Opens World Cup 2024 Review

Ireland sent three Opens teams to the 2024 Touch World Cup in Nottingham, England out of a total of seven Ireland teams. A week of highs and lows for many of the players, coaches and organisers who can now have a much deserved rest. Take a look at how the Opens squads performed:

The Women's Open (WO) squad competed in their first ever World Cup, making it a historic occasion for the team as they started off with a victorious opening game against Philippines. Winning a further four games in the pool stage including a strong Samoan team with a mighty second half come back. The WO finished fifth in their pool which set them up for the 13th place play-off against Lebanon which they were victorious in. 

The Men's Open (MO) squad looked to perform better than their finish in the 2019 World Cup in Malaysia. Victory in their first game against South Africa provided a great start and they then won a further four games in the pool stage, with two draws against Fiji and Cook Islands, resulting in a fourth place finish in the group and progression to the knockout stages. Australia, the eventual champions, awaited in the quarter-final, who proved too clinical for the MO, and resulted in an 8th place finish. 

The Mixed Open (MXO) squad also looked to build on their performance in Malaysia in a stacked mixed open grade. One of the early highlights of the tournaments was leading Australia, the eventual champions, 1 - 0  in a pool game. Victory against Spain and a draw against Italy resulted in a sixth place finish in the pool. This led to a round robin pool where the MXO suffered a narrow loss to Canada but finished the tournament beating Portugal and Cayman Islands.