PLAYER-OF-THE-MATCH Katie Whelan touched down in each half as defending champions Leinster began the new interprovincial campaign with a double-scores 38-19 win over Connacht at Energia Park.
Tania Rosser’s side shot straight to the top of the Interprovincial Championship table after gaining some revenge for last year’s surprise 18-17 first round loss to Connacht in Galway.
Most of the damage was done during a fast-paced first half, as tries from returning winger Ella Roberts, scrum half Whelan, Aoife Dalton, and attack-minded full-back Emma Tilly established a 22-7 half-time lead.
Connacht replacement Faith Oviawe was excellent during her 50 minutes on the pitch, matching Whelan’s brace with two tries of her own. Collectively, it was a much better second period from Emer O’Dowd’s young squad who can bring some momentum with them to Belfast next week.
19 points was as close as it got thanks to further Leinster scores from Caoimhe Molloy and Whelan, yet Rosser’s charges, who travel to Munster in the second round, let their discipline slip and lost Molly Boyne and Jane Neill to yellow cards.
The Blues’ lineout will also need some work before that repeat of last season’s final in Cork. Fired up for their only home match of the season, Rosser spoke beforehand about Leinster’s eagerness to play with flair.
Some sharp passing and short attacking lines early on – particularly from young centre Cara Martin on her debut – put Ruth Campbell and Roberts, the returning winger from Wicklow, in advanced positions.
Sarah Delaney’s crooked throw robbed them of a gilt-edged maul opportunity, but Connacht were still pinned back inside their own half until Méabh Deely’s big right boot got them moving downfield.
The hosts countered in breathtaking fashion in the 10th minute, however, as Tilly tore back up towards halfway. She offloaded brilliantly for Dalton to dummy and speed through a gap before releasing Roberts to finish off from just outside the westerners’ 22.
Nikki Caughey tucked away the extras from the left, and Connacht gradually made some inroads, helped by their solid scrum where new cap Ella Burns, at just 18, was holding her own against experienced Ireland prop Linda Djougang.
The visitors also drew encouragement from a well-crafted attack that saw Clara Barrett collect a cross-field kick from Nicole Fowley, before the advancing Deely was called back for a forward pass from Éabha Nic Dhonnacha.
Deely was soon back on the defensive, midway through the first half. She had to make an important tackle to bring down Whelan, who had broken menacingly from a ruck 60 metres out. A Whelan knock-on, a few phases later, lifted the pressure off Connacht.
Following the first water break, Deely was called on again to stop the fast-breaking Aimee Clarke. There was no denying Leinster on the follow-up though, as Whelan was able to snipe over from a ruck shortly afterwards. Caughey added her second conversion.
Although their lineout had some shaky moments, Leinster got their maul going nearing the half hour mark. They gained a penalty advantage, and a deft move saw Caughey send Dalton slicing in behind the posts with Martin the decoy runner.
Connacht gave themselves a timely boost with a quick-fire seven-pointer, 31 minutes in. Vice-captain Ava Ryder’s turnover sparked some of their best play, and replacement Oviawe showed impressive strength to score after Nic Dhonnacha and Roisín Maher had both gone close.
Disappointingly for the travelling support, Leinster managed to squeeze in their bonus point try before the interval. Martin snapped up a loose ball in midfield, and with the Connacht defence duly stretched, Tilly stepped off her left to get around Deely and deservedly score.
Number 8 Molloy’s second bite of the cherry saw her extend the lead further, inside two minutes of the restart. She evaded a tackle from Shannon Touhey to go over to the right of the posts, giving Caughey a comfortable conversion for 33-7.
Connacht lifted the tempo in response, gaining ground thanks to some powerpacked carries from replacements Maher and Oviawe. They had Leinster on the rack suddenly, and repeated infringements near their own posts landed Boyne in the sin bin.
O’Dowd made four replacements as the visitors pressed for an elusive try. Whelan denied Ireland U20 scrum half May Goulding via a close-in scrum, but their dominance of possession resulted in the quick-reacting Laoise McGonagle grounding the ball from a Fowley cross-field kick.
Leinster replacement Clodagh Dunne prevented a further concession when closing down Emily Foley near the left corner, with Orla Dixon’s daring break from deep, and a well-timed Karly Tierney offload, creating the opening.
The title holders ended the contest down to 14 players. Neill, one of their newcomers, saw yellow for a late challenge on Fowley after a kick. Despite that, a Hannah O’Connor turnover got her side back on the attack, and a skip pass from Dalton allowed Whelan to complete her brace.
There was some late consolation for Connacht in the form of a last-minute try. Goulding and Fowley moved an attack back to the short side, and the athletic Oviawe stepped off her right to get past Roberts and score out wide. Fowley added the conversion for good measure.
LEINSTER: Emma Tilly (MU Barnhall RFC/Old Belvedere RFC); Ella Roberts (Wicklow RFC), Aoife Dalton (Tullamore RFC/Old Belvedere RFC), Cara Martin (Navan RFC/Blackrock College RFC), Aimee Clarke (Railway Union RFC); Nikki Caughey (Malone RFC/Railway Union RFC), Katie Whelan (Enniscorthy RFC/Old Belvedere RFC); Aoife Moore (Carrick-on-Suir RFC/Blackrock College RFC), Sarah Delaney (PortDara Falcons RFC/Blackrock College RFC), Linda Djougang (Wanderers FC/Old Belvedere RFC), Ruth Campbell (Naas RFC/MU Barnhall RFC/Old Belvedere RFC), Eimear Corri (Portlaoise RFC/Blackrock College RFC), Hannah O’Connor (CYM Terenure RFC/Blackrock College RFC) (capt), Molly Boyne (Railway Union RFC), Caoimhe Molloy (Gorey RFC/Wicklow RFC).
Replacements used: Christy Haney (Blackrock College RFC) for Moore (52 mins), Ailsa Hughes (Tullamore RFC/Railway Union RFC) for Clarke (58), Clodagh Dunne (Gorey RFC/Old Belvedere RFC) for Corri, Jane Neill (Arklow RFC/Galwegians RFC) for Molloy, Leah Tarpey (Tullamore RFC/Railway Union RFC) for Martin, Jemma Farrell (Old Belvedere RFC) for Caughey (all 61), Katie Layde (Mullingar RFC/Old Belvedere RFC) for Djougang (69), Julia O’Connor (Suttonians RFC) for Delaney (76).
CONNACHT: Méabh Deely (Blackrock College RFC); Laoise McGonagle (UL Bohemian RFC), Ava Ryder (Railway Union RFC), Éabha Nic Dhonnacha (UL Bohemian RFC), Clara Barrett (UL Bohemian 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), Orla Fenton (Galwegians RFC), Rosie Searle (Navan RFC), Béibhinn Gleeson (Tuam/Oughterard RFC), Lesley Ring (Old Belvedere RFC), Shannon Touhey (Tullamore RFC) (co-capt).
Replacements used: Roisín Maher (Galwegians RFC) for Collis (23-61 mins), Faith Oviawe (Railway Union RFC) for Fenton (30), Emily Foley (Ballina RFC) for Barrett, May Goulding (Saracens) for Moran, Karly Tierney (Tuam/Oughterard RFC) for Ring, Orla Dixon (Galwegians RFC) for Ryder (all 52), Stacy Hanley (Galwegians RFC) for Brady, Ellen Connolly (Galwegians RFC) for Burns (both 61), Ring for Gleeson (63), Ryder for Nic Dhonnacha (69).
Referee: Matthew Kilgore (IRFU)