Wolfhounds Keep Thunder Scoreless In Bonus Point Victory

CELTIC CHALLENGE – ROUND 4:

Saturday, January 11 –

BRYTHON THUNDER 0 WOLFHOUNDS 48, Parc y Scarlets
Scorers: Brython Thunder:
Wolfhounds: Tries: Maebh Clenaghan, Molly Boyne, Amy Larn, Eve Higgins, Aoife Dalton, Katie Heffernan, Claire Boles, Ella Roberts; Cons: Dannah O’Brien 3, Stacey Flood
HT: Brython Thunder 0 Wolfhounds 31

Stacey Flood delivered a player-of-the-match performance in Llanelli, impressing at full-back and then at out-half during the closing stages, as the defending champions picked up their third bonus point victory in four rounds.

Linda Djougang and Flood both stood out as Neill Alcorn’s side swept into a 31-0 half-time lead. The tries were shared out by Maebh Clenaghan, Molly Boyne, Amy Larn, Eve Higgins, and Aoife Dalton.

The Wolfhounds coaches would have been most pleased with the defensive shutout as Brython Thunder, who had tested Edinburgh last week, were unable to take the bare look off the scoreboard.

The returning Katie Heffernan, captain Claire Boles, and Ella Roberts also crossed the whitewash as Alcorn’s charges scored eight tries for the second week running.

Their rearranged home match against Brython takes place at the UCD Bowl next Saturday afternoon (kick-off 1.30pm – tickets are available to buy here). It will also be live on irishrugby+.

The Welsh outfit fell behind inside the opening three minutes, with Boles and Djougang helping Ulster hooker Clenaghan to crash over from a lineout maul. Dannah O’Brien’s well-struck conversion made it a full seven-pointer.

The visitors got through some defensive sets inside their own half before building for a second score in the 11th minute. Again the lineout provided the launchpad, the forwards chipping away near the left corner before Boyne drove in low to make the line.

Wicklow ace Roberts, who came into the starting line-up on the right wing, was tackled into touch as the Wolfhounds continued to threaten, but there was no denying Larn on the opposite wing just minutes later.

Higgins supplied a clever killer pass, floating it out for Dalton and the increasingly-influential Flood to send the Ireland Sevens youngster over in the corner. O’Brien added a terrific touchline conversion to make it 19-0.

Brython Thunder enjoyed a purple patch in response, going close to scoring on two occasions. Dalton crucially ripped possession away from Ellie Tromans just a few metres out, and a penalty for crossing saw Meg Webb pulled back during another promising attack.

The powerful carrying of Erin King and Djougang punched more holes in the Brython defence, although O’Brien had a rare misfire when missing touch from a penalty. A scrum penalty kept them playing in the right areas, though.

Two more tries followed before the interval, with Higgins running hard to shrug off tackles from Hannah Lane and Niamh Terry as she pocketed the bonus point with 35 minutes on the clock.

A King lineout steal kept Brython out of the Wolfhounds 22, and a Seren Singleton error – she unfortunately kicked the ball dead when there was still time to play – was ruthlessly punished by Dalton’s late effort. She beat three defenders with a brilliantly-timed burst.

Handling errors made for some stop-start passages of play on the resumption, but again the Wolfhounds were quickest off the mark. Ten minutes in, eager replacement Heffernan squeezed over in the left corner after Higgins had used scrum ball to send Flood away on a pacy break.

Despite tireless Brython skipper Natalia John leading her side back within scoring range, and Hanna Marshall making an impact off the bench, the Wolfhounds defence stood firm under pressure thanks to King’s hard work at the breakdown.

Flood moved to out-half for the final quarter, and with replacements Caoimhe Molloy and Tricia Doyle quickly getting on the ball, the title holders were visibly keen for more.

Their reliable lineout had them pressing with a quarter of an hour remaining, and replacement scrum half Rachael McIlroy switched play back to the blindside where Boles expertly stepped inside the covering John to muscle her way over. Flood tagged on a fine conversion from out wide.

The scoring was wrapped up in the 78th minute by Roberts, a real star for the Combined Provinces in the inaugural Celtic Challenge two years ago. Boles and Doyle made good metres before Flood’s arcing pass set up Higgins to put the supporting winger over.

TIME LINE: 3 minutes – Wolfhounds try: Maebh Clenaghan – 0-5; conversion: Dannah O’Brien – 0-7; 11 mins – Wolfhounds try: Molly Boyne – 0-12; conversion: missed by Dannah O’Brien – 0-12; 15 mins – Wolfhounds try: Amy Larn – 0-17; conversion: Dannah O’Brien – 0-19; 35 mins – Wolfhounds try: Eve Higgins – 0-24; conversion: Dannah O’Brien – 0-26; 40+1 mins – Wolfhounds try: Aoife Dalton – 0-31; conversion: missed by Dannah O’Brien – 0-31; Half-time – Brython Thunder 0 Wolfhounds 31; 50 mins – Wolfhounds try: Katie Heffernan – 0-36; conversion: missed by Dannah O’Brien – 0-36; 66 mins – Wolfhounds try: Claire Boles – 0-41; conversion: Stacey Flood – 0-43; 78 mins – Wolfhounds try: Ella Roberts – 0-48; conversion: missed by Stacey Flood – 0-48; Full-time – Brython Thunder 0 Wolfhounds 48

BRYTHON THUNDER: Hannah Lane; Ellie Tromans, Hannah Bluck, Meg Webb, Eleanor Hing; Niamh Terry, Seren Singleton; Lowri Williams, Poppy Hughes, Katie Carr, Robyn Davies, Natalia John (capt), Kira Philpott, Lucy Isaac, Jess Rogers.

Replacements used: Hanna Marshall for Terry, Ffion Davies for Lane (both 45 mins), Cadi Lois Davies for Carr (48), Savannah Picton-Powell for Hing (55), Chloe Gant for Hughes, Meg Lewis for Williams (both 57), Anna Stowell for Isaac (66), Anna Davies for Picton-Powell (77).

WOLFHOUNDS: Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC); Ella Roberts (Wicklow RFC/Leinster), Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC), Amy Larn (Athy RFC); Dannah O’Brien (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Jade Gaffney (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster); Niamh O’Dowd (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Maebh Clenaghan (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Cooke RFC/Ulster), Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Alma Atagamen (Balbriggan RFC), Clíodhna Ní Chonchobhair (Blackrock College RFC), Molly Boyne (Railway Union RFC/Leinster), Claire Boles (Railway Union RFC/Ulster) (capt), Erin King (Old Belvedere RFC).

Replacements used: Katie Heffernan (Railway Union RFC) for Larn (half-time), Caoimhe Molloy (Wicklow RFC/Leinster) for O’Dowd, Christy Haney (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster) for Djougang (both 51 mins), Kelly Burke (Mullingar RFC/Leinster) for Clenaghan, Tricia Doyle (Railway Union RFC/Leinster) for King, Leah Tarpey (Railway Union RFC/Leinster) for O’Brien (all 61), Ciara Short (Wicklow RFC) for Atagamen, Rachael McIlroy (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Suttonians RFC/Ulster) for Gaffney (both 64).

Referee: Jack Davies (WRU)