Tough lesson for Wicklow
Blackrock College superb
A superb Blackrock College RFC 33-point last quarter proved too much of a challenge against top division debutants Wicklow RFC in Ashtown Lane on Saturday evening.
The Wicklow RFC women were relishing the challenge of welcoming one of the best clubs in Ireland to their home ground for their first ever top division encounter. The hosts were coming into the game with a couple of key girls missing through injury, out-half Sarah Gleeson and influential pack player Rachel Griffey.
From the outset Wicklow had to endure facing a higher tempo than they would have been used to when playing in the Leinster League the previous season. The visitors came out of the blocks quickly, testing their opponents right from the get go.
Blackrock worked their way into an attacking position, simply just using the width of the pitch to create an overlap and finishing with a simple try. The try was followed up by a fantastic conversion out near the touchline. It was 0-7.
The Dublin club didn’t have to wait long before they scored their second try. From a penalty they earned themselves a line-out in a dangerous position. They set a maul before their powerful flanker carried the ball, powering herself to the try-line. Their lead was doubled with the conversion. It was 0-14.
The most impressive aspect of Blackrock’s game was how good they were able to execute the basics, an area of the game that separates the best teams in the country from the rest. Their ability to use the full width of the pitch when they were attacking was very impressive. The third try
came when they worked their way just a few metres short of the tryline, their scrum-half with a simple snipe got over for the score. The last try of the half came when they found their winger in space as she ran rapidly to the try-line, nobody was able to catch her. It was 0-28 at the half-time break.
Despite conceding four tries, the home side were putting in a big defensive effort with second rows Caitlin Griffey and Andrea Pertu putting in big shifts, front row Becky Condren put in a couple of enormous hits before she was substituted because of injury. Back row Karen Douglas arguably put in the most consistent performance of the game, her work rate couldn’t be flawed throughout.
With the wind in their favour in the second half, the home team had a good third quarter. Substitute Hannah-Rose Buckley brought a bit of zip to the attack at out-half. She made a break in the 22 as she threatened the Blackrock try-line, nobody could collect her offload as the promising attack broke down.
Even though Wicklow were struggling to break down the defence, they were showing really positive signs. They were able to
keep the ball for a good number of phases without any real handling errors. Their scrum looked solid, despite conceding some penalties that could have gone either way. We also got glimpses of the attacking threat full back Ella Roberts possesses from broken play.
The hosts didn’t concede any points in this 20-minute period, with the score still 0-28 at the water-break.
It was a tough last quarter for the ladies in red, white and black as their opponents piled on the points, scoring a number of tries, extending the deficit out to 61 points by the final whistle.
We shouldn’t forget that this was the first time the Wicklow Ladies had ever played at this level.
Undoubtedly they’ll use this game as a building block for future big tests and ultimately for the beginning of the bigger AIL season in the New Year.
Ella Roberts, Clare Lavelle, Erin McConnell, Orla O’Neill, Emma Curran, Nicole Humby, Megan Parkinson, Becky Condren, Amy O’Neill, Lauren Barry, Caitlin Griffey, Andrea Pertu, Jessica Schmidt, Rachel Winters and Karen Douglas. Subs: Noelle Ward, Eimear Douglas, Niamh O’Leary, Shauna Soady, Hannah Rose Buckley, Kayleigh Sullivan and Megan McConnell.