IRELAND 0 NIGERIA 10
TOM LAW, Terry Fox Stadium, Brampton, Tuesday

NIGERIA had never faced opposition from outside of Africa, so before their World Series clash, it was something of an unknown as to how they would fare.

On the artificial turf in the western Greater Toronto Area, with Canadian football posts acting as stand-in rugby posts, the answer came with a perhaps unexpected, but by no means undeserved, victory over Ireland.

It means Irish hopes of reaching a first World Cup are over, with this the opening game of a four-team tournament to determine the final qualifier for next year’s event.

Nigeria began the game strongly, with most of the action in the first quarter taking place in Ireland’s half.

In the tackles, it was Nigeria that managed to muster more players, pushing advancing Irish players back and ensuring that they gained more metres going forward.

They made this pressure pay in the 20th minute, when, after much pressing and probing by Nigeria, prop Fedelia Omoghan powered over the Irish defence.

Nigeria continued to dictate the tempo of the game, and it wasn’t until the end of the first half that Ireland began to fight their way back into the game.

A left-to-right move that made Nigeria restart five metres from their own tryline was followed up by a knock-on, with more Irish pressure forcing Nigeria to concede penalties, and stand-off Shondell Akhabue eventually received a yellow card.

The second half picked up where the first left off, with Ireland coming out of the blocks faster and stronger. They nearly equalised straight away, with the ball moved out to Stephanie Carroll on the right before the ball was dropped over the line.

Nigeria provided a timely reminder of their threat, however, when stand-off Innocent Adaeze broke through the Irish defence, only denied a try by a last-player Irish scramble that eventually produced a knock-on.

This was an early warning of the threat on the counter. For much of the second half, Ireland tried with all their might to apply pressure against a tiring but disciplined Nigerian defence.

They often ended up finishing sets just short of the tryline, with Nigeria’s scramble preventing Ireland from crashing over.

Ireland’s momentum was interrupted several times by injuries to Nigeria, including one that saw the physio have to physically carry off Faustina Akeje.

It was wave after wave of Irish attack, with Nigeria’s attempts to escape often ending with early knock-ons or being carried out of play.

However, their failure to capitalise on this dominance eventually caught up with them.

A scrum for Ireland 15 metres out was ordered to be retaken twice by the referee. On the third attempt, a loose pass behind the attacking line was seized upon by second-rower Rachel Iliya. In very un-second row like fashion, Iliya ran the length of the field, outpacing Ireland’s chasing Jade Walker.

The converted try left Ireland with an impossible task, and their frustration was compounded by a confusing incident at the end in which a Nigerian goalline drop out failed to reach ten metres, was picked up by Ireland’s Storm Cobain who went over the try line, only for the referee to award Nigeria the ball.

Nigeria held on to record their finest victory to date. In terms of importance and stature, it might just be the most important result in the history of African rugby league.

They will be hoping there is an even more impressive one come Sunday, with the team one more win from next year’s World Cup and Fiji standing in their way.

GAMESTAR: Fedelia Omoghan scored the winning try in the first half and was ever-present in a disciplined defensive performance in the second.

GAMEBREAKER: Ireland’s loose pass near the try line being seized upon by Rachel Iliya, scoring a length-of-the-field try to make extend Nigeria’s lead.

MATCHFACTS
IRELAND
1 Lily Rogan (Wests Tigers)
2 Cliodhna O’Sullivan (Dublin City Exiles)
3 Stephanie Carroll (Mounties)
4 Mollie Young (Leigh Leopards)
5 Aimee Clarke (Dublin City Exiles)
6 Emma Kelly (Dublin City Exiles)
7 Jade Walker (London Broncos)
8 Sarah Scambary (Mounties)
9 Niamh Griffin (Dublin City Exiles)
10 Aifric Ní Ghibne (Galway Tribes)
11 Tricia Doyle (Aspley Devils)
12 Storm Cobain (Leigh Leopards)
13 Iona McCusker (London Broncos)
Subs (all used)
14 Polly Roberts (London Broncos)
20 Jemma Gallagher (Corrimal Cougars)
16 Stacy Hanley (Galway Tribes)
17 Martha Dwyer (Aspley Devils)

NIGERIA
1 Blessing Umude (Eko Trinity)
2 Success Iyoha (R2 Finesse Academy)
3 Blessing Aladegelu (Lagos Bulls)
4 Abiola Obazuaye (R2 Finesse Academy)
5 Endurance Ukwuoma (Eko Trinity)
6 Shondell Akhabue (Wentworthville Magpies)
7 Innocent Adaeze (Lagos Bulls)
8 Adeola King (Ottawa Tigers)
9 Becky Okitikpe (R2 Finesse Academy)
10 Fedelia Omoghan (Ontario Ospreys)
11 Rachel Iliya (Eko Trinity)
12 Vera Akhihiero-Pedro (R2 Finesse Academy)
13 Faustina Akeje (Canterbury Bulldogs)
Subs (all used)
14 Chinaza Abbah (Canterbury Bulldogs)
15 Lauretta Bayere (Lagos Bulls)
16 Akinade Rukayat (Lagos Bulls)
17 Danyelle Shobanjo (London Broncos)

Tries: Omoghan (16), Iliya (69)
Goals: Akhabue 0/1; Akeje 1/1
Sin bin: Akhabue (36) – repeat team offences

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4; 0-10

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Women of the Match
Ireland: Storm Cobain; Nigeria: Fedelia Omoghan

Penalty count: 9-1
Half-time: 0-4
Referee: Kemoy Whyte