Ireland making winning start at Rugby World Cup Sevens to book England quarter-final

Ireland defeated Portugal 24-0 in their Rugby World Cup Sevens opener to book a quarter-final tie against England.

Ireland crossed for two unanswered tries in each half in Cape Town, where Terry Kennedy opened the scoring inside two minutes.

Hugo Lennox, Sean Cribbin and Bryan Mollen also crossed as Ireland eased to victory.

They will face England later on Friday afternoon (1.39pm Irish time), while the Ireland women's team face Brazil in their opening match at 12.54pm.

Kennedy was the top-scorer in this season's World Series with 50 tries in 52 games and he bagged the first try of the World Cup when he sprinted onto his own grubber to score.

Lennox made it 12-0 when he also spotted space in the backfield and kicked behind the Portugal defence. Jack Kelly collected and put Lennox over, while Matthew McDonald was denied a third try by some last-ditch defending late in the half.

Ireland ensured victory early in the second half after Kelly won a turnover penalty inside the Portugal 22, Kennedy took a quick tap to tee up Cribbin.

Harry McNulty was sin-binned from the restart for tackling a player in the air but Ireland’s defence held firm and they extended their lead late on when a lovely step and pass from Chay Mullins put Bryan Mollen away.