Ireland Qualify for Women’s Rugby World Cup after Triple Crown victory

Ireland has secured a place in the IRB Women’s Rugby World Cup 2014 after an historic RBS Women’s 6 Nations win over Scotland on Saturday.

The girls in green cemented the qualifying spot, along with their first ever triple crown, when they beat the Scots in Lasswade, by 30-3.

Ireland joins New Zealand, England, Australia, hosts France, USA and Canada who have automatically qualified for WRWC 2014.

It means Scotland now face the prospect of making the trip to Madrid in April where they will face a tough qualifying competition, if they are to take part in next year’s tournament.

It was a great result for Ireland who kept their RBS 6 Nations championship hopes firmly on track on the 20th anniversary of their first ever match, which was also played against Scotland, on St Valentine’s Day 1993.

IRB Women’s Development Manager Susan Carty says it marks another step on the road to France.

“There’s still over a year to go until the Women’s Rugby World Cup kicks off, but it’s clear that teams have one eye on the tournament, which is the pinnacle of the Game for these players.”

“The matches in this year’s RBS 6 Nations have been really exciting, and we’ve seen some players really step it up as they get set for France 2014,” said Carty.

Elsewhere, fans at Stadio Pacevecchia in Benevento witnessed a gripping contest at the weekend, as Wales maintained their hopes of a top-four finish and automatic qualification for next year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup, as they managed their first win of this year’s RBS 6 Nations, beating a fiery Italian side 16-15.

Ireland now take on France on Friday, 8 February, before England host Italy a day later and Scotland seek a first RBS Women’s 6 Nations victory since February 2010 when they host Wales on 10 February, in the penultimate round of the competition.