MOLLY COPELIN CAPPED BY IRELAND
There was a significant milestone for Buccaneers Touch Rugby over the weekend as we had our first ever Open Grade international player when Molly Copelin took the field for the Ireland Women’s Open team at the European Opens Cup in Calvisano, Italy. Molly played 8 matches in the Link position and impressed throughout with her strong defensive play. She also managed to get on the scoresheet with a try against the host nation in a 9-1 victory.
Overall, it was a tough tournament for the Women’s Open as they suffered several injuries during the competition. Nevertheless, they still managed to fight their way to sixth place with victories over the Netherlands, Italy and the Netherlands again. This experience will have been invaluable for them ahead of next year’s Euros.
See https://www.internationaltouch.org/events/other-events/european-opens-cup-2025/womens-open/ for details as well as links to livestreams of the games against France and Scotland.
Molly has been playing Touch since 2022 and previously played at Mixed 15s and Mixed 18s level for Ireland in 2023 & 2024, winning a Bronze Medal in the later. She has also been a stalwart club player for Buccaneers Touch over the last 3 years alongside her brothers Cian, Ryan and Finn and deserves great credit for this achievement.
Thanks to Mary Copelin for the photos.
