Blackrock College 27 Railway Union 7
Blackrock College produced an outstanding second half display at Energia Park on Saturday to secure the Women’s All-Ireland League crown at the expense of previous champions Railway Union.
Two points adrift at the break, ‘Rock proceeded to amass 22 unanswered points on the resumption to ultimately dethrone their South Dublin rivals.
After surviving some initial pressure from the Railway attack, ‘Rock opened the scoring with just over five minutes gone on the clock. Following an extended spell inside the opposition 22, a skip pass from Ireland international Enya Breen released winger Maeve Liston for a routine finish in the right corner.
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Some excellent defence by Railway prevented team captain Michelle Claffey from doubling ‘Rock’s five-point lead on 15 minutes and this in turn helped to spark Railway back into life.
The Sandymount outfit worked the ball out of a scrum towards the right-hand side of the pitch, where fullback Molly Scuffil-McCabe – an international debutant earlier this year – was on hand to break through a gap for an equalising try in the 26th minute.
Nikki Caughey added the bonuses to edge Railway into a slender 7-5 advantage and while both teams enjoyed their fair share of possession in the closing minutes of the opening period, this buffer remained intact at the interval.
‘Rock were once again the quickest out of the traps at the beginning of the second half, however, and turned the game on its head with two tries in the space of five minutes. Off another extended attack close to the Railway posts, inside centre Ella Durkan provided the final pass for Dorothy Wall to dot down beyond the whitewash.
Wall’s fellow Irish international Breen is a creative force for this ‘Rock side and she showcased a clinical edge by powering through the Railway rearguard for a superb 51st-minute try that the Skibbereen native converted herself.
This left Railway with a mountain to climb inside the final quarter and they suffered an additional setback when Caughey was sinbinned with just 13 minutes left on the clock. ‘Rock immediately capitalised on their temporary numerical supremacy as left wing Anna Doyle got on the end of a sweeping move across the Railway line for her side’s fourth try of the action.
This five-pointer edged ‘Rock a step closer to the promised land and the outcome was placed beyond all doubt courtesy of Liston’s second try on 73 minutes.
SSCORERS – Blackrock College: M Liston 2 tries, E Breen try, con, D Wall, A Doyle try each. Railway Union: M Scuffil-McCabe try, N Caughey con.
BLACKROCK COLLEGE: M Deely; M Liston, M Claffey, E Durkan, A Doyle; E Breen, T Bird; A Moore, E Hooban, L Feely; E Corri, M Holohan; D Wall, M Óg O’Leary, H O’Connor.
Replacements: A Coleman for Corri (12 mins); Corri for Holohan (18 mins); C Haney for Feely, B Cregan for O’Leary, N Behan for Deely (all 47); Feely for Moore (61); L Mullen for Bird (70); C Scanlan for Durkan (72); S Heapes for Haney, J Shiels for Breen (both 76).
RAILWAY UNION: M Scuffil-McCabe; S Carroll, N Byrne, A O’Shaughnessy, A Clarke; N Caughey, A Hughes; L Peat, C Blackmore, K O’Dwyer; K Brady, A McDermott; C Rodera, M Boyne, D Roberts.
Replacements: M Collis for O’Dwyer (33 mins); L Tarpey for Hughes (53); L Callan for Blackmore, S McDermott for Brady (both 64); A Ryder for Carroll (70); G O’Loughlin for Peat (73); E Fabby for Boyne (76); E Allen for Caughey (77).
Referee: J Erskine (IRFU).
