11 Jan 2016
Women’s Rugby:
Tullamore RFC : 19
Kilkenny RFC: 5
10th January 2016
Tullamore maintained their unbeaten run in this league will a well-deserved victory on Sunday, even if the final score flattered the home side. This was a close game, with the result right in the balance until Tullamore were awarded a penalty try 2 minutes from time. The pitch was in fantastic condition, given the amount of rain that fell in the couple of week’s preceding the game, and all credit must go to the chairperson of the Clubs ground committee, Billy Fryday.
Tullamore started the better of the two teams, and after missing a penalty attempt, got a good try, scored by Evelyn Browne, after sustained pressure on the Kilkenny line. Tullamore were in the lead 7-0 with about 15 minutes played. Kilkenny have not scored the most points in this league by accident though, and it soon became apparent why they had scored so much. The passing between backs and forwards, and the speed at which they could get the ball out wide was something this Tullamore team had not encountered to date. The strong ball carrying and evasive running of Kilkenny made tackling all the more difficult. This could have been the reason for the large amount of first up tackles missed, and Tullamore had to rely on their excellent scramble defense to halt Kilkenny on numerous occasions.
Tullamore also have a decent attack of their own however, and this was very visible for the next try. A super tackle by Katie Murray, allowed Roisin Feighery to turn over the ball, who then passed to Emer Phelan, who ran for 40 metres before offloading to Claire Currams, who sprinted into the Try area from 30 metres. It was a fantastic try, and gave Tullamore a 12-0 lead going into the half time break.
Kilkenny came out in the second half and played some very clever rugby, constantly moving the point of attack, they got a well worked try after 5 minutes, which was the first that Tullamore have conceded in the league so far. Kilkenny continued to dominate, and when Tullamore received their 2nd Yellow card of the game, It certainly looked like Kilkenny could cause an upset. The unflagging spirit of the Tullamore girls came to the fore during this period, and they constantly repelled the Kilkenny attack. Once Tullamore were restored to the full 15, they went on an attack of their own, and for the last 10 minutes had Kilkenny under pressure. Claire Currams could have scored her second try of the day, but for a high tackle 2 metres from the line. The referee quite rightly awarded Tullamore a penalty try, and with it, the game to Tullamore. The Kilkenny player was also yellow carded, which left the Kilkenny girls with 13 on the pitch, as Tullamore went in search of the bonus point. Time was against them, and when the final whistle went, Tullamore were very happy to come away with the win.
There were a number of strong performers for Tullamore again, with Evelyn Browne, Katie Murray and Emer Phelan the pick of the forwards, while Jill Draper, Grace Flynn and Claire Currams were the pick of the backs.
The team and subs were: Ciara Farrell, Evelyn Browne, Chloe Lowry, (Lauren Keenaghan, 60), Kate Byrne (Alma Egan, 40), Katie Murray (Katie O’ Brien, 40), Nichola Fryday, Roisin Feighery, Emer Phelan, Brigid Hyland, Pauline Keating, Jill Draper, Grace Flynn, Claire Currams, Tara Evans(Rose Dunne, 50), Claire Cantwell.
