Young Buccaneers player, Ivana Kiripati, featured in all five games played by Ireland at the inaugural Home Nations Girls U18 Sevens rugby tournament held in Swansea, with the team being captained by Ballinasloe’s Beibhinn Parsons. The Irish squad finished the tournament in third position following their competitive outings.
Ireland defeated Scotland 26-7, England 22-12 and hosts Wales 19-10 on the opening day to put themselves in a really promising position to take top honours. Unfortunately, they lost a tight semi-final 19-14 against Scotland but secured their third place ranking with a 31-14 win over Wales. Overall, it was a highly encouraging display by the girls in green, in what was their initial outing at this level, and augurs well for the future.
Meanwhile, Buccaneers girls, Leah Downes and Zara Kurt-Elli, performed admirably as part of the Ireland U18 Touch Rugby squad which participated in the European Championships in France last weekend.
