Ireland have made it through to the quarter-finals of the Olympic rugby sevens despite defeat to Australia in their final pool game.
Allan Temple-Jones’ side put in a spirited performance in the 19-14 reverse and will likely feel they could have taken something from the contest if not for some handling errors close to the Australian line.
Having fallen behind with fewer than 30 seconds on the clock, Ireland would strike back when an excellent Erin King offload set up the first of Eve Higgins’ two scores.
Teagan Levi had put Australia back in front before the break but the game swung on Maddison Levi’s second-half score, coming when Ireland were attacking in search of an equalising try only to be turned over and concede from deep on the counter.
Higgins would go over again in the closing stages but, despite Australia finishing with six after a yellow card for Tia Hands, Ireland could not force another score in the final seconds.
The defeat meant Ireland had to wait for their quarter-final place to be confirmed by later results but they now know they will face either a rematch with Australia or New Zealand in the last eight this evening.