ireland start World Cup campaign with victory as Reilly stars

Marie Louise Reilly won the 'Player of the Match' accolade as Ireland defeated Australia 19-17 in the Women's Rugby World Cup at the UCD Bowl this evening. 

Reilly played a big part in engineering what was a perfect start to the campaign for the Girls in Green. 

Larissa Muldoon went over for an early Irish try, converted by Nora Stapleton,  and at the break the home side led 7-5 but the Australians hit back to push ahead in the second-half.  

However in the closing stages Ireland got the upper hand to record a hard-earned victory before a crowd of around 3,500. 

While Ireland struggled at times in the scrum they successfully secured possession from their line-outs with Reilly making one crucial steal from an Australian throw to help relieve the pressure. She was also prominent around the rucks and mauls. 

In the second-half two more Irish tries scored by Sophie Spence and Ciara Griffin with one of them converted by Stapleton sealed the win. Those scores were needed as Ireland trailed 7-10 at one stage. 

The experienced Reilly showed real leadership in the closing stages as the home side held onto the ball and denied the Aussies a chance to conjure up a match-winning try. 

Next up for Reilly and the Irish is a game against Japan.