Queen’s University Belfast 19 Malone 5
QUEEN’S head coach Ollie Millar heaped the praise on his players and support staff after their victory over Malone in the Women’s Junior Cup final.
For Queen’s, it ended a 12 month wait to get their hands on the trophy following their extra time defeat by the same opponents in last year’s final.
Coach Ollie insisted: “I am absolutely delighted for them. They have put in so much hard work and sacrifice, and I thought they were deserving of their win on the day.”
The students came into the final with confidence following a successful league campaign, missing out on an All-Ireland League play-off spot by a single point to Enniskillen while Malone have enjoyed a successful season of their own, reaching the WAIL Junior Cup final earlier this year, despite a succession of injuries.
Queen’s kick off and the opening exchanges were mainly consigned to close quarters with the students making the early running. Malone, however, defended resolutely – holding up Queen’s over the line – and, shortly after, Sarah Murphy showed good strength over the ball to come up with a crucial turnover.
The students’ persistence eventually paid off when their inspirational skipper, Rebecca Mann, crossed for an opportunistic score following a Malone handling error. Creighton stroked over the extras for an early 7-0 lead.
Malone began to show glimpses of their attacking flair, and following an intelligent kick from the backfield by Shirelle Wilson, found themselves deep into opposition territory for the first time but, before long, again found themselves hemmed in and back on defensive duties.
Queen’s scrum half Rachel McIlroy brought the crowd to their feet with a moment of magic off the back of a malfunctioned lineout, jinking her way through the Malone defence to come within inches of scoring. Following a Malone infringement, Queen’s quickly seized the initiative with a tapped penalty, and with a quick recycled ball, Sarah Roberts burrowed over from close range. Creighton again added the conversation to stretch the lead to 14 points after 26 minutes.
Malone were again required to soak up further pressure from their Belfast rivals, with the Queen’s scrum starting to assert their dominance. Queen’s looked odds-on to pick up a third try as the first half came to a close, as they bludgeoned their way towards the try line, but it was Cara O’Neill that thwarted this attack with some good work at the breakdown to secure the turnover.
Half Time – Queens University Belfast 14 Malone 0
Queen’s resumed the second half back on the attack. A fine delayed pass from Maebh Clenaghan saw her unlock some space behind the Malone defence for her front-row colleague, Roberts. This produced some quick ball for the backs, which ultimately resulted in a Malone infringement close to the goal line. Number 8 Ruby Starrett took the tapped penalty and bulldozed her way over for the third try of the afternoon. Creighton erred with the tricky conversation, leaving the score at 19-0 with 35 minutes to play.
Shortly after, Malone enjoyed their best attack of the game as Jill Stephens and Anna Stanfield got them in behind the Queen’s defence as they made swift progress up the pitch. Bronach acted as spoiler-in-chief for the students, stifling the promising attack, as she forced the holding-on penalty.
Malone continued to ask questions of the Queen’s defence, with Jill Stephens again dancing her way in behind them. This perseverance was rewarded on the 64th minute as Niamh Fulton crashed over following a well-worked lineout move to cut the deficit to 14 points.
Both teams continued to show lots of endeavour in the closing stages, but as Queen’s were awarded a penalty at scrum time following a destructive forward drive, all that was left for the students to do wasto kick the ball into touch. Referee Kerr’s final whistle was met with jubilation from the women in blue as they secured the 24/25 Junior Cup. trophy.
Trophy joy
