Wicklow’s spirited recovery from some heavy early losses in Energia Women’s All-Ireland League continued with a 15-10 win over fellow promoted club Ballincollig

Jason Moreton’s young side outscored ‘Collig by three tries to two at Ashtown Lane, with out-half Beth Roberts and co-captain Amy O’Neill both impressing.

After Covid-19 robbed them of two recent run-outs, Railway Union was full of running in their 62-3 demolition of Suttonians at Park Avenue.

Their 10-try tally included braces from Stephanie Carroll, Nikki Caughey, and Maggie MacKinnon, with Ireland-capped center Caughey also kicking 12 points. She is currently top of the scoring charts with 56 points.

Former Ireland Under-18 Sevens international Ava Ryder, who made her Energia Women’s AIL debut off the Railway bench, said:

“It’s brilliant to play against such a good team. Suttonians put it up to us, especially in the first half. It was a slow start but we came together in the end and got a good result.”

There is only a single point between the top four teams in the table, Old Belvedere leading the way thanks to a 28-21 bonus point success at home to Cooke.

The Belfast outfit was much-improved from last week, stringing together second-half tries from Lucy Thompson, Dolores Hughes, and captain Aishling O’Connell for a hard-earned losing bonus point.

Belvedere was seven points clear at the break, with prop Alice O’Dowd making the breakthrough from Jemma Farrell’s tap penalty. They added a penalty try and further efforts from pacy backs Vanessa Hullon and Alannah O’Carroll.

Munster’s Maggie Boylan bagged her eighth try of the season as Blackrock College got the better of a dogged Galwegians side, winning 19-5 at Crowley Park. Running back a kick, she flew down the left touchline, beating three players to score behind the posts.

Leinster captain Christy Haney used two big hand-offs to burst through for ‘Rock’s third try. Natasja Behan had an earlier breakaway score, which ‘Wegians had canceled out when working the ball wide for winger Saskia Morrissey to finish powerfully in the corner.

ENERGIA WOMEN’S ALL-IRELAND LEAGUE RESULTS:

GALWEGIANS 5 BLACKROCK COLLEGE 19, Crowley Park

Scorers: Galwegians: Try: Saskia Morrissey
Blackrock College: Tries: Natasja Behan, Maggie Boylan, Christy Haney; Cons: Lisa Mullen 2

GALWEGIANS: Mairead Coyne; Saskia Morrissey, Megan Walsh, Ursula Sammon, Laoise McGonagle; Emma Keane, Mary Healy (capt); Elizabeth McNicholas, Tracy Lawlor, Ellen Connolly, Sabina Egan, Niamh O’Grady, Fiona Scally, Lisa-Marie Murphy, Kate Feehan.

Replacements: Ruby Lynch, Jessica Loftus, Kiara Irwin, Dearbhla Canty, Faith Oviawe, Darwyn O’Halloran, Rhiann Heery.

BLACKROCK COLLEGE: Maggie Boylan; Natasja Behan, Michelle Claffey (capt), Jackie Shiels, Caoimhe O’Callaghan; Lisa Mullen, Laura Delaney; Aoife Moore, Emma Hooban, Christy Haney, Mairead Holohan, Eimear Corri, Caoimhe Molloy, Niamh Griffin, Casey O’Brien.

Replacements: Niamh Tester, Anna Potterton, Hannah Hodges, Valerie Power, Kate Cullen, Orla Molloy.

MALONE 0 UL BOHEMIANS 28, Gibson Park

* Match canceled – the IRFU National Competitions Committee has determined five league points and a scoreline of 28-0 will be awarded to UL Bohemians in the Energia Women’s AIL.

OLD BELVEDERE 28 COOKE 21, Ollie Campbell Park

Scorers: Old Belvedere: Tries: Alice O’Dowd, Penalty try, Vanessa Hullon, Alannah O’Carroll; Cons: Jemma Farrell 3, Pen try con
Cooke: Tries: Lucy Thompson, Dolores Hughes, Aishling O’Connell; Cons: Amanda Morton 3

OLD BELVEDERE: Laura Carty; Kate Balance, Vanessa Hullon, Katelyn Faust, Alannah O’Carroll; Aine Donnelly, Jemma Farrell; Alice O’Dowd, Rachel Murphy, Vic Dabanovich O’Mahony, Jan Carroll, Elaine Anthony, Ivanna Dempsey, Lesley Ring, Clodagh Dunne.

Replacements: Melissa Hayden, Dawn Keegan, Ciara O’Dwyer, Niamh O’Dowd, Jennie Finlay, Ava Jenkins.

COOKE: Dolores Hughes; Claire Johnston, Lucy Thompson, Coral Lapsley, Tamzin Boyce; Amanda Morton, Teah Maguire; Ilse van Staden, Megan Simpson, Aishling O’Connell (capt), Caolinn McCormack, Sorcha Mac Laimhin, Beth Cregan, Naomi McCord, Helen McGhee.

Replacements: Cara McKevitt, Fiona McCaughan, Georgia Boyce, Eimear McQuillan.

RAILWAY UNION 62 SUTTONIANS 3, Park Avenue

Scorers: Railway Union: Tries: Stephanie Carroll 2, Nikki Caughey 2, Maggie MacKinnon 2, Niamh Byrne, Aimee Clarke, Deirdre Roberts, Molly Scuffil McCabe; Cons: Nikki Caughey 6
Suttonians: Pen: Jessica Kelleher

RAILWAY UNION: Aoife O’Shaughnessy; Stephanie Carroll, Maggie MacKinnon, Nikki Caughey, Niamh Byrne (capt); Claire Keohane, Molly Scuffil McCabe; Amanda McQuade, Chloe Blackmore, Megan Collis, Keelin Brady, Siobhan McCarthy, Emma Murphy, Molly Boyne, Deirdre Roberts.

Replacements: Aimee Clarke, Claire Byrne, Kate McCarthy, Christine Coffey, Erin Coll, Alex McGuinness, Ava Ryder.

SUTTONIANS: Sophie Gibney; Jools Aungier, Jessica Kelleher, Catherine Martin, Lena Kibler; Nicole Carroll, Lauren Farrell McCabe (capt); Katie Grant Duggan, Aoife Brennan, Julia Bauer, Brenda Barr, Aislinn Layde, Louise Catinot, Carrie O’Keeffe, Aifric O’Brien.

Replacements: Ciara O’Brien, Megan Cullen, Emily McKeown, Molly Fitzgerald.

WICKLOW 15 BALLINCOLLIG 10, Ashtown Lane

Scorers: Wicklow: Tries: Aoibhin Stone, Sarah Gleeson, Meagan Parkinson
Ballincollig: Tries: Denise Redmond, Katelyn Fleming

WICKLOW: Orla O’Neill; Aoibhin Stone, Meagan Parkinson, Sarah Gleeson, Tammy Breen; Beth Roberts, Erin McConnell (co-capt); Lauren Barry, Amy O’Neill (co-capt), Kathy Byrne, Ciara Brennan, Caitlin Griffey, Jessica Schmidt, Emma Curran, Niamh Ni Dhroma.

Replacements: Robyn Mullen, Noelle Ward, Laura Newsome, Nicola Schmidt, Emily Ryan, Karen Douglas, Alexandra Dalton.

BALLINCOLLIG: Lauren Fahey; Michelle Stafford, Emma Connolly, Mona Fehily, Ellen O’Keeffe; Kelly Griffin, Gemma Lane; Roisin Ormond, Clodagh Walsh, Clare Coombes, Meaghan Kenny, Eimear Perryman, Kira Fitzgerald, Katelyn Fleming, Denise Redmond.

Replacements: Alix Cunneen, Naoise Murray, Laurileigh Baker, Niamh O’Regan, Gillian Coombes, Christine Arthurs, Sarah O’Donovan.

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Both the Ulster Women and U18 Girls squads are in the final stages of preparations for the eagerly anticipated 2021 interprovincial series, following a year’s absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The senior team will kick off their campaign on Saturday 28 August, hosting Munster at the Kingspan Stadium. They will then face away trips to Leinster and Connacht in Rounds 2 and 3.

Ulster U18 Girls will face the same opposition on the same weekends, with the full details of the fixtures still to be confirmed.

At domestic level, 2021/22 will see the largest-ever number of teams competing in the provincial league and cup competitions, while the showpiece Deloitte Women’s Junior Cup Final is once again set to be played at the home of Ulster Rugby, Kingspan Stadium.

Commenting on the announcement of the renewal, Jonny Petrie, Ulster Rugby CEO, said: “Since Deloitte first came on board in 2017, women’s and girls’ rugby has developed into the fastest growing area of our game, and we are delighted to continue on this journey with such an invested and passionate sponsor.

“Like Ulster Rugby, Deloitte has a strong commitment to diversity, opportunity and excellence, so I am excited to see how we can continue to work together to grow the female game at both elite and grassroots level over the next two years.”

Jackie Henry, Office Senior Partner at Deloitte in Northern Ireland and Managing Partner for People and Purpose at Deloitte UK said: “The sponsorship is a perfect fit with Deloitte’s commitment to support sport at all levels and aligns to the core value of diversity and inclusion.

“We are really proud and excited to be renewing our sponsorship of these Ulster Rugby teams.”

Chris Sloan, Partner at Deloitte who is leading on the sponsorship said: “It is hugely encouraging to see Ulster Rugby prioritising the growth of the women’s and girls’ game and putting in place both plans to increase female participation in rugby, and pathways and other mechanisms to boost team performance.

“We want to play our part in supporting the development of the sport in Northern Ireland and helping boost the team’s performance.

“Maintaining the naming rights for all domestic competitions means we’ll be able to keep supporting the game at a grassroots level and hopefully introduce rugby to more young people, who may well be looking to give new sports a try as pandemic restrictions ease.

“There is a real buzz around female sport at the moment and this sponsorship renewal reinforces our support for diversity for all genders and for all sporting levels.”

Deloitte’s sponsorship also includes the naming rights to the following domestic competitions:

League Competitions:

• Ulster Rugby Premiership
• Ulster Rugby Championship
• Ulster Rugby Conference

Cup Competitions:

• Junior Cup
• Junior Shield
• Suzanne Fleming Cup
• Suzanne Fleming Shield

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The calendar will aim to focus on the continued growth of participation, development and profile of the game, through the celebration of rugby’s position as a game for all.

With a packed calendar of events, from Canterbury Give It Try, which grows participation among younger players, to the Energia Women’s All-Ireland League and a packed international calendar across sevens and fifteens squads, 2021/22 is set to be the busiest season to date for women’s rugby.

New season plan and look & feel for @IrishRugby Women at all levels. #nothinglikeit pic.twitter.com/Njr0HfwgRv

— Fiona Coghlan (@CoghlanFiona) July 19, 2021

IRFU Women’s Rugby Development Manager Amanda Greensmith welcomed the new calendar.

“It is fitting that as we all emerge from COVID-19, which had such a devastating impact on all sports, that we look forward to the return of an action-packed season, where there really is something for everyone that has space in their life to make more friends, have more fun and get fitter while doing it.

“Pre-Covid, our female domestic game programme was growing strongly with over 2,000 registered players, and with the new season, new promotional campaign and messaging we not only want to get all those people back, we want to demonstrate the warm welcome rugby has, to attract even more women and girls.”

#NothingLikeIt

For a life's worth of lessons, there's #NothingLikeIt… pic.twitter.com/EVCp2ELbxu

— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) July 19, 2021

To elevate the women’s game throughout the year a new communications and marketing campaign, #NothingLikeIt will support all IRFU women’s programmes and initiatives to bring an exciting, vibrant and focused approach to how the game is presented, across coaching, volunteering and playing.

The campaign will look to highlight the inclusivity of sport, rugby in this case, and show that difference is an important part of teams.

To mark the new season and launch the #NothingLikeIt creative campaign Ireland Captains Ciara Griffin and Lucy Mulhall deliver a manifesto for the women’s game, inspired by the research and feedback from those who love, play and develop the game.

Touching on the new communications and marketing programme, Communications Director Stephen McNamara said: “We worked for many months with Rothco on the development of a new platform and look and feel for our women’s programme, and then had to put it on the back burner due to Covid.

“However, a new season offers new opportunities which will be filled with #NothingLikeIt moments. We hope that this work can lift the women’s game to the next level.”

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The Women’s All-Ireland League will start on the weekend of September 25th while the men’s league will kick off on the weekend of October 2nd.

The Women’s AIL will be expanded to 10 teams, as announced last year and there will be no relegation for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons.

Ballincollig and Wicklow will be the new sides making their Women’s AIL debuts.

All teams will have a nine-game regular season.

The table will then be split into two – the top four will play a six-match, home and away round-robin followed by playoffs for the Women’s AIL title.

The other six teams will have a five-match round-robin, followed by playoffs for a separate trophy.

This split is only expected to occur in the 2021/22 season.

The Men’s AIL will retain the five divisions – 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B and 2C and will have an 18-game regular reason for all 50 clubs based on the majority of clubs’ preference.

Promotion and relegation in the divisions will be reinstated.

Relegation will switch to a ‘one up, one down’ format “where any match is impacted by COVID-19.”

The IRFU Rugby Committee has agreed on a series of parameters to manage the impact of COVID-19 throughout the season, which has been shared with clubs.

Chair of the IRFU Rugby Committee Greg Barrett said in the announcement that “this is a really positive step towards meaningful rugby in the 2021/22 season and all 60 participating teams have a firm date to work towards.”

“These formats will facilitate the recovery of our clubs as we continue to calculate the cost of the epidemic to our domestic game and the rugby pathway and we remain ready and willing to adapt and evolve to ensure the long-term sustainability of our clubs.”

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