Leinster See Off Ulster Challenge To Book Interpro Final Berth

A dominant three-try final quarter performance steered Leinster through to the Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship final, following a 39-14 bonus point victory over Ulster in Belfast.

VODAFONE WOMEN’S INTERPROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND 3:

Saturday, August 24 –

ULSTER 14 LEINSTER 39, Kingspan Stadium
Scorers: Ulster: Tries: Brittany Hogan 2; Cons: Abby Moyles 2
Leinster: Tries: Robyn O’Connor, Ruth Campbell, Leah Tarpey, Molly Boyne, Emma Tilly, Eimear Corri, Kelly Burke; Cons: Jemma Farrell 2
HT: Ulster 7 Leinster 14

Leinster will return to Kingspan Stadium for next Saturday‘s title decider, locking horns again with Munster, but Ulster were only 14-7 behind at half-time, and 10 points down on the hour mark.

Brittany Hogan scored in both halves for the ever-improving hosts, while Wexford youngster Robyn O’Connor shone on her full debut for Leinster, as her rapid 40-metre run made for a tremendous opening try.

Ruth Campbell, Leah Tarpey, and Molly Boyne took care of the visitors’ bonus point haul, before they broke clear of a valiant Ulster side, with Emma Tilly and Vodafone player-of-the-match Eimear Corri’s pace too much out wide.

Aoife Wafer’s first appearance of the season, following a foot injury, was short but very sharp, and a late debut try for Mullingar teenager Kelly Burke, who made it over from a maul, completed a job well done by the defending champions.

The Interpros’ much-anticipated finals day takes place at Kingspan Stadium next Saturday, with Connacht, who finished third in the table, and Ulster meeting in the 3rd-4th place play-off at 2pm, before the final itself at 4.15pm. Tickets are available to buy here.

Despite missing out on an elusive win, Murray Houston’s Ulster squad can still take a lot from the round robin phase. There is definite progression when you consider that Ulster lost to Leinster by margins of 56, 45, 43, and 52 points, respectively, between 2019 and 2023.

With just a point separating the two teams in the table and a place in the final up for grabs, it was a winner-takes-all encounter. It was Leinster’s two new caps from last week that sparked their fast start in the rain.

Jade Gaffney went quickly from a penalty some 45 metres out, and the ball soon made its way to the electric O’Connor, who cut inside Lauren Patterson and had the speed and strength to beat three more defenders on her way to the whitewash.

The full-back’s third-minute try, converted by Jemma Farrell, preceded a very heavy rain shower, and the difficult conditions led to a crooked Ulster lineout. Busy second row Brenda Barr lifted the hosts by blocking down a Farrell kick near halfway.

Following an exchange of scrum penalties, Ulster had good field position to work off, and number 8 Hogan worked hard, in tandem with Vicky Irwin, to shut down an Ella Roberts break from deep.

Ireland-capped centre Irwin increased her influence, finding touch with her accurate left boot and using her handling skills and physicality in midfield to test the Leinster defence. Her efforts set up a close-in lineout opportunity, midway through the first half.

India Daley broke off the maul to go close, and armed with a penalty advantage, the Ulster forwards kept the pressure on. Hogan then burst onto a Kathryn Dane pass and wrestled her way over the line, impressively grounding the ball under three defenders.

On level terms with Abby Moyles on target from the tee, Ulster were quickly back on the defensive thanks to Linda Djougang and Caoimhe Molloy’s incisive carries. Leinster’s clever move off a tap penalty put Aoife Dalton over, but her score was ruled out for a forward pass.

Apart from Daley using a maul to take Ulster back past halfway, Leinster had most of the possession nearing the half hour mark. Farrell and Tarpey combined to good effect, breaching the hosts’ 22, yet Maebh Clenaghan led a counter-ruck for Moyles to snap up the ball.

Despite Clenaghan earning another turnover, this time with a penalty award at the breakdown, Ulster were undone by a swift attack from Leinster. Corri’s barnstorming break, from almost 60 metres out, catapulted the Blues back into scoring range.

A superb turnover from Hogan, with Djougang having been brought down just inches short, saw Ulster hold out. However, from the resulting scrum in the 36th minute, Djougang punched up close, and Campbell touched down from the ruck with Farrell converting.

Leinster head coach Tania Rosser brought on Ireland internationals Wafer and Niamh O’Dowd for the start of the second half, and Wafer immediately made a big impression with a turnover penalty, along with a couple of strong carries and clearouts.

Roberts stepped in off her left wing at pace, offloading neatly for centre Tarpey to break free from Moyles’ attempted tackle and extend Leinster’s lead to 19-7.

Wafer led Rosser’s charges back downfield soon after, having shown her breakdown skills again. The blue attacking wave was intensifying, but former Ulster out-half Farrell was hauled down just short by Lauren Farrell McCabe and Moya Hill.

Ulster hunted well in defence, with replacement Stacey Sloan landing some big shots, but a high hit from Barr on the lively Dalton had the hosts pinned back. They paid the price for an offside penalty, with Boyne crashing over from a 54th-minute maul.

Houston’s side returned fire with their own lineout drive, and Leinster leaked two further penalties close to their own line. Ulster’s pack hammered away with carries, and Hogan brlliantly burrowed in under the posts. Moyles’ conversion cut the deficit to 24-14.

Crucially, Leinster hit back with five minutes. From a scrum some 30 metres out, Wafer picked from the base and Gaffney fired an inviting pass out for winger Tilly, who nipped away from both Lucinda Kinghan and Farrell McCabe to cross in the right corner.

Ulster were far from finished, putting together their brighest multi-phase attack of the game, with Irwin, Hogan, and Rachael McIlroy all prominent. Replacement Megan Edwards was crisply released out wide, only for Gaffney to intercept a subsequent pass from Barr.

Leinster found another gear during the closing stages, though, as prop Djougang stole a lineout at the rear and then popped up on a break down the right, sending the classy Corri cruising home from 35 metres out.

Ireland Under-20 hooker Burke was involved in three well-worked lineouts following her introduction late on. She got on the end of a surging 77th-minute maul – from 12 metres out – to close out the scoring.

TIME LINE: 3 minutes – Leinster try: Robyn O’Connor – 0-5; conversion: Jemma Farrell – 0-7; 21 mins – Ulster try: Brittany Hogan – 5-7; conversion: Abby Moyles – 7-7; 37 mins – Leinster try: Ruth Campbell – 7-12; conversion: Jemma Farrell – 7-14; Half-time – Ulster 7 Leinster 14; 43 mins – Leinster try: Leah Tarpey – 7-19; conversion: missed by Jemma Farrell – 7-19; 54 mins – Leinster try: Molly Boyne – 7-24; conversion: missed by Nikki Caughey – 7-24; 59 mins – Ulster try: Brittany Hogan – 12-24; conversion: Abby Moyles – 14-24; 64 mins – Leinster try: Emma Tilly – 14-29; conversion: missed by Nikki Caughey – 14-29; 74 mins – Leinster try: Eimear Corri – 14-34; conversion: missed by Nikki Caughey – 14-34; 77 mins – Leinster try: Kelly Burke – 14-39; conversion: missed by Nikki Caughey – 14-39; Full-time – Ulster 14 Leinster 39

ULSTER: Lauren Farrell McCabe (Suttonians RFC); Lucy Thompson (Enniskillen RFC), Catherine Martin (Blackrock College RFC), Vicky Irwin (Sale Sharks), Lauren Patterson (MU Barnhall RFC/Blackrock College RFC); Abby Moyles (Blackrock College RFC), Kathryn Dane (Old Belvedere RFC) (capt); Megan Brodie (Blackrock College 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 used: Stacey Sloan (Cooke RFC) for Daley (half-time), Bronach Cassidy (Queen’s University Belfast RFC) for Brodie (45 mins), Rachael McIlroy (Queen’s University Belfast RFC) for Dane (48), Ava Fannin (Blackrock College RFC) for Barrett (52), Lucinda Kinghan (Railway Union RFC) for L Patterson (54), Christy Hill (Ballymena RFC) for M Hill (62), Megan Edwards (Old Belvedere RFC) for Thompson (68), Ellen Patterson (Queen’s University Belfast RFC) for Barr (75).

LEINSTER: Robyn O’Connor (Wexford Wanderers RFC); Emma Tilly (MU Barnhall RFC/Old Belvedere RFC), Aoife Dalton (Tullamore RFC/Old Belvedere RFC), Leah Tarpey (Tullamore RFC/Railway Union RFC), Ella Roberts (Wicklow RFC); Jemma Farrell (Old Belvedere RFC), Jade Gaffney (Navan RFC/Old Belvedere RFC); Linda Djougang (Wanderers FC/Old Belvedere RFC), Sarah Delaney (PortDara Falcons RFC/Blackrock College RFC), Christy Haney (Blackrock College RFC), Ruth Campbell (Naas RFC/MU Barnhall RFC/Old Belvedere RFC), Eimear Corri (Portlaoise RFC/Blackrock College RFC), Caoimhe Molloy (Gorey RFC/Wicklow RFC), Molly Boyne (Railway Union RFC), Hannah O’Connor (CYM Terenure RFC/Blackrock College RFC) (capt).

Replacements used: Aoife Wafer (Enniscorthy RFC/Gorey RFC/Blackrock RFC) for Molloy, Niamh O’Dowd (Old Belvedere RFC) for Haney (both half-time), Nikki Caughey (Malone RFC/Railway Union RFC) for Farrell (48), Aoife Moore (Carrick-on-Suir RFC/Blackrock College RFC) for Wafer (65), Ailsa Hughes (Tullamore RFC/Railway Union RFC) for Gaffney (72), Clodagh Dunne (Gorey RFC/Old Belvedere RFC) for Corri, Kelly Burke (Mullingar RFC) for Delaney, Anna Doyle (Tullow RFC/Blackrock College RFC) for Roberts (all 75).

Referee: Kevin Coffey (IRFU)