Energia Women’s All-Ireland League: Round 7 Review

Malone 29-12 at Crowley Park.

The five-try performance moves them off the bottom of the table heading into the Christmas break to the relief of Head Coach Fraser Gow.

“We’re just delighted to get our first win,” he said. “A lot of new players have come in and are still learning. We couldn’t have expected to be picking up wins, but our performance levels have been getting better.”

‘Wegians brought an urgency to the opening exchanges and got their reward with tries from Mairead Coyne, Lisa Anglim and Dearbhla Canty. Malone stayed in the game through Grace Davitt’s try and looked to have the home side on the run when Neve Jones scored and Alexa Grudgings converted to leave it at 15-12 early in the second half.

In atrocious conditions, Galwegians managed to gather the restart and score through Tracey Lawlor. Nicola Fowley converted and also got the extras on Kate Feehan’s try in making sure of the win.

“Everything clicked today,” said Gow. “We’ve been inconsistent so we’re going to keep pushing and working hard into the new year to build on this.”

Galwegians are the only Energia Women’s All-Ireland League side not involved in next week’s Cup quarter-finals, meaning this was their last competitive fixture of 2019.

UL Bohemian kept to their word in improving their defensive performance on the run-in to Christmas with a 19-0 win at home to Old Belvedere.

It was the first time the Red Robins failed to scored a try-scoring bonus point this season, but they nilled a heavily armed Belvo side and will once again lead the league into the Christmas break.

Railway Union put in a clinical performance to defeat Cooke 52-0 in Belfast. Aoife Doyle scored a hat trick of tries from midfield while Larissa Muldoon converted six of the eight-try haul.

Cooke’s efforts to mount a comeback in the second half were hamstrung by the depth of their bench, meaning they slip to sixth in the table.

Blackrock College moved back into the playoff spots thanks to a 36-7 win at home to Suttonians. The sides last met at Stradbrook in February’s Cup semi-final won by Blackrock, with a strong second half proving instrumental in both games.

Sophie Gibney did score for the visitors after the restart this time, but it was the home side who kicked on to the bonus point with six tries.

 

BLACKROCK COLLEGE 36 SUTTONIANS 7, Stradbrook

Scorers: Blackrock College: Tries: Alison Coleman, Aisling Brosnan, Michelle Claffey 2, Hannah O’Connor, Caoimhe Molloy; Con: Hannah O’Connor 3

Suttonians: Tries: Greer Muir; Con: Sophie Gibney

HT:   Blackrock College 12 Suttonians 0

BLACKROCK COLLEGE: Aisling Brosnan, Ellen Taite, Ciara Scanlan, Michelle Claffey, Orla Molloy, Valerie Power, Laura Delaney, Christina Haney, AnnMarie Rooney, Caoimhe Molloy, Mairead Holohan, Judy Bobbett, Maeve Og O’Leary, Alison Coleman, Hannah O’Connor.

Replacements: Jenni Burke, Aoife Browne, Natasja Behan, Riana Roche, Roisin Crowe, Lisa Mullen

SUTTONIANS: Meabh O’Brien, Jayleigh Brophy, Sophie Gibney, Greer Muir, Molly Fitzgerald, Nicole Carroll, Lauren Farrell Mc Cabe, Grainne Tummon, Julia O’Connor, Julia Bauer, Syreeta Norris, Aifric O’Brien, Aislinn Layde, Helen Boylan, Rebecca Sullivan.

Replacements: Carrie O’Keeffe, Alexa Higginbotham, Katie Reel, Louise Catinot, Shauna Ennis, Brenda Barr

 

COOKE 0 RAILWAY UNION 52, Shaw’s Bridge

Scorers: Railway Union: Tries: Ailsa Hughes, Aoife Doyle 3, Lindsay Peat, Ciara Cooney 2, Emer O’Mahony; Con: Larissa Muldoon 6 

HT: Cooke 0 Railway Union 21

COOKE: Teah Maguire, Caitlin Fisher, Eliza Downey, Dolores Hughes, Lauren Pedlow, Amanda Morton, Hannah Kilgore, Hanna Harris, Sophie Allen, Aishling O’Connell, Helen McGhee, Katie Kerr, Laura Cairns, Kelly McCormil, Katie Hetherington.

Replacements: llse Van Staden

RAILWAY UNION: Hazel Simmons, Amanda McQuade, Aoife Doyle, Niamh Byrne, Emer O’Mahony, Larissa Muldoon, Ailsa Hughes, Lindsay Peat, Lisa Callan, Katie O’Dwyer, Aoife McDermott, Keelin Brady, Ciara Cooney, Lisa Marie Murphy, Daisy Earle.

Replacements: Aimee Clarke, Aoife Moore, Molly Boyne, Heather Carey, Aoife O’Shaughnessy

 

GALWEGIANS 29 MALONE 12, Crowley Park

Scorers:  Galwegians: Tries: Mairead Coyne, Lisa Anglim, Dearbhla Canty, Tracy Lawlor, Kate Feehan; Con: Nicole Fowley 2; 

Malone: Tries: Grace Davitt, Neve Jones; Con: Alexa Grudgings 

HT: Galwegians 15 Malone 5

GALWEGIANS: Mairead Coyne, Marina Gray, Emma Keane, Ina Butler, Julie Lyons, Nicole Fowley, Mary Healy, Ellen Connelly, Lisa Anglim, AnnMarie O’Hora, Fiona Farrell, Dearbhla Canty, Emma Fabby, Rachel Cox, Kate Feehan.

Replacements: Jessica Loftus, Tracy Lawlor, Denise Redmond, Cathriona Shally, Andrea Donnellan, Caoimhe Harte, Emily Horgan, Orla Dixon

MALONE: Ella Durkan, Jill Stephens, Grace Davitt, Peita McAlister, Jasmine Ward, Alexa Grudgings,  Shirelle Wilson, Sarah Murphy, Ashleigh Currie, Neve Jones, Naomi McCord, Chloe McIlwaine, Eimear Hagan, Fern Wilson, Lauren Maginnes.

Replacements: Louise McConville, Anna Stanfield, Sara Houston, Nicole Hutchinson

 

UL BOHEMIAN 19 OLD BELVEDERE 0, UL

Scorers: UL Bohemian: Tries: Chloe Pearse, Stephanie Nunan, Eimear Considine; Con: Nicole Fitzgerald 2 

HT: UL Bohemian 19 Old Belvedere 0

UL BOHEMIAN: Eimear Considine, Alana McInerney, Niamh Kavanagh, Rachel Allen, Stephanie Nunan, Nicole Fitzgerald, Erin Coll, Chloe Pearse, Kate Sheehan, Fiona Reidy, Ciara O’Halloran, Clodagh O’Halloran, Edel Murphy, Sarah Quin, Ciara Griffin.

Replacements: Laura Delaney, Aoife O’Sullivan, Eve McCormack, Emma Doolan, Helen McDermott, Niamh O’NeIll, Aoife Corey

OLD BELVEDERE: Grace Miller, Fiona Tuite, Alison Miller, Elise O’Byrne White, Alba Marlasca Abasolo, Aine Donnelly, Jemma Jackson, Rose Alice Murphy, Victoria Dabanovich O’Mahony, Linda Djougang, Clodagh Dunne, Jan Carroll, Alannah Rogers, Franziska Klappoth, Nichola Fryday.

Replacements: Melissa Hayden, Katie Layde, Niamh O’Flynn, Aoife Byrne, Jennifer Murphy, Danielle Downey, Vanessa Hullon.