Canada prove too strong for Ireland in final Rugby World cup warm-up
Ireland fought back from a first-half battering by Canada with a fine display in the second period of their final Rugby World Cup warm-up in Belfast
Canada raced into an early 14-0 lead as Florence Symonds and Justine Pelletier touched down under the posts.
Canada's Daleaka Menin was then sent to the sin bin for high contact on Ivana Kiripati and they were made to pay when the hosts halved the deficit through Beibhinn Parsons's try in the corner.
Pelletier restored the 14-point lead for Canada before Ireland were reduced to 14 players when captain Neve Jones was shown yellow for conceding too many penalties.
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Menin barged over for a fourth try before Paige Farries helped make it 33-7 at the break.
Julia Schell walked under the sticks to push Canada over the 40-mark but Ireland started to score points of their own.
Anna McGann helped herself to a couple of tries and Parsons scored a third unanswered try before Canada's Sophie de Goede capped off the win.
Full report to follow
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The playing resources aren't what they were in his playing days. He will need to build around the remaining leaders from then. Beyond recruiting Cillian O'Connor, pressing matters include getting the most out of the remaining years in Aidan O'Shea (perhaps in an Andy Moran-type role) and a clear run of fitness for Paddy Durcan, Tommy Conroy, Diarmuid O'Connor, and Eoghan McLaughlin. Ryan O'Donoghue has been too often starved of support. He needs back-up. Otherwise, teams that succeed in snuffing out his influence will continue to beat Mayo. Given his career trajectory, Moran will hope to inspire improvements from the in-between generation, who are approaching their peak years. Infusing some of the young stars from their U20 Connacht champions is another important step. That team produced some exciting attacking displays, which are just what Mayo need, before falling one point short in an All-Ireland semi-final. Their minor teams have also reached the semi-finals in the past two campaigns, which will form the basis of next year's U20 offering. Translating that promise to higher grades hasn't always come easily. Still, if they can add those attacking reinforcements, there is enough of a base there to regain their status as a contender. The new man will need patience and loyalty from the board, but he could be just the man to return the feel-good factor to Mayo football.
