Under-18 Girls Interpro Series Round-Up
The last two weekends have seen the four provincial sides take to the field in what was their first ever competitive Under-18 Girls Interprovincial Series.
In previous years, these games have been played in a blitz-like format for developmental purposes, however with growth in numbers and profile of the female game in Ireland, the IRFU made the decision to move to a full Interprovincial Series for the Under-18 girls.
Ulster have stood out so far in terms of performances. They beat a strong Leinster team 10-5 in their home fixture hosted by Armagh RFC. This was followed up with a 34-5 win away to Connacht last weekend at Buccaneers RFC.
Both teams were neck and neck during the first half in Athlone, with Ulster leading 10-5 at half-time. The second half saw Ulster make some timely substitutions and they ran in a further four tries. Ulster captain Neve Jones scored twice, proving she is a player to watch for the future.
Munster are also still in contention to win the Interprovincial Series as they saw off Connacht 33-7 at home in Ballincollig in round 1 and played out a scoreless draw away to Leinster in round 2 at Seapoint RFC.
Munster will take great confidence from both games with their backs, in particular, looking very strong. Enya Breen notched up 13 points during their victory over Connacht, while centre Dorothy Wall caused plenty of trouble with her bursts through the middle against Leinster last weekend.
Having lost one and drawn one, Leinster are favourites in their fixture versus Connacht this weekend, however, Connacht have scored in both of their fixtures to date and could cause an upset. The final round of matches take place this coming Saturday at Westmanstown RFC in Dublin.
Visit thefrontrowunion.com for a full Connacht v Ulster U-18 Girls report/gallery.
UNDER-18 GIRLS INTERPROVINCIAL SERIES – FINAL ROUND FIXTURES: Saturday, October 1
LEINSTER v CONNACHT, Westmanstown RFC, 1pm
ULSTER v MUNSTER, Westmanstown RFC, 3.30pm
RESULTS SO FAR –
ROUND 1:
MUNSTER 33 CONNACHT 7, Ballincollig RFC
Scorers: Munster: Tries: Ashling Brosnan, Emily Lane, Hayley Betts, Stephanie Nunan, Enya Breen; Cons: Enya Breen 4
Connacht: Try: Mary O’Grady; Con: Kayley Mannion
ULSTER 10 LEINSTER 5, Armagh RFC
Scorers: Ulster: Tries: Neve Jones, Kelly McCormill
Leinster: Try: Eimear Corri
ROUND 2:
LEINSTER 0 MUNSTER 0, Seapoint RFC
CONNACHT 5 ULSTER 34, Buccaneers RFC
Scorers: Connacht: Try: Clare Coghlan
Ulster: Tries: Neve Jones 2, Brittany Hogan, Caolinn McCormack, Leah McGoldrick; Cons: Lisa Mullen 3; Pen: Lisa Mullen