Railway Outlast Old Belvedere In Pulsating #EnergiaAIL Play-Off

Closing tries from Poppy Garvey and Laura Sheehan sealed Railway Union’s 19th straight win of the season, as they held off a stern challenge from a Deirbhile Nic a Bháird-inspired Old Belvedere at Park Avenue. Watch the match back on irishrugby+.

ENERGIA ALL-IRELAND LEAGUE WOMEN’S DIVISION SEMI-FINAL:

Sunday, April 13 –

RAILWAY UNION 37 OLD BELVEDERE 24, Park Avenue
Scorers: Railway Union: Tries: Caoimhe McCormack, Emily Gavin, Lindsay Peat, Leah Tarpey, Poppy Garvey, Laura Sheehan; Cons: Hannah Scanlan, Caoimhe McCormack; Pen: Hannah Scanlan
Old Belvedere: Tries: Megan Edwards, Minonna Nunstedt, Katie Corrigan, Emma Tilly; Cons: Jemma Farrell 2
HT: Railway Union 25 Old Belvedere 19

#EnergiaAIL Women’s Division Semi-Final: Railway Union v Old Belvedere Highlights

Railway Union had to dig deep to reach their fifth successive Energia All-Ireland League Women’s Division final, which will again be part of a much-anticipated Men’s and Women’s double header at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday, April 27.

The lead changed hands four times during a hotly-contested first half, a late penalty from Hannah Scanlan giving Railway a 25-19 half-time advantage after Old Belvedere had given as good as they got.

Teenagers Caoimhe McCormack and Katie Corrigan ran in two excellent individual tries, the latter adding to earlier scores from Megan Edwards and Minonna Nunstedt for a fired-up Belvedere side.

By the midway point, Emily Gavin, Lindsay Peat, and Leah Tarpey had followed Railway full-back McCormack over the whitewash, and Mike South’s charges pulled clear during the last quarter to finish as 37-24 winners.

Emma Tilly’s 54th-minute try had raised hopes of the visitors upsetting the form book, yet the table toppers showed their class down the final stretch to set up a mouth-watering rematch with defending champions UL Bohemian.

Released from Ireland camp, number 8 Nic a Bháird made an early impact for Old Belvedere with a turnover penalty, but it was Railway who opened the scoring. They made good ground initially through Aoife McDermott’s lineout win and carry past the visitors’ 10-metre line.

When play was switched out to the left, tricky full-back McCormack took off on a brilliant 50-metre burst, dummying her way through a gap and ghosting in between Tilly and Áine Donnelly, before getting the ball down ahead of her chasers. Scanlan converted.

It was a bright opening from both teams, Corrigan chasing down a Jemma Farrell kick to get Old Belvedere on the move. When they worked an overlap a few phases later, Tilly drew in McCormack and sent Edwards over for a tidy finish. Farrell swept over a superb levelling conversion.

Tania Rosser’s side had the bit between their teeth, and Nic a Bháird launched a break that had Railway scampering back towards their own posts. Órlaith McAuliffe and Jane Neill both carried well before Farrell and Tilly got the ball wide for centre Nunstedt to clinically finish off a free-flowing attack.

After Farrell was unfortunate to hit the near post with her conversion attempt, Railway quickly built for a second try of their own. McDermott stole a lineout in response to a a well-won McAuliffe penalty at the breakdown.

Niamh Byrne got over the ball to show her own jackaling skills, the Railway captain taking the penalty quickly, and a neat spread of passes ended with Sheehan darting down the right wing and feeding the ball back inside for hooker Gavin to make it 12-all.

Two tries apiece after just 16 minutes, the game’s intensity and speed showed no signs of slackening off. Jade Gaffney hounded Mary Healy into an error, and Nic a Bháird kicked downfield before McCormack’s impressive sidestepping run was halted by Neill and a penalty-winning Tilly.

The hosts were using Tarpey’s right boot to good effect, and from one such clearance, a counter-ruck drew a 23rd-minute penalty. The maul marched them forward, and Peat was unstoppable from a close-range pick, well supported by Kirstie Stevenson.

As the rain began to come down, Railway’s 17-12 lead proved to be a short-lived one. On the half hour mark, a crisp ‘Belvo move off a scrum saw Corrigan cut inside Byrne, evade both Tarpey and Scanlan, and step inside Rhiann Heery before dotting down ahead of McCormack.

It was a superb solo score from the talented 19-year-old, and Farrell’s conversion gave the underdogs a two-point advantage. ‘Belvo misjudged the restart though, and barely a couple of minutes later, Tarpey scored from her own kick through, profiting from Edwards’ error in defence.

Scanlan turned a strong spell of carrying into three more points, leaving six in it at the interval. Old Belvedere absorbed some early second-half pressure in the returning sunshine before Nic a Bháird’s quickly-taken penalty and surging run took play back into Railway territory.

Despite losing skipper Lesley Ring to injury, ‘Belvo remained on the front foot thanks to a Farrell 50:22 kick and a scrum penalty. They gradually wore down the Railway defence, and Nunstedt used Farrell’s skip pass to send Tilly over on the right.

It stayed 25-24 with Farrell missing the difficult conversion from out wide, and with Katie O’Dwyer and Tricia Doyle on in the front row, Railway soon fired back with a scrum penalty of their own.

Although a crooked lineout briefly broke up their momentum, the Sandymount-based outfit swiftly got back into scoring range. Molly Boyne’s quick tap and charge towards the try-line paved the way for fellow back rower Garvey to go over from replacement Ailsa Hughes’ pass.

The international experience Railway were able to bring on was key, with Claire Boles, Hughes, and Claire Keohane part of ground-gaining set of phases that also involved Boyne and influential lock McDermott. ‘Belvo held out as Sheehan was called back for a forward pass from Keohane.

Six points was still the gap until Sheehan struck the killer blow with six minutes remaining. Katie Layde went agonisingly close to winning a turnover penalty, but play continued and Keohane’s cross-field kick bounced awkwardly, coming off Nunstedt and it was Sheehan who reacted quickest to score.

McCormack converted the try to confirm a return trip to the home of Irish Rugby for her side. ‘Belvo’s wait for a first final appearance since 2018 goes on, but they can be very proud of this performance, especially considering they were without the likes of Elise O’Byrne-White and Vic Dabanovich O’Mahony due to injury.

TIME LINE: 5 minutes – Railway Union try: Caoimhe McCormack – 5-0; conversion: Hannah Scanlan – 7-0; 9 mins – Old Belvedere try: Megan Edwards – 7-5; conversion: Jemma Farrell – 7-7; 12 mins – Old Belvedere try: Minonna Nunstedt – 7-12; conversion: missed by Jemma Farrell – 7-12; 16 mins – Railway Union try: Emily Gavin – 12-12; conversion: missed by Hannah Scanlan – 12-12; 24 mins – Railway Union try: Lindsay Peat – 17-12; conversion: missed by Hannah Scanlan – 17-12; 29 mins – Old Belvedere try: Katie Corrigan – 17-17; conversion: Jemma Farrell – 17-19; 32 mins – Railway Union try: Leah Tarpey – 22-19; conversion: missed by Hannah Scanlan – 22-19; 38 mins – Railway Union penalty: Hannah Scanlan – 25-19; Half-time – Railway Union 25 Old Belvedere 19; 54 mins – Old Belvedere try: Emma Tilly – 25-24; conversion: missed by Jemma Farrell – 25-24; 62 mins – Railway Union try: Poppy Garvey – 30-24; conversion: missed by Hannah Scanlan – 30-24; 74 mins – Railway Union try: Laura Sheehan – 35-24; conversion: Caoimhe McCormack – 37-24; Full-time – Railway Union 37 Old Belvedere 24

RAILWAY UNION: Caoimhe McCormack; Laura Sheehan, Niamh Byrne (capt), Leah Tarpey, Rhiann Heery; Hannah Scanlan, Mary Healy; Kirstie Stevenson, Emily Gavin, Megan Collis, Sonia McDermott, Aoife McDermott, Poppy Garvey, Molly Boyne, Lindsay Peat.

Replacements: Méabh Keegan, Tricia Doyle, Katie O’Dwyer, Evelyn Donnelly, Claire Boles, Ailsa Hughes, Claire Keohane, Aimee Clarke.

OLD BELVEDERE: Emma Tilly; Katie Corrigan, Áine Donnelly, Minonna Nunsdedt, Megan Edwards; Jemma Farrell, Jade Gaffney; Hannah Wilson, Jess Keating, Katie Layde, Lesley Ring (capt), Órlaith McAuliffe, Kara Mulcahy, Jane Neill, Deirbhile Nic a Bháird.

Replacements: Hannah Rapley, Laura Carroll, Grace Tutty, Juliet Byrne, Ellie O’Sullivan Sexton, Eowyn Edwards, Kate Ballance, Charlotte Nagle.

Referee: Kevin Beakey (IRFU)