Battling defeat for Rathdrum Women
RATHDRUM WOMEN ST MARY’S 7 41
FOLLOWING a disappointing performance against a loaded Railway Union side last weekend, the Rathdrum women travelled to Templeville Road to face St. Mary’s RFC.
Having been hit with several injuries, Rathdrum were hoping to build a more solid performance than the week before, and despite the scoreline the side achieved just that.
Having been bitterly disappointed to lose out to Rathdrum in the opening game of the season St. Mary’s opened strongly.
A new look structure saw exIrish captain Paula Fitzpatrick manning the ship from outhalf.
From a Rathdrum kick off St. Mary’s piled on the pressure driving their way down the pitch, however it was momentary lapse in concentration which saw Mary’s break the line to score their first try, one quickly followed by their second.
From the kick off, some superb tackling from prop Becky Condren thwarted St. Mary’s efforts to batter down the pitch.
However, the effort was not enough and within the first 25 minutes they ran in their third of the day to see the score 19-0.
Rewinding seven days one would have expected the Rathdrum side to drop their heads and lose heart, however this was not the case.
The heart and pride familiar with the Rathdrum jersey shone bright as the women battled ferociously at the gain line to hold St. Mary’s off.
The defensive line, lead by centre and player of the day Sammy McCoy burst from the blocks at the Dublin side and matched the intensity of the attack in defence.
Were it not for a penalty try the half would have ended following a long barren patch for St. Mary’s.
Rathdrum opened the second half far brighter and battled with all the might to keep St. Mary’s at bay.
Despite their best efforts St. Marys marched over for another two tries – giving the ex-Irish captain her hat-trick for the day.
However, the Dublin side were caught napping when Laura Kavanagh, on her return from injury burst free from her own 22, danced through a somewhat baffled St. Mary’s and outpaced the defensive line to score Rathdrum’s only try of the day.
Following this, however, Rathdrum found a new lease of life with strong runs coming from Tanya Carter and Caitlin Olohan, Heather Cullen was also unfortunate not to score in what was undoubtedly Rathdrum’s purple patch of the day.
St. Mary’s ran in one final try to close the score at 41-7.
The Division 1 women will rest this weekend whilst the Division 4 side face CYM away at 1 p.m.