Gwalia Lightning 31-17 Edinburgh Rugby
Gwalia Lightning secured an impressive win over Edinburgh in the Round 4 clash in the Celtic Challenge at Ystrad Mynach on Saturday afternoon.
The home side were roared on by a packed Grandstand at Ystrad Mynach and the supporters watched a highly entertaining Celtic Challenge clash. This bonus-point victory by Gwalia was their third win in the Celtic Challenge and keeps the pressure on reigning champions, Wolfhounds. Wings Courtney Greenway and Caitlin Lewis, lock Alaw Pyrs, hooker Molly Reardon and replacement scrum half Lily Hawkins crossed for Gwalia’s five tries.
Hooker Reardon was the outstanding player on the pitch, while wing Greenway kept her impressive try-scoring rate and fly half Carys Hughes added to her points tally with the boot. The home side came into this game on the back of an impressive win away from home against Glasgow Warriors and being second in the table. Gwalia were on the front foot from the off and Wales hooker Molly Reardon was held up over the line before the visitors to the lead after a period pressure with a try by Cieron Bell.
The Lightning replied straight away when try-scoring machine Greenway crossed in the corner for her fifth try in the Celtic Challenge to make it 5-5. Wing Caitlin Lewis then crossed for a second try in the corner for Gwalia after a period of pressure to extend the home sides lead. The visitors replied with a try by hooker Aila Ronald to level the score and centre Lucy MacRae landed the extras to make it 12-10.
Flanker Anwen Lewis the spilt the Edinburgh defence on the halfway and was hauled down just short of the visitors line. Gwalia would not be denied and lock Pyrs crashed over under the posts after a tap penalty retake the lead. Fly half Carys Hughes landed the conversion to make it 17-12 to the Welsh side after see-saw first half with both sides enjoying their share of ball and territory.
After the break, the visitors went down a player due to a yellow card and hooker Reardon crashed over for the home side’s fourth try. Hughes landed the conversion to make it 24-12 after 50 minutes to Gwalia Lightning. Fly half Hannah Ramsey took advantage of a weak Gwalia defence to haul the Scots back into the contest with a third try. But the home side sealed the win with a try by replacement scrum half Hawkins and Jenny Hesketh landed the conversion to make it 31-17.
Player of the Match: Molly Reardon (Gwalia Lightning)
Wolfhounds 69-0 Brython Thunder
Neill Alcorn’s side, who continue to set the place at the top of the table, were in free-scoring form in Belfast, but took just as much satisfaction from keeping a Brython Thunder team containing seven Wales internationals scoreless.
Fresh from Ireland’s training camp earlier this week, Vicky Elmes Kinlan (2), uncapped winger Robyn O’Connor, and Linda Djougang all touched down to add to an early Niamh Marley score and a penalty try. That gave the defending champions a 36-0 half-time lead, with the penalty try also putting Brython Thunder’s Lisa Neumann in the sin bin. The visitors ended the game down to 14 players due to a late red card for Elan Jones.
It was 11 tries without reply in the end, as player-of-the-match Stacey Flood, O’Connor again, replacements Maebh Clenaghan and Jade Gaffney, and emerging talent Naoise Smyth all crossed the whitewash after the break. Amy Williams put in a crucial tackle on Ireland star Djougang, who linked neatly with Maeve Óg O’Leary and Fiona Tuite in attack inside the opening minutes. Brython Thunder debutant Sisilia Tuipulotu brought impact with a big carry and an early scrum penalty.
It was Armagh native Marley who made the breakthrough in the seventh minute, scoring at her home provincial ground. Fed by Flood on the left wing, she charged over from just outside the visitors’ 22, handing off Hannah Bluck along the way. The Wolfhounds quickly extended their lead, Aoibheann Reilly releasing young winger O’Connor from 60 metres out. Her rapid, weaving run took her past full-back Williams before Neumann’s high tackle – just before the try-line – resulted in a penalty try and a yellow card.
India Daley then tied in two defenders, allowing the supporting Elmes Kinlan to dart clear from 30 metres out. Dannah O’Brien converted from straight in front, opening up a 19-point advantage with Neumann still off the pitch. Brython Thunder looked dangerous at times when counter attacking, but they failed to profit from a Tuipulotu turnover past halfway. The Wolfhounds raced back downfield at pace, and King had a try ruled out for blocking.
Brython Thunder captain Gwen Crabb and Branwen Metcalfe did well to force a maul turnover, holding up Caoimhe Molloy just a few metres out. The home team hit back soon after by winning a scrum against the head. They used the possession wisely, moving the ball crisply across to the right where Flood unleashed O’Connor for a fleet-footed finish, rounding past three defenders. That was the bonus point taken care of by the half-hour mark.
Djougang delighted the home support by pinning her ears back to run in try number five. She used Daley’s smart offoad to break from 40 metres out, showing her pace and shrugging off Hanna Marshall to touch down. The Welsh outfit struggled once the Wolfhounds were in full flow in attack, and Elmes Kinlan doubled her tally with a scintillating, sidestepping run in the 36th minute. Attacking from just inside her own half, she left four defenders trailing in her wake to complete a brilliant brace.
Brython Thunder failed to deal with an O’Brien kick that found grass, allowing Flood to sweep through, handing off Seren Singleton for a seven-pointer inside the opening 90 seconds of the closing half. After regrouping following a Metcalfe break, the Wolfhounds sprung clear for a 46th-minute try. King used scrum ball to send Reilly rampaging into space, and the supporting O’Connor reached out of a tackle from Neumann to score. O’Brien tagged on a handsome conversion.
Trailing 50-0, the defensive workload increased for Brython Thunder following an Elmes Kinlan-won penalty at the breakdown. A further penalty proved costly, allowing the Wolfhounds to generate a powerful maul and give Clenaghan a straightforward finish at the rear. Flood paired up with Gaffney at half-back for the remainder, with Eve Higgins entering the fray at full-back. King, Djougang, and Tuite were called ashore on the hour mark, giving a good chunk of game-time to some of the Wolfhounds’ forwards.
The final quarter was rather stop-start, with both benches busy, and the Thunder’s frustration grew as some good approach work was ruined by another turnover. Finley Jones and Rhian Bowden threatened off a lineout, only for fellow replacement Allie Watkins to be stripped of possession. However, the Wolfhounds rounded things off with two Flood-converted tries. Their tenth came from some lovely interplay near the left touchline between Poppy Garvey, Smyth, and Cara McLean, who supplied the final offload for Gaffney to get on the scoresheet.
A high tackle from Jones on Aoife Corcoran then had referee Rob McGreer reaching for his red card, and the Wolfhounds duly capitalised. After Clenaghan was stopped just short from a monster 79th-minute maul, Gaffney set up young lock Smyth to crash over.
Player of the Match: Stacey Flood (Wolfhounds)
Clovers 57-31 Glasgow Warriors
A few days on from her involvement in the Ireland training camp, Caitríona Finn contributed 17 points in a player-of-the-match performance, while Ulster’s own Sadhbh McGrath claimed her third try of the tournament.
Despite falling behind early on, the Clovers looked to have taken control when moving into a 17-point lead just past the half-hour mark. Alana McInerney touched down twice, and Finn and Anna McGann also crossed the whitewash. Glasgow Warriors rallied impressively, though, as tries from Nicole Flynn, who had earlier been sin-binned, and Emily Coubrough closed the gap to 24-19. Briar McNamara had claimed their opportunist ninth-minute opener.
The Clovers unfortunately had to play on without Ireland international Jane Clohessy, who injured her wrist in a tackle. Three unanswered tries effectively settled the issue, as McGrath, Niamh Murphy, and Katie Whelan made it 45-19 with 15 minutes remaining. It was tit-for-tat down the final stretch, as Glasgow bagged a bonus point from their visit to Belfast. Although Holland Bogan and Flynn both scored late on, the Clovers finished as nine-try winners thanks to further efforts from Aoibheann McGrath and Aoife Corey.
Glasgow came under early pressure due to Flynn going too high when tackling the onrushing Finn. Solid maul defence earned them turnover ball, and an eye-catching break by number 8 Coubrough brought them downfield.In Flynn’s absence, her centre partner McNamara struck for the opening try. She put boot to ball after an Emily Lane pass had gone loose outside the hosts’ 22, and was first to touch it down just to the right of the posts. Ceitidh Ainsworth converted.However, the Clovers quickly shaved the deficit down to two points. There was strong running from Murphy, Sadhbh McGrath, and Lucia Linn in a pacy build-up, and Finn’s skip pass put winger McInerney over on the left.
Despite a turnover penalty won by Gemma Bell, the Clovers began to wear down the Glasgow defence. McGrath and fellow prop Ella Burns led the charge as ball carriers, and armed with a penalty advantage, Lane’s short snipe was swiftly followed by Finn squeezing over in the 22nd minute. Centre Flynn sparked a strong response from the Scots, aided by their ball-playing front row. But it was the Clovers who pushed into a 10-point lead. Murphy tidied up a loose ball and gave McGann the chance to score in the right corner, past Bell. McInerney had pierced through midfield in the previous phase, as Fogarty’s side put together a sharp first-phase attack off a scrum. Finn nailed the difficult conversion, and then provided her second try assist for the bonus point score.
The Tipperary teenager was pitch perfect with an arcing pass, allowing McInerney to cut inside the cover to complete a well-taken brace. The forwards had laid the groundwork again, with Aoibheann McGrath, Faith Oviawe, and Jemima Adams Verling all prominent. Nonetheless, Glasgow snapped back with two tries heading into the interval. Full-back Poppy Mellanby countered with aplomb from a kick, finding a gap and sending Flynn over for an unconverted effort from the right wing.
The Clovers were then guilty of switching off at a defensive ruck, allowing Coubrough to regather the ball after getting back on her feet as she slipped over the try-line untouched. Ainsworth’s conversion made it a five-point game. Glasgow remained on the front foot when the second period got underway, and vice-captain Clohessy’s injury-enforced departure was a significant blow for the Clovers. Adams Verling won a penalty at the breakdown to give them a boost. The home side increased their share of territory with Finn finding a good touch, and then Murphy charging down a McNamara kick. Adams Verling put Glasgow under further pressure with a great rip in contact, the momentum building for a crucial try.
Captain Lane and the Clovers forwards swarmed through, leaving Glasgow defending right on their own try-line, before Ulster’s own McGrath muscled her way over. Finn swept the conversion over for good measure, leaving a dozen points in it at 31-19.The Clovers’ lineout let them down in their attempts to enhance their lead, yet Rosie Searle, who had another very good outing in the back row, won the breakdown battle to keep Glasgow pinned back inside their own 22.A nicely-executed loop play between Oviawe and replacement Lyndsay Clarke teed up Galwegians ace Murphy to storm over in the 60th minute. She showed terrific pace and power to beat the covering defenders. Finn took her tally to 13 points with the conversion.
Six minutes later, Whelan reached over to score on her Clovers debut. Switching across from the Wolfhounds, she profited from prop McGrath’s tap penalty to claim try number seven, which Finn also converted. Emily Foley had fizzed with intent before that, embarking on a fantastic solo run that led to Saoirse Crowe just being held up. The replacements were certainly making their mark on this fourth round fixture, with Hannah Coen ripping the ball back close to her own try-line.
Glasgow co-captain Bogan was not to be denied, however, as she pounced to score in the 69th minute when the Clovers took too long over a ruck ball that had gone over the whitewash.In a classy reply, Adams Verling powered through two tackles and offloaded expertly out of a third one for Aoibheann McGrath to romp over, evading the clutches of Rianna Darroch as she went over just to the left of the posts. Finn’s left boot made it 52-24.There was still time for two more tries. Tireless second row Bogan popped up twice in the build-up to the visitors’ final score, supplying the last pass for Flynn to get over between two defenders.
Still, the Clovers made sure they closed out the 80 minutes on a high. They forced the issue with a scrum penalty and Foley threatening out wide. They then attacked back out to the right where McInerney put fellow Ennis native Corey over in the corner.
Player of the Match: Caitriona Finn (Clovers)
