World Games 2023

The penultimate day of the World Games saw four of Australasia’s teams come through the knockouts to book a spot in Celtic Park for Friday’s finals.

Results

Open women’s football

Cup semi-final – Australasia 7-18 – 1-3 Asia

International women’s football

Cup quarter-final – Australasia 0-10 – 2-2 Galicia White (AET)
Cup semi-final – Australasia 1-6 – 2-4 Charlotte James Connolly’s

International men’s football

Cup quarter-final – Australasia 1-7 vs 1-5 Galicia White
Cup semi-final – Australasia 0-5 – 1-5 Seán McDermott’s

Camogie

Cup semi-final – Australasia 7-19 vs 0-2  Europe

Hurling

Final group game – Australasia 0-11 – 2-12 Middle East

Round-ups

Open women’s football

Our Irish women’s footballers booked a spot in Celtic Park with a comprehensive win over Asia in the cup semi-final. With confidence high in the camp having defeated their opponents comfortably earlier in the week, the girls continued their exemplary form here. Laura Gallagher, in goal, Jade O’Donnell and Aisling Bourke kept a tight ship in defence, while the triple threat of Andrea O’Reilly, Rachel Talbot and Ciara Bourke kept the umpires busy throughout the game, clocking up a huge 7-18 to Asia’s 1-3.

It’s Parnells awaiting the team in the final, and although our girls got the win over the Londoners in the group stage, the final is bound to be a close encounter. The teams contested the last two finals, claiming a win each, so Friday’s best-of-three final will be a thriller.

International women’s football

Day four of the competition saw the girls play Galicia White in the quarter-final. The Galicians put up a really strong fight and had our girls on the ropes for quite a while, particularly in the first-half. Even though they struck the net twice, our girls were composed in front of goals, Becc Higgins and Lauren Saunders keeping the scoreboard ticking over. It took extra-time to separate the teams, with our girls earning a two-point win, 0-8 to 2-2, to advance to the semi-final.

The semi final was always going to be tough against Charlotte James Connolly’s, who had looked impressive throughout. However, our players performed spectacularly well to only lose out by a single point, in a score of 2-4 to 1-6. Best of luck to the North Carolina side in the final.

The journey is over for the team, but we’re all extremely proud of the ladies’ efforts over the last four days.

Men’s international football

Our international men’s football team beat a gallant Galicia White in the quarter-final by 1-7 to 1-5. This was a very tense game and we had a poor start in slippery conditions. However, the lads went man on man in the second half and put them under considerable pressure, which eventually paid dividends on the scoreboard.

In the semi-final we were beaten by a very skillful and composed (in football terms!) Seán McDermott’s club team from Birmingham. The game essentially swung on two events in the first half: we missed a gilt-edged goal chance in the first minute, and then gave away a goal just before half-time. Despite being down six points at the break, our team showed tremendous spirit and drive in the second half, and Johnny Pegoraro gave an exhibition of free taking from the ground (an old art form at this stage). We had two goal chances to snatch a draw but we were denied by some last-ditch defending. The team have had a great experience at the competition but sadly missed out on a big opportunity to play in the final. Thanks to all in the squad and our management for a great effort overall.

Camogie

Our camógs cruised into Friday’s final with a massive 7-19 – 0-2 semi-final win over Europe. Like yesterday, the Europe side are a far greater outfit than the scoreline suggests, but our quality all over the pitch was simply too much for the opposition. Jackie Doyle in goal and Claire Nolan marshalled well in defence, while up front Jen Hosford, Áine Cunningham and Shelly Farrell were full of running and taking their scores with aplomb. Best of the luck to the girls as they take on Middle East in tomorrow’s final, and here’s hoping they can land a third successive World Games title.

Hurling

Having already secured a spot in Friday’s final, the hurlers had their final group-stage game against Middle East, who, as it happens, they’ll face in Friday’s decider. The first meeting between the pair was a 3-12 to 1-9 win for our lads, but the Middle East got the upper hand this time round, raising two green flags to secure a 2-12 to 0-11 win.

With tomorrow’s game in their minds, we’re sure both sides didn’t show their hand too early. Middle East are going for three World Games wins in a row, having beaten our teams in 2016 and 2019. The lads will be bulling to get over the line this time round, especially the likes of Seánie O’Leary who played in the 2019 finale.

It was a memorable day two for the Antipodes at the World Games as we recorded 12 wins out of 12 across our six teams. The focus now turns to the final day of the group stages tomorrow, where each Australasia team will be in contention for a place in the cup knockout stages.

Results

Open women’s football

Australasia 11-18 – 0-0 Iberia
Australasia 5-5 – 0-3 Central and Eastern Europe

International women’s football

Australasia 4-10 – 0-0 Siróc
Australasia 7-7 – 0-1 Iberia

Open men’s football

Australasia 7-9 – 0-1 Benelux
Australasia 14-15 – 0-1 Italy

International men’s football

Australasia 3-4 – 0-3 Ottawa
Australasia 4-8 – 0-1 Galicia Blue

Camogie

Australasia 6-7 – 1-1 Britain 2
Australasia 7-8 – 0-1 Asia

Hurling

Australasia 6-12 – 0-6 Benelux
Australasia 3-12 – 1-9 Benelux

Round-ups

Open women’s football

Our Irish-born women’s football team got day two off to a successful start with a win over Iberia. The girls were in control from start to finish, and ran out comfortable winners on a final scoreline of 11-18 to 0-0.

The second match of the day against Central & Eastern Europe continued in a similar vein, with the team’s quality shining throughout. The final score was 5-5 to 0-3. The girls are looking forward to two tough tests against Asia and Parnells of London tomorrow.

On a side note, all of the panel and management wish Jade O’Donnell a happy birthday on a day where she covered every blade of grass in Owenbeg.

International women’s football

Our international women’s football team claimed two dominant wins on the second day of the tournament. In the first game, the ladies played Siróc of France, and won by 4-10 to 0-0. The pace of our women’s attack and midfield overpowered the French side, with the rapid interplay leading to another big win. By half time we were 2-4 to the good with Becc Higgins and Lauren Saunders each scoring 1-1, and Chloe Roesler and Tahlia Tatlock each scoring a point. In the second half, further scores were added by Becc Higgins (1-1), Chloe Roesler (1-1), Penny Rawniski (0-2), Lauren Saunders (0-2). Again, our high score was complemented with tight defending, sitting down any opportunities for the opposition to attack.

In the second game, the team faced Iberia and ran out winners by 7-7 to 0-1. The game opened with two quick goals from Becc Higgins with Lauren Saunders, Tahlia Tatlock and Penny Rawinski all adding points. In the second half, another 4-5 was clocked up thanks to Tam Knox (2-2), Becc Higgins (1-2), Penny Rawinski (1-0), and Siena Covino (0-1).

To date, the games have seen the team taking three wins from three with big winning margins. That said, the team’s defence in the form of Heather Williamson, Siena Covino, Tess de Grandi, Anita Doecke, Kate Fenton and Tia Verenitani has been rock solid. Tomorrow, the girls play Galicia Blue and Brittany.

Open men’s football

Day two saw our Irish-born men’s footballers pick up two comprehensive wins against Benelux and Italy. Even with a slow start against Benelux, the lads got into their stride before half-time with quickfire goals from Evin Scanlon, Seán Mc Sweeney, Kevin Smullen and Adam Neely. Benelux never got going and the goal of the day was scored by Cory Quinn with a smashing shot into the top corner. The final score was 7-09 to 0-01.

In the second game, the team started strongly, and piled on the pressure on a tired-looking Italy team. In particular, the pressure on their kickouts resulted in a glut of goals for Kevin Smullen, Seán McSweeney and Cory Quinn. The game ended 14-15 to 0-0. Best on ground today was Stefan McKenna, who was excellent throughout the two matches. The lads look ahead to day three where they hope to maintain their impressive form against Iberia, and fellow title contenders in Middle East.

International men’s football

Our international-born men’s football team had a successful day two at the World GAA Games today winning two from two. They learned a lot from yesterday’s game and came out all guns blazing today. They beat Ottawa 3-4 to 0-3 in the first game, taking control early on, defending sensibly and powering forward through the middle. Johnny Pegoraro was instrumental in the midfield and Jamie Conlon was all class upfront with his running, offloading and finishing. Josh Kavanagh was also excellent in goals.

In the second game they beat Galicia Blue 4-8 to 0-1. This was a more even and robust contest than the score suggested but our lads’ powerful running and finishing was top class. Adam Smyth was rock solid at full-back and Justin White, Liam O’Connor-Dawkins and Richard Eston were all very lively and accurate up front. The lads are greatly looking forward to day three where they face France Red and Iberia.

Camogie

Our camógs enjoyed two big wins on day two of the competition. First up was Britain 2, and this offered a unique match-up with Courcey Rovers (Cork) sisters Lorraine Collins (Britain) and Paula Collins (Australasia) going head to head. Paula can claim the familial bragging rights with a 6-7 to 1-1 win for her team, but Lorraine won the physical battle with her strong tackling on a number of players throughout the game.

Game two was another convincing performance for the team with a 7-8 to 0-01 win against Asia. Tomorrow the team face Britain 1 and Europe in their final games of the group.

Hurling

Day two and the hurlers continued their decent form with a convincing win over Benelux, and a hard-earned win over Middle East. The first game against the European side saw Shane O’Regan in fine form, scoring a hat-trick of goals. And he wasn’t the only one in dominant form, as there were fantastic performances from defence through to attack.

Game two was against a strong Middle East side. This was a tight affair, with some great scores from both sides. Middle East were physical all over the pitch, but our lads matched them. In the end some well-taken scores by Aidan O Flynn, who was very accurate from frees, and a superb Sean O’Leary point late in the second half sealed another win for the lads to make it three wins on the bounce. Tomorrow the team face Asia and Benelux for the second time in the group stage.

It was another clean sweep for Australasia on day three of the World Games as each of the six team progressed to the cup knockout stages.

Results

Open women’s football

Australasia 2-8 – 1-1 Asia
Australasia 2-8 – 0-3 Parnells

International women’s football

Australasia 6-4 – 0-0 Galicia Blue
Australasia 4-5 – 0-1 Brittany

Open men’s football

Australasia 7-5 – 0-0 Iberia
Australasia 1-6 – 1-3 Middle East

International men’s football

Australasia 1-6 – 0-2 France Red
Australasia 1-5 – 0-4 Iberia

Camogie

Australasia 8-5 – 0-1 Britain 1
Australasia 5-6 – 0-1 Europe

Hurling

Australasia 6-18 – 0-5 Asia
Australasia 4-16 – 0-3 Benelux

Round-ups

Open women’s football

Our Irish-born women’s football team powered into the cup semi-final with two more wins on day three of the competition. Asia were first up at 9.30am and offered quite the resistance to our girls’ attacking threat, but eventually ours ladies’ incessant pressure in defence and their fast running in attack took its toll, as we landed 2-8 to Asia’s 1-1 to earn the win.

The team weren’t in action again until 5pm, and this match-up against Parnells was billed the as game of the day by patrons around Owenbeg. And with good reason – having defeated us in the 2016 final, and us gaining redemption in the 2019 showdown, it was bound to bring fireworks. After a tense opening few minutes – which unfortunately saw Siobhán Greevy suffer a nasty shoulder injury – again, our forward line was too hot to handle for the Londoners. Ciara Burke, like she’s been all week, was a menace in the inside forward line and landed the first goal of the game with a cool finish. Maud-Annie Foley continued her dominating midfield displays, while Jade O’Donnell’s powerful runs from deep were having a great impact, one of which ended with Jade deftly chipping the ball over the Parnells custodian to add a second goal before the short whistle. The second half was managed well, and up front Andrea O’Reilly tacked on a few scores, with Aisling Bourke, Laura Gallagher and Cassie Moane resolute in defence, limiting Parnells to three points.

Tomorrow, the girls face Asia in the semi-final and they’ll be looking to reach their fourth successive World Games final. More importantly, however, we wish Siobhán Greey our very best and hope for a speedy recovery.

International women’s football

Our international women’s footballers earned two more convincing wins on day three of the World Games. In the first game the ladies scored 7-7 to 0-0 for Galicia Blue. It took the team a few minutes to get going but once we did, we built up an unassailable lead once again.

In the second game of the day we beat Brittany by 4-8 to 0-1. In very wet conditions, the team battled well to finish the group in top spot, while scoring an unbelievable 26-43 and conceding a mere 0-2. The draw has left the team with a quarter-final game against Galicia White on day four.

Open men’s football

Two more wins for our Irish-born footballers on day three means they’re the first of Australasia’s teams to book their spot in a final at Celtic Park on Friday. In the first game, the lads overcame the challenge of Iberia on a scoreline of 5-7 to 0-0. Over the course of the 18 mins we had stand-out performances from Stefan McKenna, Seán McSweeney and Conor Ffrench.

The second game was a much tighter affair where we were up against our main rivals for the World Games title – Middle East. Thankfully, we got off on the front foot with strong midfield performances from Liam Casey and Evan Scanlon. Diarmuid Larkin controlled the tempo throughout, while Aaron McCarney landed what would be a decisive goal before the break to bring us in 1-2 to 0-3 ahead at half-time.

With very wet underfoot conditions, we tagged on a few more points before Middle East pipped a goal late in the second half following a good interception. They scored another point to leave the scores 1-6 to 1-3; however, the lads showed great game management to run down the clock and see out a three-point win. Best on the day was Conor Ffrench, who played superbly in goals, while out the field Diarmuid Larkin had a very solid game. It’s a day’s rest for the team on Thursday, and they’ll need it as they seek to avenge 2019’s final loss against Middle East in this Friday’s final.

International men’s football

Our international men’s football team had a successful day three in Owenbeg, with two wins from two to follow on nicely from Tuesday’s results. The painful lessons from day one have been well learned, most notably with no goal conceded in the last four matches. In the morning, the lads beat a very competitive France Red side by 1-6 to 0-2. This was a great all-round performance by the team who were in control of the game all the way through. Jack Keynes worked tirelessly throughout and won a huge amount of possession that drove us on to victory.

In the second game, the lads beat a very spirited Iberia team by 1-5 to 0-4. This was an sub-par performance in some ways but Johnny Pegoraro was the key man in possession, and from placed balls, to secure the victory. The guys are greatly anticipating the quarter-final on day four versus Galicia White. It should be a ripper.

Camogie

Our camógs continued their impressive form with two wins from two today. They started off with a comprehensive victory over Britain 1, winning 8-5 to 0-1.

The second game of the day was against Europe, and it was another big win for the girls, 5-6 to 0-1. The Europe team, however, were much sharper than the final score suggests; their forwards and midfield testing our team throughout the game. The sides face off again in tomorrow’s semi-final, and it’s sure to be a more competitive game with a final berth on Friday at stake.

Hurling

The hurlers added two more wins on day three of the competition. Asia were the opponents in the first game, which saw Jack Commins score two decisive goals in the first half. The team won comprehensively in the end, pulling away even further thanks in large part to fantastic cohesion in defence – Kevin Hetherton and Jamie O’Dywer in goal leading the line from the back.

The lads provided the gift of perfect hurling with a scoring spree throughout the second game against Benelux. Ger Fennelly was pushed up to midfield and this proved pivotal to the team’s victory. His pace and power was unmatched and he was able to act as a springboard for all attacks. Once again, the defence didn’t concede a goal, their dogged work rate coming to the fore. Every player showed great determination and focus to win every game played so in the competition. Tomorrow morning sees a final group game against Middle East followed by a semi-final in the afternoon (opposition TBC).

Results

Open women’s football

Australasia 4-6 – 0-1 Round Towers
Australasia 1-3 – 1-3 Middle East

International women’s football

Australasia 4-12 – 0-0 Central & Eastern Europe

Open men’s football

Australasia 6-7 – 2-3 Asia

International men’s football

Australasia 1-3 – 2-4 Éire Óg San Fran

Camogie

Australasia 5-3 – 3-3 Middle East

Hurling

Australasia 4-8 – 1-8 Asia

Round-ups

Open women’s football

Our Irish-born women’s footballers were the only team with two World Games fixtures on day one. The first match was an early morning start against Round Towers of London. There were certainly no signs opening-game jitters from our side as the team landed a couple of early goals to see off the cross-channel outfit early on.

Game two versus the Middle East was a different prospect altogether. Playing with the wind at their backs in the first half, our girls took in a narrow lead at the short whistle. The second half ebbed and flowed throughout and, with the advantage of the strong breeze, the Middle East soon gained parity. Either side could’ve nabbed a winner in the closing moments, but both teams will be happy with the draw. Standout performers on the day include Maud-Annie Foley, Ciara Burke and Rachel Talbot. Iberia and Central & Eastern Europe are the team’s opponents for day two.

International women’s football

Our international women’s footballers got off to a flying start in the first match of the competition with a great win over Central & Eastern Europe. Rebecca Higgins opened the scoring with a point and went on to score a total of 2-4 as the opposition’s defence struggled to keep up with her blistering pace. Her sister and team captain Chloe Roesler added to the scoreline with an impressive 1-2 from midfield. The scores were spread around the team with Penny Rawinski also scoring a goal, and Lauren Saunders, Alex Tresize and Kate Fenton all adding points.

Our defenders, meanwhile, were highly successful in shutting out the opposition with Siena Covino, Tess de Grandi and Tiaré Verenitani blocking out any attempts on Heather Williamson’s goal. The team will face Siròc and Iberia on day two.

Open men’s football

After a good run out against a Derry selection in a challenge match earlier in the day, our Irish-born men’s football team faced Asia in their first game of the competition. The scores were tight at half time, with our lads 1-3 to 0-2 ahead, despite squandering several chances.

The second half saw the team up the intensity, and this was rewarded with goals from Adam Neely, Cory Quinn, Kevin Smullen and Evin Scanlon. This attacking threat and a relatively tight defence propelled them to a comfortable 6-8 to 2-3 win. Standout performers on the day included Kevin Smullen, Conor Ffrench and Adam Neely. Benelux and Italy await the team on day two.

International men’s football

Our international men’s football team were narrowly defeated 2-5 to 1-4 by a very strong Éire Óg San Francisco on the opening day. The match was very physical and combative in wet conditions. Our men started slowly but played much better in the second half. Justin Evans was our best player on the day scoring 1-1 and covering acres of ground. William Cheesman-Dutton also had a great game in defence, with some great tackling and blocks. The team are looking forward to day two where they will play Ottawa and Galicia Blue.

Camogie

Our three-in-a-row-chasing camógs had their first group game against a strong and well organised Middle East. It was a typically competitive game against our perennial rivals, but the team held their own throughout. Some swift attacking play combined with tenacious defending to thwart multiple goal chances saw us come away with a 5-3 to 3-3 win. Day two sees the team face Britain 2 and Asia, and they’ll be gunning to maintain their good start.

Hurling

The hurlers’ opening game was a 4-8 to 1-8 win over Asia in wet conditions. After a sluggish start, the team found their groove in the second half, and raised four green flags to get over the line. They will play Benelux and Middle East on day two.