Women v Suttonians
Text copied from the IRFU website, Women's Conference Roundup:
At Stradbrook on Saturday evening, Blackrock College made it two wins out of two to go five points clear at the top of the Leinster Conference. Another all-action display from two-try captain Maeve Og O’Leary inspired ‘Rock’s 43-0 bonus point victory over Suttonians.
Sutts turned in a valiant performance, having been rocked by the early injury-enforced departure of skipper Lauren Farrell McCabe. Strong-running centre Shannon Touhey, who was released from Ireland camp for the game, encouraged her team-mates with some powerful midfield carries.
Amid some early drizzle, Blackrock immediately pressed for an opening try and flanker O’Leary flew down the left wing, slipping past four defenders, to quickly get the home side on the board.
‘Rock’s new scrum half Aoibheann Reilly has a terrific eye for a gap and she made it 10-0 midway through the first half. The Ballinasloe native threw a dummy and accelerated clean through before sidestepping around the full-back to dot down in the left corner.
Despite Sutts’ best efforts, Maeve O’Callaghan soon offloaded for winger Megan Burns to touch down, with the Tullamore youngster making the initial incision in the visitors’ defence. Influential out-half Lisa Mullen tagged on the extras.
Mullen did likewise after ‘Rock’s bonus point was secured in the 36th minute by Tess Meade, who thundered over from a Reilly pass to leave it 24-0 at half-time. Tighthead Caoimhe Molloy did the donkey work with an initial surging carry.
Aoife Browne’s well-timed pass put O’Leary over for the second half’s opening try, converted by the left-footed Mullen. The final half-an-hour contained two more ‘Rock tries, Burns ghosting through a gap for her third touchdown of the competition – converted by Meabh Deely – and numbers on the left released Natasja Behan for a 74th-minute closer.
Blackrock head coach Ben Martin commented afterwards: “We gave debuts given to Kate Cullen at full-back, Anna Doyle on the wing and Leah Reilly who partnered up well with Ciara Scanlan in the centre.
“There was some excellent defensive work-rate from all players, particularly Caoimhe Molloy in the front row. Christy Haney’s break from the five-metre line to halfway set us on our way for another score.
“We welcomed back lineout specialist Mairead Holohan in the second row. She also used her speed in a 20-yard gain and met an excellent double tackle which prevented her going all the way.”
All photos below courtesy of John Crothers at JC Sports Photography: