Buttimer: It’s Unreal To See How We Have Grown
Beth Buttimer, Ireland's player-of-the-match, is pictured with her team-mates Ellen Boylan, Kate Flannery, Ruth Campbell, Ellie O'Sullivan Sexton, captain Jane Neill, and Jade Gaffney ©INPHO/Ben Brady
Beth Buttimer’s two tries in a player-of-the-match performance against Scotland topped off what has been an ‘unreal’ experience for her at the inaugural Six Nations Women’s Summer Series.
The Tipperary teenager, who only turns 19 next month, has loved her time with the newly-assembled Ireland Under-20 Women’s squad (sponsored by PwC). She made history with her team-mates yesterday by registering Ireland’s first win at this level.
Under the guidance of head coach Niamh Briggs and her assistants JP Walsh and Murray Houston, the Ireland U-20s finished the Summer Series on a real high with a 37-7 win over Scotland in muggy conditions in Parma.
“I’m buzzing. It was such a good win,” admitted a beaming Buttimer afterwards, reflecting on a debut tournament together for some of Irish Rugby’s potential future stars.
“We have been building from the start, we were a really raw team when we arrived and it’s unreal to see how we have grown.
“This result, against a tough Scottish side, is testament to how much work has gone in over the past couple of weeks.”
The bubbly hooker, who can also play in the back row, took up rugby in first year at Rockwell College. She played for local club Fethard & District RFC, before making her Ireland debut at the first ever Under-18 Women’s Six Nations Festival in Edinburgh in 2022.
Notably, Buttimer is one of ten members of the Ireland U-18 squad from two years ago that played in Parma this month. The talented 2022 group, moulded by the Women’s National Talent Squad programme, has already produced senior internationals.
Overseen by Katie Fitzhenry, the IRFU’s National WNTS and Talent Identification Manager, the pathway’s solid foundations have led to Sadhbh McGrath, Sarah Delaney, and Katie Corrigan making their Test debuts for Ireland in the last 16 months.
Alanna Fitzpatrick has also made waves with the Ireland Women’s Sevens team, earning her place in the squad for the Olympic Games in Paris at the age of just 19.
2022 saw Buttimer make history with her older sibling Henry, becoming the first brother-sister combination to make their age-grade debuts for Ireland in the same year. He was on the right wing for the Ireland Under-19 Men’s 26-21 win over France in Belfast.
Beth had a second season with the national U-18 team, scoring two tries at the Festival in Wellington, England. 2023 also saw her win her first three Interprovincial caps with Munster, as well as playing for the province against the Barbarians at Thomond Park.
A fierce competitor on the pitch, and a vocal leader up front for Briggs’ charges, the 18-year-old gained further senior experience with the Clovers in the Celtic Challenge, and was the starting hooker when UL Bohemian won April’s Energia All-Ireland League final at the Aviva Stadium.
After matching England in the second half of their Summer Series opener with a try apiece, and producing another strong finish against hosts Italy, Buttimer was delighted that Ireland could close out the development competition with a well-deserved victory.
“I’m hungry for it now. We’ve all been given a chance to put our hands up during this series and hopefully we’ll keep getting opportunities to do that.
“The competition has been brilliant, really well run. We have had time to interact with the other nations, which is important, and it’s been history making. This is the icing on the cake of a great season.”
It was a strong tournament collectively for Buttimer and her fellow forwards, who scored eight of Ireland’s 10 tries during a campaign which saw them play three 80-minute matches in the space of 11 days.
She bagged a second half brace herself against Scotland, and also supplied the assists for scores from replacements Éadaoin Murtagh, who muscled over from a lineout maul, and Hannah Wilson.
Once they got into try-scoring range, and having led 13-7 at half-time, captain Jane Neill and her team-mates regularly tested the Scottish defence off their set-piece platform and with close-in carries.
Like Buttimer, Kate Flannery, who kicked 10 points and pulled the strings at out-half, has come up through the ranks at Rockwell, Fethard, UL Bohs, and Munster. She was vice-captain of Briggs’ 28-strong group in Italy.
During the early morning clash, Ireland took the ball on 140 times for 920 metres carried, making six linebreaks, beating 24 defenders, and throwing 12 offloads. A full squad effort saw them maintain a high workrate despite the near 30-degree heat.
With 110 rucks won and none lost, and five breakdown steals, Ireland were able to put Scotland under considerable pressure during the second half, having been disappointed to concede a try to Lucia Scott just before the interval.
“We talked about our body height with our carries when we get close to the line, about not getting too excited when we see the line,” added Buttimer, who also helped the University of Limerick to complete a Student Sport Ireland/IRFU Tier 1 League and Cup double for the first time this year.
“We came away with some good tries there. It was great for us as front rowers – you don’t see us getting player-of-the-match too often!
“We said at half-time that we’d let them in more than they deserved. We brushed up on what we needed to, we were ruthless and kept our foot on the throat.”