Whelan And Leinster ‘Raring To Go’ Ahead Of Munster Showdown

Katie Whelan loved being back in the blue jersey of her province on Saturday, with the 21-year-old having a big influence on Leinster’s 38-19 first round win over Connacht at Energia Park.

Whelan delivered a Vodafone player-of-the-match performance from scrum half, scoring two tries and supplying the assist for Caoimhe Molloy’s second half effort, as well as combining with Nikki Caughey to put Aoife Dalton and Emma Tilly over before half-time.

She also showed her versatility by playing the final quarter on the right wing, a positional move which Leinster head coach Tania Rosser made to good effect last season when the Blues were crowned Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial champions.

Reflecting on their first run-out of the new season, Whelan told TG4: “It was absolutely unbelievable. I was just bulling to get out there because it’s so long since we’ve played a game. It was class, so much fun.

“I kind of just tried to take it play-by-play. There were a few unforced errors at the start, but I had to brush it off and forget about it. I know Tania likes to mix it up and put me in the back-field. I just took it as it came.”

While Whelan’s 22nd-minute try from a close-in ruck helped Leinster on their way to a 26-7 half-time lead, the second half saw the hosts come under sustained pressure from this young Connacht team.

The closing 40 minutes saw the sides score two tries each, and despite losing both Molly Boyne and replacement Jane Neill to the sin bin, Whelan singled out the Leinster forwards for praise as they made it difficult for the westerners to turn their numerical advantage into points.

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Speaking about the pressure their defence had to absorb after the interval, the Wexford native insisted: “Just really be relentless. We wanted everyone on their feet, that was important for us, we weren’t going to stop them scoring if we had so many poking into the rucks.

“We needed everyone on their feet, and just to trust each other and trust the system, trust our spacing and stuff. I think we really did a good job.

“We were patient and we didn’t panic once they got up in that zone. I think that’s what paid off for us, we were just patient and trusted ourselves. The forwards put in some shift. I’m really proud of them.”

Whelan spoke at the recent tournament launch about her desire to ‘put her best foot forward’ in 2024/25. Emerging as one of Ireland’s most exciting young half-backs, making her senior international debut is a big target as Scott Bemand’s charges prepare for a massive 12 months.

The former Enniscorthy underage star gained valuable experience last season as a squad member for Ireland’s successful WXV3 and Guinness Women’s Six Nations campaigns, which delivered silverware in Dubai, and qualification in the spring for WXV1 and the 2025 Rugby World Cup.

Next Saturday’s showdown between Munster and Leinster at Virgin Media Park, in a repeat of last year’s final, will see a number of current Ireland internationals and debut-seeking players go head-to-head.

For Whelan, playing consistently well for her province will keep her on course for that first Ireland cap, and her immediate focus is only on building on the Blues’ bonus-point winning start to the Interpros.

“Obviously there’s learnings, but we’re going to go back and look at them on Monday night, Tuesday night, and I think we’re just raring to go for next weekend again.

“Definitely work-rate (was good). I think we did have a purple patch and we knew that was going to happen. It was really hot out there, so hopefully next week we’ll be more used to it.

“It’s the first game. We only have a few games together during the year, so first game is always a bit rusty. But I think we were class today, I’m really happy with the squad.”

Saturday was a special day for the five players who won their first senior caps for Leinster, while Connacht’s new head coach Emer O’Dowd handed out nine debuts in Donnybrook, including to teenage props Ella Burns and Roisín Maher who acquitted themselves very well.

Having leaked four tries during the first half, Connacht’s young guns can take plenty of positives from their improvements as the game went on. Impressive replacement lock Faith Oviawe stood out with a well-taken brace of tries.

Giving his reaction afterwards, the province’s defence coach Tommy Ellard said: “We have a young squad and I thought we started nervous, and we lacked a little bit of energy. We kind of gave away a couple of soft scores that cost us.

“It was really at half-time, the chance to get to regroup at half-time that kind of pulled things back together and gave a little bit of self-belief.”

Holding their own against the defending champions in the second half will instill a lot of confidence in O’Dowd’s young group, who now have an opportunity to avenge last September’s play-off defeat to Ulster when they visit Kingspan Stadium in round two.

Buoyed by how they bounced back from a difficult first 40 minutes, Ellard added: “I felt we fought hard in defence then, which we kind of passed up a few options in the first half. In the second half we fought really hard, and started to attack really hard.

“The self-belief built in the younger squad, and I thought the second half especially was very positive. A real battle between both teams.”