VODAFONE WOMEN’S INTERPROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND 3:
Saturday, August 23 –
ULSTER 17 MUNSTER 38, Affidea Stadium
Scorers: Ulster: Tries: Siobhán Sheerin, Ciara Fitzsimons 2; Con: Siobhán Sheerin
Munster: Tries: Chloe Pearse, Chisom Ugwueru, Caitríona Finn, Maeve Óg O’Leary 2, Alana McInerney; Cons: Caitríona Finn 4
HT: Ulster 17 Munster 19
ALREADY assured of their place in the final, Munsterr pulled away from Ulster in the second half to complete a clean sweep of bonus point wins in the Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship’s group stage and claim a final tilt at Leinster.
The finals day will see Matt Brown’s side, who were 33-22 winners away to Leinster last week, try to regain the Interpro trophy for the first time since January 2023. Ulster will face Connacht in the 3rd-4th place play-off in Donnybrook.
Ciara Fitzsimons marked her Ulster debut with two tries before half-time, closing the gap to 19-17 after Chloe Pearse, Chisom Ugwueru, and Caitríona Finn had touched down for the unbeaten table toppers.
Clogher Valley’s Siobhán Sheerin also made it over the whitewash, taking her Championship tally to 25 points, but Munster clinically tagged on three more scores through O’Leary (44 and 59 minutes) and Alana McInerney (54).
Frustrated by their 12-7 loss in Galway, the hosts showed how up for the fight they were with a positive start. Following her good timing at the breakdown, Abby Moyles took the penalty quickly, but a subsequent shot at the posts was missed by centre Sheerin.
A thunderous tackle-breaking run from Ugwueru took play into Ulster’s 22 for the first time, and when Munster were presented with a five-metre scrum, Pearse needed no second invitation. She duly crashed over from the base, and Finn converted.
Unfortunately former skipper Pearse had to come off with an injury, no doubt not willing to risk it with the final just a week away. Ulster knuckled down at scrum time, earning a penalty and carrying infield incisively through Sophie Barrett and Aishling O’Connell.
Sheerin provided the finishing touches to the attack, running hard onto a Moyles pass to break past two defenders and beat the remaining cover for her third try of the competition. Her conversion made it seven points apiece.
Barely two minutes later, Ugwueru darted clear down the left wing to score from Munster’s 10-metre line, maintaining her top-scoring form with her fifth try of the Championship so far.
O’Leary and Brianna Heylmann’s passing skills put the 22-year-old winger into space and she fended off Kate Farrell McCabe to cross in the corner. Finn’s conversion came back off the crossbar, leaving it 12-7.
The margin was widened to a dozen points in the 25th minute, as Munster’s maul got going, and Clodagh O’Halloran kept the tempo high by tapping a penalty. O’Leary neatly spun away from Ellen Patterson and offloaded for Finn to score from eight metres out.
However, Ulster’s outside backs began to see more of the ball as the interval approached. The pack laid the platform, through successive mauls, for Moyles to put Fitzsimons over in the right corner past Ugwueru’s attempted tackle.
Even better followed from the Queen’s University winger as she bagged a quick-fire brace. Intercepting Kate Flannery’s pass near halfway, she evaded Finn’s grasp and had the pace to surge clear towards the posts. Sheerin uncharacteristically pushed the conversion wide.
O’Leary led her side’s response with an early second-half try, as Ulster’s defence gave way. Replacement Lucia Linn’s initial break was a warning shot. O’Leary soon bounced up out of a tackle to regather the ball and slip away from Barrett, charging in behind the posts.
Finn converted her captain’s bonus point effort for a 26-17 scoreline, and Munster then had a spell down to 14 players due to prop Gráinne Burke’s sin-binning for a high tackle. Ulster lost scrum possession at a crucial stage in their bid to respond.
Barrett came to Ulster’s rescue, flooring Stephanie Nunan with a textbook try-saving tackle which allowed Fitzsimons in to poach the ball back. Stacey Sloan then received the defensive plaudits for holding up Ciara McLoughlin in determined fashion.
Just when Murray Houston’s charges had advanced back past halfway, a move broke down from a lineout, as a Moyles pass found grass, and McInerney collected it on the bounce to speed away from Munster’s 10-metre line for try number five.
Ulster scrambled well to keep out Ugwueru and Linn in the left corner, only for the ever-influential O’Leary to score during Munster’s next visit to the 22. With Claire Bennett helping to drive her over, the Tipperary native got the ball down beside the posts for Finn to convert.
Farrah Cartin McCloskey and Katie Gilmour came on during the final quarter to win their first Ulster senior caps. Niamh Marley saw yellow for a high challenge, though, and it took a superb tackle from Fitzsimons to spoil Aoife Corey’s long run for a likely breakaway try.
Munster also handed out debuts during the closing stages to replacements Alisha Flynn, Sally Kelly, and Meghan Crilly. Loughborough University’s Crilly notably became the first ever current Under-18 player to line out for the province’s senior team.
Ulster pressed for a consolation try, their best chance coming on the back of Kelly McCormill’s strong break. Munster’s defence held them at arm’s length, maintaining their discipline through the phases before replacement Eve Prendergast came up with a well-timed turnover.
Full-time – Ulster 17 Munster 38
ULSTER: Kate Farrell McCabe (Suttonians RFC); Ciara Fitzsimons (Queen’s University Belfast RFC), Siobhán Sheerin (Clogher Valley RFC), Kelly McCormill (Monaghan RFC/Cooke RFC), Niamh Marley (Cooke RFC); Abby Moyles (UL Bohemian RFC), Sophie Meeke (Enniskillen RFC); Aishling O’Connell (Monaghan RFC/Cooke RFC), India Daley (Enniskillen RFC/Blackrock College RFC) (capt), Sophie Barrett (Enniskillen RFC), Ellen Patterson (Queen’s University Belfast RFC), Brenda Barr (Suttonians RFC), Moya Hill (Enniskillen RFC), Rebecca Beacom (Enniskillen RFC), Stacey Sloan (Cooke RFC).
Replacements: Megan Simpson (Cooke RFC), Bronach Cassidy (Queen’s University Belfast RFC), Sophie McAlister (Ballymena RFC), Lauren Darley (Queen’s University Belfast RFC), Ciara O’Donnell (Enniskillen RFC), Georgia Boyce (Enniskillen RFC), Farrah Cartin McCloskey (Enniskillen RFC), Katie Gilmour (Cooke RFC).
MUNSTER: Aoife Corey (UL Bohemian RFC); Alana McInerney (UL Bohemian RFC), Stephanie Nunan (UL Bohemian RFC), Caitríona Finn (UL Bohemian RFC), Chisom Ugwueru (UL Bohemian RFC); Kate Flannery (UL Bohemian RFC), Abbie Salter-Townshend (UL Bohemian RFC); Gráinne Burke (UL Bohemian RFC), Deirbhile Nic a Bháird (Old Belvedere RFC), Eilís Cahill (UL Bohemian RFC), Clodagh O’Halloran (UL Bohemian RFC), Jane Clohessy (UL Bohemian RFC), Brianna Heylmann (UL Bohemian RFC), Maeve Óg O’Leary (Blackrock College RFC) (capt), Chloe Pearse (UL Bohemian RFC).
Replacements: Alisha Flynn (Ballincollig RFC), Ciara McLoughlin (UL Bohemian RFC), Claire Bennett (UL Bohemian RFC), Emma Dunican (Tralee RFC), Sally Kelly (Ennis RFC), Eve Prendergast (Ballincollig RFC), Lucia Linn (UL Bohemian RFC), Meghan Crilly (Loughborough University).
Referee: Dermot Blake (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Chris Cahoon, Stuart Campbell (both IRFU)
