Katie leads team to glory
ENNISCORTHY 36 TULLAMORE 12
KATIE WHELAN led her team to victory in the Leinster girls Under-16 rugby Premier League final against great rivals Tullamore on Saturday.
Whelan’s personal contribution of four of her team’s six tries is astonishing, but it should in no way take from the performances of all her team and replacements who eventually subdued a very fine Tullamore team who were well in this game till midway through the second-half.
The last time these teams met, just after Christmas, it took a last-minute converted Mia Kelly try to give the Slaneysiders a two-point victory, so a tight affair was promised. And so it turned out with the game tied at twelve apiece at half-time.
Enniscorthy started well against the wind and, thanks to great carries from Ciara O’Leary and Aoife Wafer, laid siege on the opposition line, but despite good efforts from Miria O’Dowd and Erin Cahill, the Offaly girls cleared their lines.
Ten minutes in, after great tackling from Erin Cahill and Bríd Kavanagh halted a Tullamore break-out, a moment of magic from Ciara Boland saw her give a sublime blind wraparound pass to her skipper Whelan who sprinted in from 35 metres to leave Mia Kelly with a simple conversion.
A try-saving tackle from winger Kaci O’Connor led to a period of sustained pressure on the ’Scorthy line, but huge tackles and counter rucking from Aoife Wafer, Lucy Egan, Jessica Wickham and Miriam Knoblauch kept the seven-point lead intact.
The siege was lifted and in a flash Enniscorthy were on the attack thanks to another great Boland pass to release the flying Kaci O’Connor.
A powerful surge from Mia Kelly, one of many she made, moved play to the far end of the pitch. The always alert Aoife Wafer made ground from a tap penalty.
A series of picks and drives brought play to within five metres of the try line where Miria O’Dowd powered over with support from Lucy Egan. The conversion was missed for a 12-0 lead after 20 minutes.
For the next ten minutes, the midland girls really got into their groove and used the wind well. With a series of clever kicks they took advantage of hesitant defending to score two quickfire tries, one converted, to leave the game tied
12-12 at half-time.
Skipper Whelan gave her team an inspiring half-time team talk and they came out for the new half like a team inspired. Straight from the kick-off they upped the intensity in everything they did and Tullamore had no answer.
Whelan’s second five-pointer came five minutes into the new half when she cleverly tapped a penalty 30 metres out to take advantage of a gap in the defence. Mia Kelly landed the difficult conversion.
At this stage the Ross Road pack was totally on top and out-half Aoife Codd was pulling all the right strings. Lucy Egan just failed to ground the ball after a clever kick by Ciara Boland.
Full-back Lauren Delaney and wingers Erin Cahill and Ellen Rogan, a replacement for the injured Kaci O’Connor, threatened time and time again.
Whelan added two more tries when running great support lines off breaks by Aoife Codd and Aoife Wafer to kill off the Tullamore challenge. Mia Kelly converted one of the tries to make the score 31-12.
At this stage, the bench was emptied with good contributions from Jessica Blythe and Elaine Oladirin.
The outstanding Aoife Wafer, who tormented the Faithful county girls all day, finished the scoring with a try in the corner after the forwards once again drove the opposition back.
All 27 girls in the panel deserve great credit for going unbeaten all season and finishing as Leinster Premier 1 Champions. Their final game is the South East final versus Wicklow on April 20.
A win here would give this team a place in club history. A special mention goes to the fantastic group of supporters who made the long trip to Navan,
Team: Bríd Kavanagh, Lucy Egan, Jessica Wickham, Taragh Cooper, Ciara O’Leary, Miriam Knoblauch, Aoife Wafer, Miria O’Dowd, Katie Whelan, Aoife Codd, Kaci O’Connor, Ciara Boland, Mia Kelly, Erin Cahill, Lauren Delaney. Replacements: Jessica Blythe, Chloe McGrath, Ellen Rogan, Katie Bates, Amelia Morycka, Hannah Byrne, Mikayla O’Leary (injured), Elaine Oladirin, Chelsea Ajaya, Rioghna Hourihan, Laura Doyle, Lara Freeman.