Beth Buttimer (left) and Aoibheann McGrath will be back in Galway for the semi
Richard Bullick
THERE were welcome first appearances of the campaign for Enya Breen and Kate Flannery as a seventh consecutive victory for Clovers clinched a home semi-final for Denis Fogarty’s side in the Celtic Challenge play-offs.
Bottom of the table Edinburgh bagged two tries in the final five minutes to earn themselves a consolation bonus-point, but those late concessions couldn’t really take the shine off an emphatic 43-26 away win for Clovers.
Clovers had won 31-7 when these teams met the previous Saturday in the first women’s match to take place at the newly-developed Dexcom Stadium and they duly completed the double over the struggling Scottish side at Hive Stadium.
Fogarty’s women will hope to be back in the Scottish capital for the Celtic Challenge’s inaugural Grand Final at the end of this month, but before then can look forward to returning to Galway for a knockout tie.
As it transpired, Gwalia Lightning’s loss to Wolfhounds would have been enough to guarantee Clovers a top two finish, but beating Edinburgh gives them the chance to secure first place in the standings.
That is the prize on offer for the winner of this Saturday’s Irish derby battle between Wolfhounds – currently ahead by two points – and Clovers at Belfield Bowl (3pm) and it will be interesting to see the sides selected for this last regular league game.
Clovers have strung together seven victories on the trot since being beaten 24-7 by the champions at Creggs RFC on the first Saturday of 2026, an impressive sequence particularly in light of how hard hit they have been by injuries.
Along with a desire to provide opportunities, absenteeism has been a significant factor in Fogarty fielding no fewer than 45 players so far in this campaign, with inside centre Breen and replacement flyhalf Flannery the latest names added to the list at the weekend.
Last season’s Clovers captain Breen hasn’t played since Ireland’s group game against Spain at last summer’s World Cup but started on Saturday in Edinburgh before being withdrawn at half-time in a pre-planned change.
Breen was replaced by Flannery, with teenager Siofra Hession switching to inside centre, while Ireland winger Beibhinn Parsons and World Cup squad hooker Beth Buttimer also played the first 40 minutes following their recent return from injury.
Scrumhalf Katie Whelan played the full 80 minutes for Clovers at Hive Stadium
Just featuring for the opening period was still long enough for Parsons and Buttimer to score three tries between them as Clovers led 29-12 at the interval, having claimed their four-try bonus-point with only 25 minutes gone.
Edinburgh got a converted try early on but Clovers hit back immediately, Parsons sharply picking off the opposition scrumhalf’s pass after the hosts had secured the long restart and touching down to the left of the posts for Hession to add the extras.
Buttimer intercepted the same player’s pass to score Clovers’ second try on 11 minutes, Hession again converting albeit this time from a little further to the left, and captain Ruth Campbell got the third touchdown for the visitors just before the end of the first quarter.
Edinburgh hit back quickly with a nice try from teenage fullback Bethan Mathieson but behemoth prop Eilis Cahill forced her way over for the sixth try of the afternoon with just 25 minutes played.
Buttimer’s last act was scoring her second try just before half-time as Clovers led 29-12 at the interval, and although Hession looked gutted when her conversion attempt hit the near post having missed the previous two, it had been a good opening period for the visitors.
Clovers were out for the second half a few minutes earlier than Edinburgh and the cameras lingered on a smiling Flannery as she soaked in being back on a rugby pitch while waiting to take the kick-off.
The UL Bohs star has had to watch while Caitriona Finn nailed down the Clovers No 10 jersey as successor to retired international Nicole Fowley, and Abby Moyles of Wolfhounds staked a strong claim for third place in Ireland’s specialist outhalf pecking order.
When Finn torn a quad muscle in round six, Flannery wasn’t fit to take advantage of her absence – or that of the adaptable Breen who could have covered outhalf – so Hession and Ellie O’Sullivan-Sexton got one start apiece in this pivotal position.
It isn’t known whether Finn might be back for the play-offs, but at least for Flannery – whose brother Jake was on the bench for Ulster away to Ospreys on Saturday – she is now back in the mix and did her cause no harm in Edinburgh.
If there was a smile on Flannery’s face as she waited to start the second half, it was nothing compared to the sheer delight on the hour mark as she exchanged a warm hug with Anna McGann after putting her fellow replacement over for the sixth Clovers try.
International winger McGann, whose other half Grainne Walsh was boxing for Ireland the same afternoon, was the beneficiary wide on the left of a glorious skip-pass from Flannery which cut out Hession, Lucia Linn and Aoife Corey.
McGann got round a bit from the corner flag but it was still a fine conversion by Flannery’s white boot and she again added the extras 12 minutes later when lock Aoibheann McGrath got over for the latest try in her breakout campaign.
Clovers fullback Aoife Corey has enjoyed an outstanding Celtic Challenge campaign
Coming into the business end of the competition, Fogarty has plenty of options for outhalf and the same applies at centre especially now Breen’s back, because Clovers have coped really well in her absence.
Newcomer Niamh Murphy has been excellent and has recently formed an impressive pairing with the versatile Alana McInerney, who was Player of the Match for the away win against Gwalia Lightning in round seven.
Neither Murphy nor McInerney featured on Saturday, when the established Breen’s centre partner was Lucia Linn, who picked up the Player of the Match award, while Connacht Player of the Year Orla Dixon and Ennis star Lyndsay Clarke are also in the mix.
McInerney can also play on the wing, but Fogarty is spoilt for choice there too with the return to fitness of Parsons and Chisom Ugwueru, with McGann a good bet for one starting spot and let’s not forget how well the lively Emily Foley has done during the competition.
World Cup squad member Meabh Deely was back for Blackrock in the AIL on Saturday, though her fellow international Corey surely has the fullback berth nailed down at this stage after an excellent campaign to date.
Tall lock Aoibhe O’Flynn made a timely comeback at the weekend, adding to Fogarty’s slate of back five forwards despite Ivana Kiripati’s absence and the serious arm injury sustained by Irish international Jane Clohessy against Glasgow Warriors at Ravenhill in round four.
Captain Campbell, Aoibheann McGrath, Faith Oviawe, Ailish Quinn and Jemima Adams-Verling appears a likely starting combo with O’Flynn, Ireland squad call-up Rosie Searle and hard-nosed flanker Annakate Cournane fighting over the two bench berths.
Enya Breen (left) receives a pass from Siofra Hession in her comeback match
Clovers rested both their Ireland props, Siobhan McCarthy and Ulster’s Sadhbh McGrath, at the weekend, which meant starts for the useful Ella Burns and last season’s All Ireland League Player of the Year Cahill.
One of the heaviest players in women’s representative rugby in Ireland, Cahill used her bulk to great effect against Edinburgh with multiple forceful carries, while Hannah Coen and Grainne Burke both got game-time off the bench along with teenage hooker Uillin Eilian.
With no specialist scrumhalf cover on the bench, Fogarty gambled on Katie Whelan playing the full 80 minutes in the No 9 jersey, so there must have been brief anxiety when she was down clutching an ice-pack to the back of her neck with over half an hour still to go.
Assuming the knock Olympian Lane took in the previous Edinburgh game just before coming off isn’t a cause for concern, Clovers are well-served in the scrumhalf department with the woman who captained them for the first five matches and Whelan.
Fogarty really rung the changes for this second Edinburgh game, with four behind the scrum and a further five in the pack plus a positional switch, with Oviawe reverting from second row to openside flanker.
The back three of Corey, Ugwueru and Parsons – who had been eased back by playing just the first 20 minutes of the previous Edinburgh encounter – remained unaltered, but Linn, Breen, Hession and Whelan came in for McInerney, Murphy, O’Sullivan-Sexton and Lane.
Ireland winger Beibhinn Parsons set the ball rolling with the first try for Clovers
Lock Campbell, fantastic teenage No 8 Adams-Verling and Oviawe were joined in Fogarty’s starting pack at Hive Stadium by Burns, Buttimer, Cahill, Aoibheann McGrath and Searle, with McCarthy, Eilian, Sadhbh McGrath, Cournane and Quinn dropping out.
Already out of play-off contention, but with the biggest crowds in the competition, Edinburgh got off to the perfect start with that third minute try, when No 8 Cat Moody barged over from a scrum five metres out, flyhalf Nicole Marlow converting.
As in Galway, Edinburgh seemed quite enterprising and they have real pace out wide, but those intercept tries given up to Parsons and Buttimer must have felt like real punches to the gut as well as self-inflicted wounds.
It’s great to see Campbell back from injury and approaching her abrasive best, but also showing her handling skills including good offloads on Saturday and really relishing the leadership responsibility given to her.
The captain paved the way for her own try by stealing an Edinburgh lineout on their own 22, from where Whelan went round the front, the ball was taken on by Burns and Campbell eventually got it down over the whitewash.
But she was also somewhat at fault for Edinburgh striking back, having her pass intercepted after an audacious one-two with Cahill and the hosts got the ball to Hannah Walker wide on the left before being moved back inside to youthful fullback Mathieson.
However, the Clovers response was sustained forward pressure leading to the Cahill try, though in general this was an enjoyably open game with Edinburgh especially always wanting to play, even when torrential rain came in the final quarter.
Breen didn’t have the pace to make her intercept count but more forward pressure from the visitors yielded Buttimer’s second try just before the break and Edinburgh were being undermined by errors including a crooked throw at a lineout in a promising position.
Cournane came on for Searle and typically put herself about with gusto, including a carry between Campbell tapping a penalty in the Edinburgh 22 and Flannery flinging that sumptuous pass wide to McGann for the try.
With around a quarter of an hour remaining, Clovers sent on Dixon, O’Flynn and the replacement props for Hession, Oviawe – Aoibheann McGrath moved to blindside – Burns and Cahill.
McGrath got the seventh Clovers try on 72 minutes, with Flannery’s conversion making it 43-12, but thereafter Edinburgh scored 14 points without reply, courtesy of tries by speedy replacement Scarlett Haddow and then lock Adelle Ferrie with the clock red.
There will be no trophy handed out this Saturday thanks to this season’s new play-offs format, but there are still bragging rights for finishing first, Irish selection up for grabs and a desire by Clovers to make amends for that home defeat by Wolfhounds back in round two.
CLOVERS: Aoife Corey; Chisom Ugwueru, Lucia Linn, Enya Breen (Kate Flannery, ht), Beibhinn Parsons (Anna McGann, ht); Siofra Hession (Orla Dixon, 64), Katie Whelan; Ella Burns (Grainne Burke, 65), Beth Buttimer (Uillin Eilian, ht), Eilis Cahill (Hannah Coen, 65), Ruth Campbell (capt), Aoibheann McGrath, Rosie Searle (Annakate Cournane, 54), Faith Oviawe (Aoibhe O’Flynn), Jemima Adams-Verling.
Hooker Beth Buttimer is congratulated by Beibhinn Parsons after one of her tries
Chisom Ugwueru (left) and Emily Lane can look forward to a Galway semi-final
