Ulster beaten by Munster in Armagh

by RICHARD BULLICK

   

OUTSIDERS Ulster actually led Munster for four first half minutes at the Palace Grounds on Saturday, but by the end of a fascinating first day of the Vodafone Championship it felt like the women in white will have a big job to avoid yet another interpros wooden spoon.

There were encouraging aspects to the home province’s performance in Armagh even though champions Munster ran away with the game in the end and scored seven tries in a comprehensive 41-14 victory.

The deflating feeling for Ulster’s chances of ending a winless streak in this competition stretching back over a decade came more as a result of what happened later in Galway, where Connacht fought back from nine points down to shock Leinster.

Understrength Leinster were far from their best on a wet evening but Connacht showed fantastic spirit and also played some brilliant rugby to the delight of a large and very vocal crowd at the Sportsground.

There was a dazzling display from Irish scrumhalf Aoibheann Reilly on her welcome return from a ruptured cruciate while international fullback Meabh Deely had what was surely the game of her life to date.

Captain Nicole Fowley’s regular gesticulating and complaining to the referee is a rather tiresome reflection of her soccer background but the burly outhalf is a hugely influential figure for Connacht and picked up the Player of the Match award.

The ecstatic celebrations at the end showed what this win meant to Connacht and no doubt their passionate supporters will turn out in force when Ulster make what now looks like a rather tough trip west on Saturday week for their final round robin game.

Before then, Murray Houston’s women will also be on the road this weekend when they seem certain to face a Donnybrook backlash (1pm, TG4 and BBC Online) from a Leinster side stinging from that opening day defeat.

Going into this interpro series, the hope had been that Ulster could scalp Connacht in either the round robin match or likely third place play-off between the teams the following weekend, especially with the western province having lost several stalwarts since last season.

Former Irish internationals Laura Feely, Mairead Coyne and Mary Healy all hung up their boots back in January, while under-rated second row Fiona Scally has subsequently called time on her Connacht career.

But the western women stepped up impressively against Leinster and now Ulster will have to quickly build upon the positives of their opening performance and find a higher gear over the next few weeks as they were still a little laboured at times in Armagh.

Ireland loose forward Brittany Hogan and IRFU-contracted flanker India Daley were key absentees for Ulster, leaving teenage prop Sadhbh McGrath as the only full international in their starting team and the Donegal youngster produced plenty of strong carries.

Ulster had been beaten 5-50 in their previous home match against Munster in August 2021 followed by a 34-0 defeat in Cork last season and Niamh Briggs came to town with a starting team featuring four full internationals, though that count could have been much higher.

Captain Nicole Cronin is out injured, while experienced campaigner Eimear Considine wasn’t togged out, the dynamic Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird just started on the bench and Ireland centre Enya Breen will miss the entire tournament.

Cronin was very actively involved from the sideline and dispensing supportive wisdom when bringing on the kicking tee to the talented teenager deputising for her at outhalf, Kate Flannery, but Munster were officially led in her absence by Dorothy Wall.

Both the powerful Wall and her fellow Ireland flanker from Tipperary, Maeve Og O’Leary, were predictably influential figures, while the lively Aoife Doyle looked dangerous out wide even though it was the other visiting winger, Stephane Carroll, who grabbed a hat-trick.

Carroll just beat Doyle to the touchdown after six minutes when Ulster’s strong start was undone by a nightmare fumble from Ella Durkan as she prepared to clear from behind her own line.

Whether at outhalf, inside centre or fullback, the admirable Durkan carries a lot of responsibility for Ulster and it was great to see her get a break when Blackrock clubmate Maeve Liston’s chip bounced up kindly and she touched down for a try on 14 minutes.

Durkan’s excellent conversion of her own try edged Ulster in front, though it was to be a short-lived lead with Niamh Marley’s strong last-ditch tackle coming just too late thanks to Carroll’s efficient finish by the left corner flag.

It was a frustrating afternoon for Armagh gaelic footballer Marley, the only local player in the Ulster line-up, as she saw precious little ball on the right wing and could really only show her explosive pace when chasing kicks.

Part of the Irish sevens set-up preparing for the Olympics but released to Ulster for the interpros, Marley played the full 80 minutes just as she had done in all three matches of her maiden interpro series at the start of this year when deployed on the left wing.

She made a great effort to claim one Ulster restart but agonisingly knocked on in the air and later snatched a ball brilliantly from imposing Munster skipper Wall but unfortunately it meant nothing as the referee was playing advantage to the visitors at the time.

To rub salt in the wounds, when opposite wing Carroll completed her hat-trick late on, Marley had tripped over sub scrumhalf Amber Redmond as she tried to get across from covering near a ruck and then dived face first into the corner flag in a valiant attempt to stop the try.

Munster had led 17-7 at half-time thanks to a try towards the end of the opening period by lock Clodagh O’Halloran, converted by Flannery, and they extended their lead eight minutes after the resumption when prop Roisin Ormond barged over.

Flannery again added the extras but Ulster hit back with a deserved try, young flanker Maebh Clenaghan getting the touchdown with Durkan converting, and the women in white were knocking on the door thereafter as they applied pressure on the
Munster line.

But the siege ended with a relieving penalty and, although Munster opting for a scrum under their own posts perhaps raised eyebrows, Nic a Bhaird made an incredible break from the base before sending sub Ellen Boylan sprinting clear down the right touchline.

That stunning try put Munster three scores clear with a quarter of an hour remaining, Carroll crossed for her third five minutes later and sub Brianna Heylmann got in on the act by touching down from a dominant maul as the game entered injury-time.

Flannery converted and the game ended with a kick being rolled through for Marley which went into touch in the in-goal area, leading to an anguished scream of frustration from the Hamiltonsbawn sportswoman, who declined to be photographed afterwards.

On to Galway, where Connacht took an early lead through a try by Deely after a break by Reilly but Leinster levelled on the quarter hour mark thanks to a great gallop from winger turned mobile lock Eimear Corri.

Fowley nudged Connacht ahead again with a monster penalty and the hosts got a great ovation going in with that 8-5 interval lead, but Leinster went back in front on 46 minutes with a try from ex-Irish international Sene Taiti-Fanene, formerly Naoupu.

Leinster scored again seven minutes later, a great offload from diminutive Ireland star Aoife Dalton putting Naoise O’Reilly over shortly after Connacht had lost vice-captain Shannon Tuohey to a yellow card for a high tackle on the debutant fullback from Wicklow.

Dannah O’Brien’s well-struck conversion attempt, from wide out on the more difficult side for a left-footed kicker, hitting the near post probably didn’t seem significant at the time as Leinster might have been expected to push on.

But Connacht hit back with a cracking try just before Tuohey’s return from the sinbin, Deely making a great run down the right touchline and getting her hands free to release sub Orla Dixon with a well-timed pass.

An absolutely brilliant break by Reilly from a scrum just outside her own 22 took Connacht to near the opposition 22 and they maintained territory until Deely took a return pass from Clara Barrett and scampered over in the 81st minute.

The unconverted try made it 18-17 and, although there were seven more minutes of injury-time, the closest Leinster came to snatching victory was when captain Hannah O’Connor took a penalty from near the Connacht 10-metre line which fell short and to the left.