Leinster 27

Munster 7

LEAH TARPEY REPEATED her two-try heroics from last year’s final as Leinster retained the Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship title with an impressive 27-7 win over Munster at Kingspan Stadium.

Despite Alana McInerney’s seventh try of the tournament raising Munster hopes early on, the table toppers, who had beaten Leinster 32-21 in Cork a fortnight ago, were unable to go four-from-four in Belfast.

An opportunist Tarpey score drew Leinster level, before Nikki Caughey kicked them ahead with a penalty, and a bulldozing seven-pointer from the outstanding Aoife Wafer made it 17-7 at half-time.

Dorothy Wall was denied a try from a monster maul early on the resumption, and it was just not Munster’s day as young hooker Beth Buttimer had also been held up inside the game’s opening minutes.

Increasingly dominant in possession, Leinster went on to become back-to-back Interpro champions, matching the achievements of their 2018 and 2019 predecessors, thanks to a Dannah O’Brien penalty, and a second try from player-of-the-match Tarpey.

Ireland out-half O’Brien came on to make her seasonal debut, and getting players of that calibre, including the likes of fellow internationals Wafer and Niamh O’Dowd, back on the pitch in recent weeks has been crucial to Leinster’s strong finish to the campaign.

Scorers:

Leinster: Tries: Leah Tarpey 2, Aoife Wafer; Cons: Nikki Caughey 2, Dannah O’Brien; Pens: Nikki Caughey, Dannah O’Brien.

Munster: Try: Alana McInerney; Con: Kate Flannery.

LEINSTER:

Robyn O’Connor (Wexford Wanderers RFC); Emma Tilly (MU Barnhall RFC/Old Belvedere RFC), Aoife Dalton (Tullamore RFC/Old Belvedere RFC), Leah Tarpey (Tullamore RFC/Railway Union RFC), Ella Roberts (Wicklow RFC); Nikki Caughey (Malone RFC/Railway Union RFC), Jade Gaffney (Navan RFC/Old Belvedere RFC); Linda Djougang (Wanderers FC/Old Belvedere RFC), Sarah Delaney (PortDara Falcons RFC/Blackrock College RFC), Christy Haney (Blackrock College RFC), Ruth Campbell (Naas RFC/MU Barnhall RFC/Old Belvedere RFC), Eimear Corri (Portlaoise RFC/Blackrock College RFC), Jane Neill (Arklow RFC/Galwegians RFC), Molly Boyne (Railway Union RFC) (capt), Caoimhe Molloy (Gorey RFC/Wicklow RFC).

Replacements used:

Aoife Wafer (Enniscorthy RFC/Gorey RFC/Blackrock RFC) for Neill (25 mins), Niamh O’Dowd (Old Belvedere RFC) for Haney (34), Dannah O’Brien (Tullow RFC/Old Belvedere RFC) for Caughey (46), Neill for Corri (57), Ailsa Hughes (Tullamore RFC/Railway Union RFC) for Gaffney, Jemma Farrell (Old Belvedere RFC) for O’Brien, Aoife Moore (Carrick-on-Suir RFC/Blackrock College RFC) for Wafer, Anna Doyle (Tullow RFC/Blackrock College RFC) for Tilly (all 75), Kelly Burke (Mullingar RFC) for Delaney, Haney for Molloy (both 77).

MUNSTER:

Aoife Corey (UL Bohemian RFC); Chisom Ugwueru (UL Bohemian RFC), Stephanie Nunan (UL Bohemian RFC), Enya Breen (Blackrock College RFC), Alana McInerney (UL Bohemian RFC); Kate Flannery (UL Bohemian RFC), Muirne Wall (UL Bohemian RFC); Siobhan McCarthy (Gloucester-Hartpury), Beth Buttimer (UL Bohemian RFC), Éilis Cahill (UL Bohemian RFC), Dorothy Wall (Exeter Chiefs), Claire Bennett (UL Bohemian RFC), Clodagh O’Halloran (UL Bohemian RFC), Jane Clohessy (UL Bohemian RFC), Chloe Pearse (UL Bohemian RFC) (capt).

Replacements used:

Brianna Heylmann (UL Bohemian RFC) for Clohessy (21 mins), Caitriona Finn (UL Bohemian RFC) for Flannery (56), Lucia Linn (Loughborough Lightning) for Nunan, Eimear Considine (UL Bohemian RFC) for Corey (both 59), Aoibheann McGrath (Dungarvan RFC) for Bennett, Ciara McLoughlin (UL Bohemian RFC) for Cahill (both 63), Aoibhe O’Flynn (UL Bohemian RFC) for Pearse, Ciara O’Dwyer (UL Bohemian RFC) for Buttimer (both 69). 

Referee: Keane Davison (IRFU)

Connacht's Faith Oviawe celebrates after their win over Ulster. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

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Connacht 33

Ulster 19

FAITH OVIAWE CELEBRATED her call-up as an Ireland training panellist by helping Connacht to a third place finish, wearing down a Brittany Hogan-less Ulster to close out the Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship with a 33-19 play-off victory.

Oviawe touched down in either half at Kingspan Stadium, taking her tournament haul to six tries, but the game’s biggest talking point was the sending-off of Ulster’s stand-in captain Hogan in the 33rd minute.

She saw red for an apparent tip tackle on Grace Browne Moran, with referee Tomas O’Sullivan ruling there was no mitigation. Ulster also had to cope with first-half yellow cards for centres Catherine Martin and Lucinda Kinghan.

Ireland co-captain Edel McMahon and Oviawe cancelled out Sophie Barrett’s 14th-minute try to give Connacht a 14-7 half-time lead. Having fought back for a 25-all draw with Connacht a fortnight ago, Ulster rallied superbly again.

Two Abby Moyles tries got them back level at 19-all, sandwiching a classy Hannah Clarke effort, only for the westerners to outlast their hosts thanks to closing scores from player-of-the-match Oviawe (72 minutes) and Béibhinn Gleeson (81).

CONNACHT:

Méabh Deely (Blackrock College RFC); Ava Ryder (Exeter Chiefs), Orla Dixon (Galwegians RFC), Sarah Purcell (Creggs RFC), Hannah Clarke (Tuam/Oughterard RFC); Nicole Fowley (Galwegians RFC) (co-capt), Gráinne Moran (Ballina RFC); Ella Burns (Tuam/Oughterard RFC), Lily Brady (UL Bohemian RFC), Megan Collis (Railway Union RFC), Faith Oviawe (Railway Union RFC), Grace Browne Moran (Galwegians RFC), Béibhinn Gleeson (Tuam/Oughterard RFC), Edel McMahon (Exeter Chiefs), Shannon Touhey Tierney (Tullamore RFC) (co-capt).

Replacements used:

Roisín Maher (Galwegians RFC) for Collis (24 mins), Éabha Nic Dhonnacha (UL Bohemian RFC) for Purcell (50), Emily Foley (Ballina RFC) for Deely (54), Stacy Hanley (Galwegians RFC) for Brady, Ellen Connolly (Galwegians RFC) for Burns, May Goulding (Saracens) for Moran, Orla Fenton (Galwegians RFC) for Browne Moran (all 64), Collis for Maher, Poppy Garvey (Sligo Rugby) for Touhey Tierney (both 73).

ULSTER:

Lauren Farrell McCabe (Suttonians RFC); Lucy Thompson (Enniskillen RFC), Catherine Martin (Blackrock College RFC), Lucinda Kinghan (Railway Union RFC), Megan Edwards (Old Belvedere RFC); Abby Moyles (Blackrock College RFC), Rachael McIlroy (Queen’s University Belfast RFC); Ava Fannin (Blackrock College RFC), India Daley (Enniskillen RFC/Blackrock College RFC), Sophie Barrett (Enniskillen RFC/Railway Union RFC), Brenda Barr (Suttonians RFC), Cara O’Kane (Cooke RFC), Moya Hill (Enniskillen RFC), Maebh Clenaghan (Queen’s University Belfast RFC), Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC) (capt).

Replacements used:

Bronach Cassidy (Queen’s University Belfast RFC) for Fannin (32 mins), Fannin for Barrett, Megan Brodie (Blackrock College RFC) for Cassidy, Stacey Sloan (Cooke RFC) for M Hill (all 54), Barrett for Fannin (65), Paige Smyth (Ballynahinch RFC) for Thompson (69), Christy Hill (Ballymena RFC) for Clenaghan (73). Not used: Ellen Patterson (Queen’s University Belfast RFC), Lauren Patterson (MU Barnhall RFC/Blackrock College RFC), Peita McAlister (Malone RFC).

Referee: Tomas O’Sullivan (IRFU)