Aon Women’s Club Sevens Off To A Flying Start

The inaugural Aon IRFU Women’s Club Sevens kicked off at St. Mary’s College RFC on Saturday, and for once the weather was in tune with the festival atmosphere of the day.

The one-day Aon IRFU Women’s Club Sevens tournament was the perfect way to kick off the season and a chance for the burgeoning talent in the Women’s game to showcase their skills.

There were three grades – Senior Women, Junior Women and Under-18 – and there was an excellent level of competition in all three.

Under the watchful eye of Anthony Eddy, the IRFU Director of Women’s and Sevens Rugby, the players certainly put their best feet forward.

Ireland Women’s captain Niamh Briggs lined out for her club UL Bohemians and there were several Women’s internationals, both from the 15-a-side and Sevens game, at the tournament to watch the action and support the teams.

Railway Union featured strongly through the grades, a testament to their hard work in developing a dedicated Sevens squad. Railway picked up the Junior Women’s title, beating Rathdrum in the early part of the day, and added the Senior Women’s Cup with a dramatic late try from Sevens international Martina McCarthy (pictured below) seeing them overcome a tough Blackrock outfit in the final.

Queen’s University won the Senior Plate competition, beating Galwegians to take home the silverware.

Of particular note were the performances in the Under-18 competition with all the girls showing excellent skill levels. A well-drilled Portlaoise side beat Carrick-on-Suir in the U-18 decider, while Westmanstown picked up the plate with a victory over Railway.

Next up on the Sevens calendar is the Women’s Sevens Dublin tournament – the first ever international Women’s Sevens tournament in Ireland. 12 countries, 2 days, 7s heaven – join us for all the action at UCD on August 22-23 (tickets available here).

2015 AON IRFU WOMEN’S CLUB SEVENS TOURNAMENT:

Senior Cup Final –

Winners: Railway Union; Runners-Up: Blackrock College RFC

Senior Plate Final –

Winners: Queen’s University; Runners-Up: Galwegians

Junior Cup Final –

Winners: Railway Union; Runners-Up: Rathdrum

Under-18 Cup Final –

Winners: Portlaiose; Runners-Up: Carrick-on-Suir

Under-18 Plate Final –

Winners: Westmanstown; Runners-Up: Railway Union