Munster 26-17 Leinster
MUNSTER TOOK A giant leap towards retaining the Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship title thanks to a 26-17 bonus point win over Leinster at Musgrave Park.
Replacement Stephanie Carroll’s last-minute try, set up by captain Nicole Cronin, moved Niamh Briggs’ side five points clear at the top of the table ahead of next Saturday’s final round trip to Connacht.
Jenny Murphy and Deirbhile Nic a Bháird ran in their third scores of the tournament in an explosive start in Cork, before prop Róisín Ormond’s 22nd-minute effort from close range handed Munster a 14-7 half-time lead.
Referee Andrew Fogarty may have opted to keep his yellow card in his pocket had he had the benefit of TMO assistance, but he deemed Murphy’s tackle on Aoife Corey to be late and sin-binned the Leinster centre just before the break.
Clodagh O’Halloran and Elise O’Byrne-White traded tries during a tit-for-tat third quarter, and Aoife Dalton capitalised on Maeve Óg O’Leary’s sin-binning to bring Leinster within four points.
Despite losing player of the match O’Leary, Munster finished the stronger with replacement Ciara Farrell slicing through midfield before Carroll clinched a deserved victory via Cronin’s long skip pass.
And there were further celebrations for Munster after the final whistle as O’Halloran proposed to her partner, Chloe Pearse, on the pitch in the presence of their team-mates.
So there was some extra special scenes here in Musgrave Park as Clodagh O’Halloran proposed to Chloe Pearse! 🎉💍
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) January 14, 2023
She said yes!
Congratulations Clodagh and Chloe! #SUAF 🔴 pic.twitter.com/dKkjoJ8sMQ
Ulster 19-25 Connacht
Clara Barrett celebrated her 19th birthday a little early with a brace of tries in Connacht’s 25-19 bonus point win over Ulster.
Ireland U18 winger Barrett, who turns 19 next Thursday, scored in each half at a wet and windy Kingspan Stadium, with her 69th-minute score confirming Lyndon Jones’ side as deserved winners.
Connacht did the majority of the damage in the first half, building a 20-0 lead with Mayo natives Barrett, Ava Ryder and Emma Fabby all touching down with Nicole Foley kicking the other points.
Captain Beth Cregan led a determined response from Ulster, registering tries in the 45th and 55th minutes, before Fowley and Shannon Touhey combined to send Barrett over out wide.
Connacht had done enough to earn their first Interprovincial victory since the 2019/20 campaign, but Ulster did manage to salvage a late losing bonus point as Ella Durkan converted a Niamh Marley effort past the 80-minute mark.
Munster 26-17 Leinster
Scorers for Munster:
- Tries: Deirbhile Nic a Bháird, Róisín Ormond, Clodagh O’Halloran, Stephanie Carroll
- Cons: Nicole Cronin 3
Scorers for Leinster:
- Tries: Jenny Murphy, Elise O’Byrne-White, Aoife Dalton
- Con: Dannah O’Brien
MUNSTER: Aoife Corey (UL Bohemian RFC); Aoife Doyle (Railway Union RFC), Stephanie Nunan (UL Bohemian RFC), Rachel Allen (UL Bohemian RFC), Alana McInerney (UL Bohemian RFC); Nicole Cronin (UL Bohemian RFC) (capt), Muirne Wall (UL Bohemian RFC); Róisín Ormond (Ballincollig RFC), Kate Sheehan (UL Bohemian RFC), Fiona Reidy (UL Bohemian RFC), Clodagh O’Halloran (UL Bohemian RFC), Claire Bennett (UL Bohemian RFC), Dorothy Wall (Blackrock College RFC), Maeve Óg O’Leary (Blackrock College RFC), Deirbhile Nic a Bháird (Old Belvedere RFC).
Replacements: Chloe Pearse (UL Bohemian RFC) for K Sheehan (48 mins), Eilís Cahill (UL Bohemian RFC) for Reidy, Kate Flannery (UL Bohemian RFC) for Allen (both 65), Gillian Coombes (Ballincollig RFC) for Bennett (71), Ciara Farrell (UL Bohemian RFC) for Ormond, Stephanie Carroll (Railway Union RFC) for Nunan (both 75). Not used: Sarah Garrett (UL Bohemian RFC), Laura Sheehan (Exeter Chiefs).
LEINSTER: Ella Roberts (Wicklow RFC); Elise O’Byrne-White (Dublin University FC/Old Belvedere RFC), Aoife Dalton (Tullamore RFC/Old Belvedere RFC), Jenny Murphy (Old Belvedere RFC), Anna Doyle (Tullow RFC/Blackrock College RFC); Dannah O’Brien (Tullow RFC/Old Belvedere RFC), Molly Scuffil-McCabe (Garda Westmanstown RFC/Railway Union RFC); Aoife Moore (Blackrock College RFC), Jess Keating (Old Belvedere RFC), Christy Haney (St. Mary’s College RFC/Blackrock College RFC) (co-capt), Aoife McDermott (Railway Union RFC), Eimear Corri (Portlaoise RFC/Blackrock College RFC), Niamh O’Dowd (Old Belvedere RFC), Molly Boyne (Dublin University FC/Railway Union RFC), Hannah O’Connor (CYM RFC/Blackrock College RFC) (co-capt).
Replacements: Megan Collis (Greystones RFC/Railway Union RFC) for Moore (48 mins), Lisa Callan (Railway Union RFC) for Keating (61), Ailsa Hughes (Tullamore RFC/Railway Union RFC) for O’Byrne-White (62), Elaine Anthony (Old Belvedere RFC) for Corri, Vic Dabanovich O’Mahony (Old Belvedere RFC) for Haney (both 67). Not used: Emma Murphy (Railway Union RFC), Lisa Mullen (Virginia RFC/Blackrock College RFC), Niamh Byrne (Railway Union RFC).
Referee: Andrew Fogarty (IRFU)
Ulster 19-25 Connacht
Scorers for Ulster:
- Tries: Beth Cregan 2, Niamh Marley
- Cons: Ella Durkan 2
Scorers for Connacht:
- Tries: Clara Barrett 2, Ava Ryder, Emma Fabby
- Con: Nicole Fowley
- Pen: Nicole Fowley
ULSTER: Maeve Liston (Blackrock College RFC); Fern Wilson (Queen’s University Belfast RFC), Kelly McCormill (Cooke RFC), Mya Alcorn (Blackrock College RFC), Niamh Marley (Dungannon RFC); Ella Durkan (Blackrock College RFC), Rachael McIlroy (Queen’s University Belfast RFC); Sadhbh McGrath (Cooke RFC), Megan Simpson (Cooke RFC), Ilse van Staden (Cooke RFC), Keelin Brady (Railway Union RFC), Brenda Barr (Suttonians RFC), India Daley (Enniskillen RFC), Beth Cregan (City of Derry RFC/Blackrock College RFC) (capt), Sophie Barrett (Enniskillen RFC).
Replacements: Gemma McCamley (Cooke RFC) for McGrath, Ava Fannin (Blackrock College RFC) for van Staden (both 30-53 mins), Emma Jordan (Malone RFC/Suttonians RFC) for Alcorn (half-time), Helen McGhee (Cooke RFC) for Barr, Fiona Tuite (Old Belvedere RFC) for Daley (both 60), Amber Redmond (Suttonians RFC) for McIlroy (65), Stacey Sloan (Cooke RFC) for Simpson (71). Not used: Amanda Morton (Cooke RFC).
CONNACHT: Mairéad Coyne (Galwegians RFC); Ava Ryder (Railway Union RFC), Orla Dixon (Galwegians RFC), Shannon Touhey (Suttonians RFC), Clara Barrett (UL Bohemian RFC); Nicole Fowley (Galwegians RFC), Mary Healy (Galwegians RFC) (capt); Grainne O’Loughlin (Railway Union RFC), Lily Brady (UL Bohemian RFC), Laura Feely (Blackrock College RFC), Fiona Scally (Galwegians RFC), Eva McCormack (UL Bohemian RFC), Lisa-Marie Murphy (Galwegians RFC), Emma Fabby (Railway Union RFC), Grace Browne Moran (Galwegians RFC).
Replacements: Sonia McDermott (Railway Union RFC) for McCormack (47 mins), Kayla Waldron (Galwegians RFC) for Murphy (49), Karly Tierney (Tuam/Oughterard RFC) for Fabby (53), Emily Gavin (Galwegians RFC) for O’Loughlin, Elizabeth McNicholas (Galwegians RFC) for Brady (both 60), Olivia Haverty (Galwegians RFC) for Healy, Niamh O’Grady (Galwegians RFC) for McNicholas (both 62), Éabha Nic Dhonnacha (Tuam/Oughterard RFC) for Ryder, McCormack for Browne Moran (both 74).
Referee: Robbie Jenkinson (IRFU)
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