BY RICHARD BULLICK
PLAYER of the Match Aoibheann McGrath headed the list of fresh-faced heroes who came of age as an inexperienced Clovers side dug deep to secure a hard-fought 15-12 away win over Brython Thunder in a real arm wrestle at Cardiff Arms Park on Sunday.
Outhalf Caitriona Finn’s early penalty proved the difference between the teams in a low-scoring game on an afternoon when the visitors grabbed two tries in quick succession around the quarter-hour mark but didn’t add to their account thereafter.
Bottom of the table Brython hit back with a converted try of their own early in the second quarter but the only score in the final hour of play was a five-pointer from Thunder captain Gwen Crabb six minutes after the interval.
A quite understrength Clovers, who had a very callow bench with the exception of Aoife Corey, lost both hookers to injury so Ireland prop Sadhbh McGrath had to move to the middle of the front row and also throw into the lineout.
Although the young Ulsterwoman typically put in a huge shift, that enforced change made it difficult for Denis Fogarty’s side at both set-pieces but his players proudly put their bodies on the line to keep Clovers’ noses in front in what was a bruising battle.
A lot of this often-frantic contest could be described as trench warfare rather than free-flowing rugby but, for a competition crying out for more matches with real edge, it was none the worse for that.
The nail-biting Brython versus Clovers clash was just what the Celtic Challenge needs
Since the two Irish sides dominated so heavily last season, not losing a single game to any of their Welsh or Scottish counterparts, and generally winning well with bonus-points, there have been concerns about the Celtic Challenge’s competitiveness.
An understandable narrative has developed around the notion of an imbalanced competition in which Irish teams stacked with frontline internationals are simply too strong for their celtic cousins who both have more players plying their trade in the English Premiership.
But, bolstered by the inclusion of several high-profile exiles who had been parachuted in, Brython actually had eight full internationals in their starting team to just five for a Clovers team missing a plethora of top players for various reasons.
Among the absentees were Ireland’s leading wingers Beibhinn Parsons and Amee-Leigh Costigan along with last season’s skipper Enya Breen, who like the latter has had experience of captaining her country.
The pack was missing Irish internationals Siobhan McCarthy and Ruth Campbell from the front five along with athletic lock Aoibhe O’Flynn while the capped pair of Ivana Kiripati and Ailish Quinn have yet to feature in the back row in this campaign.
Strong three-quarter Alana McInerney wasn’t part of the matchday squad either, while several hot prospects including Jane Neill, Chisom Ugwueru and Hannah Clarke – all on IRFU contracts – are missing this season’s Celtic Challenge due to injury.
Last season, Fogarty’s young pack could occasionally call upon the services of Ireland skipper Edel McMahon, when released by Exeter Chiefs, and the dynamic Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird was a highly influential figure in their back row.
Young Ulsterwoman Sophie Barrett was a powerful carrier up front for Clovers, but she has returned to Wolfhounds, who have also acquired the services this season of Munster skipper Maeve Og O’Leary and Connacht’s first-choice Ireland scrumhalf Aoibheann Reilly.
So despite Brython having been beaten in both of their first two matches, the influx of Welsh internationals looked likely to present real jeopardy for Clovers in this fixture and that is how it unfolded.
Young Munster lock Aoibheann McGrath got Player of the Match on her Clovers debut
Of their international contingent on duty, Jane Clohessy has just one cap, the recalled Meabh Deely has possibly slipped to fourth in the Ireland fullback pecking order and Anna McGann was shunted out to the wing in the absence of Parsons.
So a lot rested on the shoulders of diminutive skipper Emily Lane at scrumhalf and McGrath, who we can readily forget is still just 21, up front, and both responded positively albeit the latter was faced with those unfamiliar challenges.
Sadhbh, however, is used to being thrown in at the deep end in Cardiff Arms Park having faced a torrid baptism of fire in the same stadium when winning her first cap for Ireland aged just 18 up against an 18-stone opposing prop in the 2023 Six Nations opener.
Loosehead that day, McGrath started at tighthead here for a third Celtic Challenge game running before switching to hooker for Clovers, who had lost Beth Buttimer midway through the opening period and her replacement Emma Dunican with half an hour left.
Although uncapped, Buttimer was part of Ireland’s World Cup squad and would have been seen as a key figure for Clovers in a game like this, so her being injured just as Brython scored their first try was a big blow.
With veteran Nicole Fowley’s retirement, outhalf Finn has also become a pivotal player for Clovers aged just 19 and the youthful left-footer already appears a resilient, mentally tough individual who doesn’t lack character and keeps backing herself.
Finn wasn’t fazed by putting several kicks out on the full here and didn’t shirk her responsibilities in steering the ship for the entire 80 minutes while fellow teenager Jemima Adams-Verling put in another stalwart shift at No 8.
However, Aoibheann McGrath, who came off the bench in the first two games and scored a try against Gwalia Lightning, deserves special plaudits after making the most of being given a first start in the engineroom.
The young gun got through a mountain of work but also showed fantastic skill and awareness when taking a long pass from Finn wide on the left and delivering a sumptuous offload inside to winger Emily Foley before being bundled into touch.
The lively Foley, who has also played scrumhalf for Ireland Under 20s and would likely have been well down the winger pecking order for Clovers had everyone been available, touched down for an unconverted try.
Finn couldn’t land the difficult touchline conversion from the tougher side for a left-footed kicker but did add the extras after centre Lucia Linn snaffled the loose ball when a Brython attack broke down on halfway and raced clear to score two minutes later.
Added to her penalty early on, that kick from Finn put her team 15-0 up with just 16 minutes gone, but this was to prove very different to too many of last season’s Celtic Challenge games which ended in straightforward wins for the Irish sides.
Among the Welsh heavyweights in the home ranks were skipper Crabb and her fellow lock Natalia John, veteran hooker Rhian Bowden, winger Lisa Neumann and the formidable centre pairing of Courtney Keight and Hannah Bluck.
Thunder were penalised in several scrums for not driving straight against Sadhbh McGrath and, on one such occasion, skipper Lane opted to go for goal and her halfback partner Finn duly split the sticks from some 35 metres out.
But Brython hit back midway through the half after winning a scrum penalty of their own during a period of pressure, with fullback Amy Williams beating McGann in the race to ground a chip to the left corner, Hanna Marshall landing an excellent conversion.
Clovers laid siege to the Thunder line coming up to the half hour until the hosts eventually won a relieving penalty but the visitors came close again just before half-time following punishing carries from Clohessy, Sadhbh McGrath and Adams-Verling.
However, McGann was grounded just short and the half ended with Sadhbh McGrath being held up over the tryline, leaving Clovers with an eight-point interval lead and a fascinating second half in prospect.
The arrears were quickly reduced to three when Crabb touched down in the 46th minute after Brython kicked a penalty to the right corner and mauled from the lineout, Marshall’s conversion attempt shaving just past the near upright.
In such a close contest, losing replacement hooker Dunican to a facial injury shortly afterwards was a real headache for Clovers and, although they threatened to extend their lead a few minutes later, Foley was pinged for holding on in the tackle just short.
The visitors were indebted to replacement prop Hannah Coen on debut for ripping the ball 10 metres from her own line coming up to the hour mark and Brython stupidly gave away a free-kick for pushing too early at a Clovers scrum deep in their own 22.
Finn made a good break after having to pick a pass off her toes and Sadhbh McGrath didn’t let the set-piece challenges get to her general game but it was tense stuff and the Welsh side had the scent of a vital victory in their nostrils ahead of two tough trips to Ireland.
Buncana bulldozer McGrath made 15 carriers, accruing an impressive 50 post-contact metres in the process, along with nailing all 11 of her attempted tackles and outhalf Finn supplemented her kicking game with a dozen carries.
Sadbhh’s 38 carries so far in the competition are the most by any Irish player, while Finn has the best place-kicking percentage of anyone across the six sides who has attempted more than one shot at goal. Her overall kicking metres are second only to Dannah O’Brien.
The Ireland-capped Corey, who had been excellent in the derby defeat to Wolfhounds last time out, came on for Deely with 10 minutes remaining, with Fogarty also showing faith in less experienced replacements.
The head coach even took off his heroic captain six minutes from the end, but Lane’s even smaller replacement Grainne Moran got stuck in bravely at a time when it was all hands to the pump for the visiting side.
At the other end of the height spectrum, the 5’11” McGann made a wonderful cover tackle on Seren Singleton after the Brython winger had run onto a perfect cross-kick from Marshall, engulfing the speedster like an octopus with long tentacles.
Brython were adjudged guilty of hinging at a scrum and Finn kicked to touch on the opposition 22 but another call of not straight at the ensuing lineout left a despairing Sadhbh McGrath with her hands on her head.
There was so much commitment from both teams in a full-blooded, frenetic finale but defiant Clovers somehow held out until the final whistle, which was sparked by a knock-on from Thunder, who will now face champions Wolfhounds at Ravenhill this Sunday.
That noon kick-off (BBC iPlayer) is followed by Clovers against Glasgow Warriors (3pm, TG4/Youtube) in the second game of the Belfast double-header when Fogarty’s women will be hoping to make it three wins from four in the current campaign.
The affable Fogarty admitted Clovers had to dig incredibly deep for this victory in Cardiff but was proud of the character shown and how his players were willing to match the opposition’s physicality in the sort of tight game he rightly said is just what this competition needs.
For the trip to Cardiff, Clovers had made several changes to their run-on line-up from the 24-7 derby defeat by Wolfhounds at Creggs RFC, including Linn replacing Parsons with McGann going out to the right wing and Niamh Murphy moving to outside centre.
Ella Burns took over again from Ireland loosehead McCarthy in the No 1 jersey, Aoibheann McGrath came into the engineroom for O’Flynn and Deely replaced fellow international Corey at fullback.
There were several rookies brought onto the bench including Connacht’s Coen and her fellow forwards Amelia Green and Annakate Cournane while Lyndsay Clarke, the star of AIL newcomers Ennis, was also named among the replacements.
An important objective of this competition is exposing promising players to a more elite level of rugby and plenty of fresh faces are getting their chance to shine with Clovers, including the likes of Dungarvan native Aoibheann McGrath, who is now with AIL outfit Ballincollig.
Surviving the heat at Cardiff Arms Park should stand more to these young players, and also the Clovers leadership figures, than taking part in facile romps like the away win against Brython Thunder in Llanelli last season would do for those involved.
