Tierney pleased with ‘ugly’ victory

Ireland got themselves out of a sticky spot in their 19-17 Women's Rugby World Cup win against Australia on Wednesday.

That was the word from Ireland Women's coach Tom Tierney after his side held on for a 19-17 victory in Dublin.

The home had a tough time holding onto the ball for long periods in the Pool C match and were surprised by how well Australia handled the physical exchanges.

Second-half tries from replacements Ciara Griffin and Sophie Spence helped them earn a hard-fought victory in the end.

Tierney was still impressed by his players' calmness in the closing stages of the tight game as Australia did all they could to steal the victory.

"They never panicked in the last two minutes of the game, they held on to the ball and while we were going nowhere, we were going nowhere on our terms," he said.

"They got themselves out of a sticky spot tonight.

"We got there, we won ugly tonight, but it's great credit to the players against a very good Australian team. Things weren't going to plan, but we got through it at the end, and all that matters is we won."

Ireland had a tough time dealing with the pressure of playing at a packed home venue. Tierney was not worried about his side's shaky start to the campaign, however.

"It's a lot better to be talking about a win that was ugly than of a loss, and that's all I care about, especially in the pool stages," he continued.

"I'd be straight about that, while you want to play and perform well, and do the right things, and get results based on that, I’m very straight down the line, I just want to win."

Photo credit: Irish Rugby Union's official website