Vodafone Women’s Interpros: Round 2 – Ulster v Connacht Preview

Ulster ran away with last season’s 3rd-4th place play-off against Connacht, but a much tighter contest looks likely at Kingspan Stadium on Saturday, with six points the biggest winning margin between 2019 and last year’s round robin phase.

VODAFONE WOMEN’S INTERPROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND 2:

Saturday, August 17 –

ULSTER (3rd) v CONNACHT (4th), Kingspan Stadium, kick-off 2.30pm (live on TG4/BBC iPlayer/BBC Sport website)

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2024/25 Interprovincial Championship Top Scorers: Ulster – Points: Tara O’Neill, India Daley, Lucy Thompson, Brittany Hogan 5 each; Tries: Tara O’Neill, India Daley, Lucy Thompson, Brittany Hogan 1 each; Connacht – Points: Faith Oviawe 10; Tries: Faith Oviawe 2
Recent Interprovincial Form: Ulster: LLLWL; Connacht: WLWLL

Last Five Meetings: 2019: Ulster 19 Connacht 20, Queen’s University Belfast RFC; 2021: Connacht 12 Ulster 12, Energia Park; 2023: Ulster 19 Connacht 25, Kingspan Stadium; Connacht 29 Ulster 24, the Sportsground; 3rd-4th Place Play-Off: Connacht 14 Ulster 36, Musgrave Park

Players To Watch Out For: Ulster: Lucy Thompson – The growth of Women’s and Girls rugby at Enniskillen Royal Grammar School and Enniskillen RFC has seen Thompson come through the ranks at the same time as India Daley and Katie Hetherington. The former Ulster Girls Schools Player of the Year captained Enniskillen to the Ulster Junior Cup title this year, as well as playing for the Ireland Universities Women’s Sevens team.

Connacht: Grace Browne Moran – Always a physical and abrasive presence in Galwegians and Connacht packs, Browne Moran has captained the Blue Belles and had spells in Ireland camp during Adam Griggs’ tenure. The 23-year-old from Westport is a smart lineout operator and will certainly add to the westerners’ ball-carrying threat.

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Pre-Match Views: Kathryn Dane (Ulster captain) – “Winning is everything. We do hope that we can put out a performance and get that win on Saturday.

“Connacht will be sore after last season, knowing a lot of those girls from playing with Ireland, they’ll be hurting a lot from that loss last season. We’ll need our wits about us.

“With our new caps and everything (this season), it’s testament to the quality coaching that we have and the resourcing and investment in our player pathways.

“That Ulster underage team (at Under-18 level) has been successful for years and now we’re reaping the rewards. The growth potential is huge. The sky is the limit.”

Preview: An intriguing encounter awaits between two teams who took plenty of positives from their second half displays last week. Ulster outscored hosts Munster 17-7 after the break to pick up two bonus points, and Connacht matched Leinster’s dozen points during the closing 40 minutes.

Murray Houston’s first season in charge of Ulster ended on a historic note, as they registered their first Interprovincial victory in almost 11 years. Rachael McIlroy and Daley kicked off the try-scoring on a day to remember at Virgin Media Park.

That 36-14 play-off defeat was a painful one for Connacht, but they are working off a clean slate this summer under new head coach Emer O’Dowd, with some of their successful Under-18 group from 2023/24 already pushing hard for senior caps.

This is the first of three successive matches for Ulster at Kingspan Stadium, culminating in the tournament’s finals day on Saturday, August 31, and Houston and his players are understandably keen to make their Belfast base a real fortress.

“The environment, we’re trying to create one that everyone wants to be a part of,” said Houston. “That is what’s helping the performances and improving, for example, that second half performance (last week).

“Last year there were 10 points in it (against Munster) with 20 minutes to go and we fell away and they ran away. This year, we don’t capitulate, we come back in the second half and end up with a chance of winning or drawing the game.

“The reality is we have to look at that as great progress. We’re changing the perception of Women’s rugby in Ulster.”

Blackrock College duo Catherine Martin and Abby Moyles, the former making her debut, will aim to get the best out of Ulster’s back-line, while Connacht’s Faith Oviawe and Grace Browne Moran, who both come into the starting line-up, have the physical attributes to cause Ulster problems in defence.

Team News: Experienced Blackrock centre Martin will make her highly-anticipated senior debut for Ulster against familiar opposition, having been honoured as the Connacht Women’s Player of the Year in 2022.

Having missed the Championship opener in Cork, Martin will feature in midfield tomorrow alongside Cooke teenager Tara O’Neill, a try scorer on her debut last week.

Enniskillen’s Lucy Thompson, who had an impressive try-scoring cameo off the bench in round one, is rewarded with her first senior start on the right wing. She comes in for her club-mate, Sophie Meeke.

Peita McAlister switches to the left wing and head coach Houston’s final back-line alteration sees skilful 20-year-old Moyles replace Vicky Irwin. She gets a chance to team up with captain Kathryn Dane at half-back for the first time.

Cooke’s Cara O’Kane makes her first start in the second row, filling in for the injured Fiona Tuite. That makes vice-captain Brittany Hogan the only Ireland international in the forwards’ contingent.

Queen’s University Belfast duo Bronach Cassidy and Maebh Clenaghan make it six personnel changes in all, with the highly-rated 21 -year-old Clenaghan, who is also covering the hooker position, joining Hogan and Moya Hill in the back row.

Blackrock prop Ava Fannin, Ulster’s starting loosehead from that historic play-off victory last season, returns and is poised for her first appearance of the new campaign as a replacement.

Meanwhile, Oviawe, one of Connacht’s most gifted athletes, has propelled herself into the starting XV following an excellent two-try contribution against Leinster. It will be a deserved second start of her senior Interprovincial career.

Oviawe won her first cap in the second row against Munster twelve months ago, but will pack down at blindside flanker tomorrow. Connacht boss O’Dowd has also selected a new lock pairing in Karly Tierney and Browne Moran.

Galwegians centre Orla Dixon is the only other personnel change, with Gráinne Moran, Ella Burns, and Megan Collis also backing up from their debuts as starters last week.

MU Barnhall’s Hope Lowney, who has switched across from Leinster, is one of the front row options in reserve, and promising Creggs forward Jemima Adams Verling is in line for her senior bow in Connacht colours just over five weeks after turning 18.

Tuam/Oughterard flyer Hannah Clarke is another talented teenager eager to make the breakthrough at senior level with her native province. The Ireland Under-20 international’s pace could be a good weapon for O’Dowd during the second half.

ULSTER: Lauren Farrell McCabe (Suttonians RFC); Lucy Thompson (Enniskillen RFC), Catherine Martin (Blackrock College RFC), Tara O’Neill (Cooke RFC), Peita McAlister (Malone RFC); Abby Moyles (Blackrock College RFC), Kathryn Dane (Old Belvedere RFC) (capt); Bronach Cassidy (Queen’s University Belfast RFC), India Daley (Enniskillen RFC/Blackrock College RFC), Sophie Barrett (Enniskillen RFC/Railway Union RFC), Brenda Barr (Suttonians RFC), Cara O’Kane (Cooke RFC), Moya Hill (Enniskillen RFC), Maebh Clenaghan (Queen’s University Belfast RFC), Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC).

Replacements: Christy Hill (Ballymena RFC), Megan Brodie (Blackrock College RFC), Ava Fannin (Blackrock College RFC), Gemma McCamley (Cooke RFC), Stacey Sloan (Cooke RFC), Rachael McIlroy (Queen’s University Belfast RFC), Paige Smyth (Ballynahinch RFC), Vicky Irwin (Sale Sharks).

CONNACHT: Méabh Deely (Blackrock College RFC); Clara Barrett (UL Bohemian RFC), Orla Dixon (Galwegians RFC), Éabha Nic Dhonnacha (UL Bohemian RFC), Laoise McGonagle (UL Bohemian RFC); Nicole Fowley (Galwegians RFC) (co-capt), Gráinne Moran (Ballina RFC); Ella Burns (Tuam/Oughterard RFC), Lily Brady (UL Bohemian RFC), Megan Collis (Railway Union RFC), Karly Tierney (Tuam/Oughterard RFC), Grace Browne Moran (Galwegians RFC), Faith Oviawe (Railway Union RFC), Béibhinn Gleeson (Tuam/Oughterard RFC), Shannon Touhey (Tullamore RFC) (co-capt).

Replacements: Stacy Hanley (Galwegians RFC), Hope Lowney (MU Barnhall RFC), Roisín Maher (Galwegians RFC), Jemima Adams Verling (Creggs RFC), Rosie Searle (Navan RFC), May Goulding (Saracens), Ava Ryder (Railway Union RFC), Hannah Clarke (Tuam/Oughterard RFC/Galwegians RFC).

Referee: Dermot Blake (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Mitchell, Glenda Mellon (both IRFU)