Ireland women’s sevens side had to settle for eighth-place finish overall after a 28-12 defeat to Britain followed the 19-7 loss to France at the Stade de France.
Having missed out on a place in the semi-finals following a 40-7 quarter-final defeat to Australia, Allan Temple-Jones’ side were left playing for pride but couldn’t seal a win.
Ireland had gotten off to a poor start against Britain when Stacey Flood’s yellow card for a high tackle was followed instantly by a try for Megan Jones, which gave their opponents an early 7-0 lead.
But after a scrum in the Britain 22, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe’s powerful carry up through the middle led to space on the outside, as Megan Burns finished off the opening Irish try.
Eve Higgins was off-target with the conversion as Ireland trailed 7-5, but by half-time, they had a mountain to climb, allowing Jade Shekells and Jones in for quickfire tries before the break, with both converted to extend the lead to 21-5.
Within a minute of the restart the result was effectively put beyond doubt, as Heather Cowell broke from the 22 to run in under the posts and score to put 23 points between the sides at 28-5.
Claire Boles’ scored a try in the final minute, converted by Flood, but it was mere consolation.
Against France in the afternoon, Higgins’ try in the opening half briefly saw Ireland lead, before the hosts pulled away in the second half.
Meanwhile, Canada followed up their emotional victory over France by stunning Australia 21-12 to earn a shock place in the final against New Zealand.
However, they had to settle for silver after the Kiwis beat them 19-12 in the gold-medal match. The Canadians had Dubliner and coach Jack Hanratty to thank for their fairy tale run to the final.
Hanratty had previously worked for Leinster as a development officer and now leaves his role after the final.