Scotland 8 – 32 Ireland  Women’s Rugby World Cup, seventh place play-off5 September, Surrey Sports Park, kick-off 11.15am In their final outing at this Rugby World Cup, Scotland Women fell short of reaching seventh place in the world rankings, as Ireland controlled the game putting in five tries to the Scots’ one. By making eighth spot, however, the side has moved up one place and looks forward to building on the growth achieved at this tournament. Said captain, Lynne Reid:As a team we believed we could have done better but we have improved our world ranking. Being able to play for parts of the game isn’t good enough at this standard, however; we have to be able to execute it throughout the 80 minutes, to give ourselves a fighting chance. For a game report and more match day comment from Lynne and head coach, Gary Parker, see below. Captain Lynne Reid taks about the final meeting with the Irish Head coach Gary Parker reviews Scotland’s performance in the tournament and bids farewell to the world’s most capped woman player A cautious start for the Scots saw a penalty against them, taken successfully by Briggs, put Ireland ahead within five minutes. Some good work off the scrum switched the advantage to the dark blues but a sereies of fumbles and missed tackles lost possession. A sudden downpour just prior to kick-off meant less than ideal conditions for both sides, though the Irish handled the ball and slippery surface more adeptly. A confident burst from the greens saw a channel open up in the Scottish defence and a straight route to the try line for Downey after nine minutes. A series of missed tackles allowed the Irish to score again less than five minutes later, courtesy of Briggs, the conversion attempt going wide. Around the twenty-minute mark, the action noticeably moved into the Irish half with sustained pressure from the Scots’pack ultimately pushing across the line for Donna Kennedy, playing her final international, to claim the five points. Halfpenny’s conversion fell short. Some great tackling, noticeably from captain Lynne Reid, combined with solid kicking from Tanya Griffith, ensured scotland had the edge over the next period of play, with Halfpenny bagging a penalty to bring the score to 8-15 at the break. After a promising restart, it was the Irish who put the next points on the board, Downey zig-zagging a diagonal route to the whitewash. The try was uncoverted. Less than ten minutes into the second half, Ireland conceded the first of the two yellow cards, with Reilly sent to the naughty chair. Scotland should have taken the advantage here, but it was the Irish who turned up the gas and, 13 minutes in, crossed again (Brennan), the score converted by Briggs. Midway through the second period, a small piece of history was made as the world’s most capped woman player, Kennedy, left the field for the last time, replaced by Ruth Slaven. A few minutes later, Lisa Martin took the field to make her debut as Scotland’s newest cap. A further try from Briggs put the game out of Scotland’s grasp and, following another yellow card for the Irish (Neville) the game, and Scotland’s participation in the 2010 WRWC, ended 8-32. Scotland Women v Ireland, Surrey Sports Park, kick-off 11.15am 15 Nicola Halfpenny (Melrose) 14 Katy Green (Murrayfield Wanderers)13 Lucy Millard (Team Northumbria)12 Veronica Fitzpatrick (Royal High Cougars)11 Stephanie Johnston (Hillhead / Jordanhill) 10 Tanya Griffith (Royal High Cougars)9 Sarah Gill (Murrayfield Wanderers) 1 Heather Lockhart (Hillhead / Jordanhill)2 Sarah-Louise Walker (Watsonians)3 Beth Dickens (Murrayfield Wanderers)4 Gillian McCord (Royal High Cougars)5 Lindsay Wheeler (Darlington Mowden Park)6 Lynne Reid CAPTAIN (Royal High Cougars)7 Donna Kennedy (Worcester)8 Susie Brown (Richmond) Substitutes16 Alison Macdonald (Royal High Cougars) (on for Walker)17 Louise Moffat (Murrayfield Wanderers) (on for Dickens)18 Rosalind Murphy (Edinburgh University)19 Ruth Slaven (Murrayfield Wanderers) (on for Kennedy)20 Lisa Martin (Murrayfield Wanderers) (on for Griffith) (debut)21 Louise Dalgliesh (Royal High Cougars) (on for Gill)22 Suzi Newton (Team Northumbria) (on for Green) Try: KennedyPen: Halfpenny Referee: Joyce Henry (Canada)Assistant referee: Nicky Inwood (NZ)Assistant referee: Sherry Trumbull (Can) Ireland Women1 Fiona Coghlan (C), 2 Gillian Bourke, 3 Louise Austin, 4 Kate O’Loughlin, 5 Marie Louise Reilly, 6 Carol Staunton, 7 Claire Molloy, 8 Joy Neville, 9 Louise Beamish, 10 Helen Brosnan, 11 Mairead Kelly, 12 Lynne Cantwell, 13 Jo O’Sullivan, 14 Eliza Downey, 15 Niamh BriggsSubstitutes (all used)16 Yvonne Nolan, 17 Laura Guest, 18 Orla Brennan, 19 Sinead Ryan, 20 Amy Davis, 21 Shannon Houston, 22 Jackie Shiels Tries: Downey (2), Briggs (2), BrennanCon: Briggs (2)Pen: BriggsSCOTLAND WOMEN RUGBY WORLD CUP SCHEDULEFriday 20 August Canada (37) – (10) ScotlandTuesday 24 August France (17) – (7) ScotlandSaturday 28 August Scotland (32) – (5) SwedenWednesday 1 September Scotland (0) – (41) Canada (5th place play-off)Sunday 5 September Ireland (32) – (8) Scotland (7th/8th place play-off) BiographyLisa MartinClub: Murrayfield WanderersPosition: Stand-off / scrum halfBorn: 31 March 1990Lisa began playing for Portobello Minis when she was eight, joined Murrayfield Wanderers when she was 11, then worked her way through the age grades as a member of the under-16, under-18 and Scotland A squads, prior to being called in as replacement to the World Cup squad. The Portobello High School former pupil is now studying Applied Sports Science at Edinburgh University.