Glasgow Warriors 31-38 Clovers
Glasgow Warriors were edged out by a physical Clovers outfit in the sixth round of the Celtic Challenge competition, with the visitors recording a 31-38 victory at Scotstoun this afternoon. Despite another solid comeback in the second-half from Warriors that saw the side claim four tries, the hosts had to settle on claiming two bonus points from the encounter.
It was a frantic start to the first-half, as full-back Poppy Mellanby broke through the defence and burst up the midfield but an eventual turnover from Anna McGann brought the Warriors’ early effort to an end. Shortly afterwards, Clovers got the first points on the board as Faith Oviawe cruised in to score, with an unsuccessful conversion attempt by Caitriona Finn (0-5).
Several errors proved costly for Warriors throughout the contest, with Clovers taking advantage of the situation and controlling possession and territory. The visitors’ built on their tally when Aoibheann McGrath scurried in under the posts, with Finn adding the extras (0-12). Clovers extended their lead further as scrum-half Katie Whelan picked up the ball from the base of the ruck before sniping her way through the defence to score, with Finn adding extras (0-19).
A blistering run from Rebekah Douglas provided an attacking platform for Glasgow Warriors but the hosts struggled to get over the line despite a sustained period of pressure. Their patience was rewarded though when Emily Coubrough scored on the back of a strong drive in the scrum, with Millie Warren slotting the conversion through the posts (7-19). Clovers had the last say in the first-half, as Anna McGann managed to intercept a pass before sprinting over the line to score (7-26).
HALF-TIME: Glasgow Warriors 7-26 Clovers
Clovers came firing out the blocks after the break, with Alana McInerney close to scoring but a try-saving tackle by Sky Phimister brought her to a halt. Clovers quickly regathered the ball before it was floated out to McGrath who claimed her second try of the game (7-31). Warriors’ resilence – which has been showcased throughout the season – was on full display again as the side launched a counter attack and capitalised when Holland Bogan dotted down from close range (12-31).
Six minutes later, the hosts were back on the scoreboard as some great interplay between the forwards and backs provided the perfect opportunity for Warren to crash over the whitewash (17-31). It looked as though Glasgow would potentially have another opportunity to gain valuable territory as a fortuitous bounce of the ball saw Sky Phimister collect, however, the winger was brought to a stop by Chisom Ugwueru, with the Clovers replacement receiving a yellow card for a high tackle.
Further infringements from Clovers saw Glasgow Warriors awarded with a penalty try, with Oviawe receiving a yellow card to leave Clovers down to 13-players with 10 minutes to go (24-31). Clovers rallied and were able to get some breathing space on the board as Siofra Hession dived over the line, with the replacement adding the extras (24-38). Determined to clinch a losing bonus-point, Glasgow retaliated and their last gasp attempt came to fruition as Briar McNamara crossed over the line in the last moment of the match, with the centre slotting through the conversion to claim the bonus point (31-38).
Speaking after the match, Glasgow Warriors Head Coach Lindsey Smith said: “I felt we kept battling. We did show that we are pretty brave and we’ve got a bit of relentlessness about us but I’d like it if we didn’t challenge ourselves as much in the first-half and leave it all to the second-half.
“I think we again showed that resilience that we’ve got in us and I’m proud of the comeback now it’s about trying to get out on top and staying on top.”
Player of the Match: Aoibheann McGrath (Clovers)
Edinburgh Rugby 7-14 Brython Thunder
Brython Thunder recorded a first win of their campaign, beating Edinburgh Rugby 14-7 in Round 6 of the Celtic Challenge at the Hive Stadium, Edinburgh on Saturday afternoon.
This was the first of two back-to-back fixtures with Edinburgh, with the return fixture at Parc y Scarlets in two weeks’ time. The victory for the Welsh side keeps Thunder’s hope for a play-off place alive. Prop Stella Orrin and wing Seren Singleton crossed for tries and fly-half Ffion Williams landed two conversions to seal a deserved win.
Flanker Branwen Metcalfe, fly-half Williams and replacement scrum-half Seren Lockwood were impressive for Thunder who dominated the first half but were only 7-0 ahead. After a nervy opening for both sides, it was Metcalfe who made the first real break of the contest and was hauled down by some desperate defence in the home side’s 22. The visitors’ impressive rush defence put real pressure on the home side and they dominated territory in a mistake-ridden first 20 minutes.
Thunder’s try finally came from an intense period of pressure and a five-metre scrum and impressive drives saw prop Orrin crash over from short-range for the try. Ffion Williams added the conversion to make it 7-0 to the Welsh side midway through the first half. Thunder dominated territory and possession and were a constant threat with ball in hand but just lacked the killer instinct. After the break, Edinburgh came out fired up and dominated the opening exchanges of the second half but were kept at bay by the visitors’ defence.
The home side went down to 14 players after a yellow card for replacement Charlotte Russell for a professional foul and Thunder took full advantage when wing Singleton crossed wide out after a period of patient phase play to stretch the visitors’ lead. Williams landed a fantastic conversion to make it 14-0 to the Welsh side on the 70th minute.
A great defensive effort by Thunder saw them hold up Edinburgh over their own line, but the home side’s skipper Hannah Walker did cross for a late try. However, the celebrations by the Thunder players at full-time showed how much the first win meant to them.
Player of the Match: Ffion Williams (Brython Thunder)
Wolfhounds 44-10 Gwalia Lightning
After guaranteeing their place in the semi-finals on March 20-22, the Wolfhounds will now look to ensure they have a home play-off to look forward to. For their second successive outing at Virgin Media Park, they were fully loaded with 10 Ireland internationals in their team.
The Welsh side were no match for the Irish side in this top of the table clash in Ireland and slip to second in the table with this defeat. Lightning went into the much-anticipated top of the table clash with only three points separating the sides after five games The Irish side, who have won back-to-back league titles, were unbeaten so far this season, while Gwalia Lightning were unbeaten in their last four Celtic Challenge games.
Lightning were without Wales duo of prop Maisie Davies and scrum half Sian Jones and leading try scorer Courtney Greenway for the final game before a bye week in the league. Both sides are in pole position to qualify for the new Celtic Challenge play-offs with the inaugural Grand Final at the Hive Stadium on Saturday, March 28th. Sean Lynn, the Wales Head coach, was in the stands to run the rule over the Gwalia Lightning performance with the W6N on the horizon.
Gwalia were stunned by three tries in the first ten minutes and never really recovered and went in 29 points behind at the break. Fly half Carys Hughes, replacement prop Chloe Thomas-Bradley and wing Jodi Palmer scored Lightning’s points but Wolfhounds crossed for eight tries to establish why they are the best team in the Celtic Challenge. The home side made the best possible start when Gwalia lost the ball in contact and wing Maggie Boyland raced in from halfway to make it 5-0 after a minute. Centre Eve Higgins soon added Wolfhounds second try after she spilt Gwalia’s defence to make it 10-0.
Wolfhounds made it three tries in eight minutes when wing Vicky Elmes Kinlan raced in down the flank from halfway to make it 15-0. Fly half Hughes struck with the visitors and landed a penalty to close the gap to 12 points midway through the first half. The home side with a fourth and bonus-point try by hooker India Daley, converted by fly half Dannah O’Brien to make it 22-3.
Blindside flanker Fiona Tuite and scrum half Aoibheann Reilly crossed for Wolfhounds just before half-time to stretch the home side’s lead to 32-3 at half-time. After the break, Wolfhounds flanker Tuite crashed over for her second try and replacement hooker Regan Casey scored for the home side. But Gwalia Lightning crossed for a try and wing Jodi Palmer converted in a much improved second half performance.
Player of the Match: Eve Higgins (Wolfhounds)
