#EnergiaAIL Women’s Division: Round 9 Previews
Old Belvedere have won their last five Energia All-Ireland League matches, scoring 34 tries in the process ©Ronan Ryan
Four of last week’s victorious teams are at home in the Energia All-Ireland League Women’s Division on Saturday, including fourth-placed Old Belvedere who face Tullow for the first time.
ENERGIA ALL-IRELAND LEAGUE WOMEN’S DIVISION – ROUND 9:
Saturday, December 14
Kick-off 2.30pm unless stated –
OLD BELVEDERE (4th) v TULLOW (10th), Ollie Campbell Park, 12.30pm
Energia All-Ireland League Season’s Form: Old Belvedere: LLLWWWWW; Tullow: LLLLLLL
Energia All-Ireland League Top Scorers – Old Belvedere: Points: Megan Edwards 55; Tries: Megan Edwards 11; Tullow: Points: Grace Kelly 20; Tries: Grace Kelly 4
Preview: The last round of action before the Christmas break sees Tullow pay a maiden visit to Ollie Campbell Park. They produced a much-improved first half performance against Blackrock College last week, but it is difficult balancing act for them with a rescheduled trip to UL Bohemian coming up on Tuesday.
With four tries in seven games, Tullow captain Grace Kelly’s reputation is certainly growing at All-Ireland League level. It looks like a bad time for them to be coming up against Old Belvedere, nonetheless, as Tania Rosser’s side are bidding to make it six bonus point wins in a row.
Limiting the opportunities out wide for Old Belvedere’s dangerous back-three is top of Tullow’s agenda. The ‘Belvo forwards laid the platform for Megan Edwards and Emma Tilly to repeatedly strike out wide against Galwegians, taking their scoring hauls for the season to 11 and 9 tries respectively.
Recent League Meetings – N/A
IrishRugby.ie Prediction: Old Belvedere to win
BLACKROCK COLLEGE (3rd) v SUTTONIANS (7th), Stradbrook, 1pm
Energia All-Ireland League Season’s Form: Blackrock College: LWLWWWWW; Suttonians: WDLLWWLL
Energia All-Ireland League Top Scorers – Blackrock College: Points: Maggie Boylan 40; Tries: Maggie Boylan 8; Suttonians: Points: Lauren Farrell McCabe 34; Tries: Lauren Farrell McCabe 5
Preview: Blackrock College, who sit four points above Old Belvedere in third place, are on a similarly strong run. Five straight victories, and four with a try-scoring bonus point, have Andy Adams’ charges nicely positioned but they need no reminding that Suttonians have tripped them up before.
The corresponding fixture last March saw Sutts claim a 17-5 win at Stradbrook with Julia O’Connor, a Leinster debutant earlier this season, among the try scorers. They have lost ground in recent weeks, though, and a walkover against UL Bohs resulted in a five-point deduction.
It will be a busy festive period for a number of Blackrock players with eight of them included in the Clovers and Wolfhounds squads for the Celtic Challenge. Among them are Ireland Under-20 lock Clíodhna Ní Chonchobhair and senior-capped hooker Sarah Delaney, who only turned 20 last Sunday.
Recent League Meetings – Saturday, November 4, 2023: Suttonians 12 Blackrock College 33, JJ McDowell Memorial Grounds; Thursday, March 14, 2024: Blackrock College 5 Suttonians 17, Stradbrook
IrishRugby.ie Prediction: Blackrock College to win
GALWEGIANS (6th) v UL BOHEMIAN (2nd), Crowley Park
Energia All-Ireland League Season’s Form: Galwegians: WLWWLLLL; UL Bohemian: WLWWWWW
Energia All-Ireland League Top Scorers – Galwegians: Points: Emily Foley 30; Tries: Emily Foley 6; UL Bohemian: Points: Chisom Ugwueru 50; Tries: Chisom Ugwueru 10
Preview: Spare a thought for Galwegians as this is the fourth successive round that they come up against a team currently in the top four. Their scoring difference has taken a bit of a pounding recently, and UL Bohemians are ominously fresh-legged after missing out on playing Suttonians.
Last season’s corresponding clash ended in a 58-5 defeat for ‘Wegians, but there are definite signs of progress under new head coach Jack Clarke, especially with promising youngsters like Sarah Purcell, Emily Foley, and Róisín Maher gaining valuable All-Ireland League experience.
UL Bohs head coach Fiona Hayes will no doubt use her squad wisely across the next few days, with that rescheduled match against Tullow on Tuesday night. As the Celtic Challenge also starts next week, Clovers call-up Saoirse Crowe will be keen to impress in the Red Robins’ front row.
Recent League Meetings – Saturday, September 23, 2023: UL Bohemian 82 Galwegians 0, Annacotty; Saturday, February 10, 2024: Galwegians 5 UL Bohemian 58, Crowley Park
IrishRugby.ie Prediction: UL Bohemian to win
RAILWAY UNION (1st) v BALLINCOLLIG (8th), Park Avenue
Energia All-Ireland League Season’s Form: Railway Union: WWWWWWWWW; Ballincollig: LDWLLLL
Energia All-Ireland League Top Scorers – Railway Union: Points: Amanda Berta 83; Tries: Amanda Berta 11; Ballincollig: Points: Niamh Crotty 25; Tries: Niamh Crotty 5
Preview: The Railway Union juggernaut rolls on, their latest result seeing them put over 100 points on Cooke in a relentless performance. Ballincollig come to the capital and, worryingly, have lost four matches on the bounce, including a 49-5 beating at the hands of Wicklow last Saturday.
Defences have been struggling to cope with Railway’s scoring power, led by two of the division’s leading try scorers, Amanda Berta (11) and Lindsay Peat (10). The impressive form of forwards Poppy Garvey and Patricia Doyle has also earned them Celtic Challenge call-ups with the Wolfhounds.
Second row Anna Kavanagh, a Ballincollig debutant this season and their captain against Wicklow, said: “It’s been really great to get my AIL debut this year, get the experience to kind of see how people at this level operate. Heading towards the second half of the season, hopefully it’s a restart and we get a few people back from injury. Get going again.”
Recent League Meetings – Saturday, October 21, 2023: Railway Union 46 Ballincollig 10, Park Avenue; Saturday, March 9, 2024: Ballincollig 10 Railway Union 63, Tanner Park
IrishRugby.ie Prediction: Railway Union to win
WICKLOW (5th) v COOKE (9th), Ashtown Lane, 5pm
Energia All-Ireland League Season’s Form: Wicklow: WWWLLLLW; Cooke: LWLLLLL
Energia All-Ireland League Top Scorers – Wicklow: Points: Beth Roberts 39; Tries: Rachel Griffey 6; Cooke: Points: Amanda Morton 20; Tries: Ilse van Staden, Stacey Sloan 2 each
Preview: Wicklow climbed back up to fifth place after a comprehensive 44-point win over Ballincollig. They are at home again for the second week running, knowing that they need to keep the pressure on Old Belvedere above them with just four points currently splitting the sides.
On an evening when Rachel Griffey stepped up as Wicklow’s captain, both she and her sisters, Jessica and Caitlin, contributed tries against ‘Collig. Cooke, who have been struggling to score of late, were very competitive against Wicklow last season with losing margins of three and 10 points.
Cooke skipper Megan Simpson commented: “Going down to Wicklow and putting a performance in will hopefully prove to our girls that when we see the likes of them doing well, up in fifth, that that could be us. There’s no reason why it can’t be us. Hopefully we can turn our chances into points on the board.”
Recent League Meetings – Saturday, November 11, 2023: Cooke 14 Wicklow 17, Shaw’s Bridge; Saturday, March 30, 2024: Wicklow 29 Cooke 19, Ashtown Lane
IrishRugby.ie Prediction: Wicklow to win
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