Boylan Touches Down Twice As Blackrock Overcome Wicklow Challenge

ENERGIA ALL-IRELAND LEAGUE WOMEN’S DIVISION:

Saturday, November 8 –

WICKLOW 8 BLACKROCK COLLEGE 29, Ashtown Lane
Scorers: Wicklow: Try: Vicky Elmes Kinlan; Pen: Beth Roberts
Blackrock College: Tries: Regan Casey, Maggie Boylan 2, Hannah O’Connor, Megan Burns; Cons: Abby Moyles 2
HT: Wicklow 3 Blackrock College 22

Megan Burns pocketed the bonus point for Blackrock just before half-time, giving them a 22-3 lead with Regan Casey, Maggie Boylan, and captain Hannah O’Connor having also crossed the whitewash.

The vocal home support at Ashtown Lane roared with delight when Vicky Elmes Kinlan raced downfield for a sizzling 70-metre score, giving Wicklow a shot at taking something out of the game with 10 minutes remaining.

However, Blackrock made certain of their fourth straight victory when Boylan burst through for her seventh try of the campaign. They remain third in the Energia All-Ireland League table, while Wicklow have dropped two places to sixth.

An early scrum penalty, coupled with a determined break by Elmes Kinlan, had Wicklow on the charge inside the opening minutes. The reliable left boot of Beth Roberts made sure they came away with points, from straight in front of the posts.

Niall Neville’s Blackrock side got their threatening back-line on the move following a Nikki Gibson interception. It was quickly becoming end-to-end stuff, as Erin McConnell’s sniping run had the hosts in an advanced position once again.

Nonetheless, it was Blackrock who claimed an opportunist opening try. Wicklow were aggrieved not to be awarded a penalty at a ruck on halfway, but Gibson pinched possession and almost scored from her own break before Casey crossed from Trinity Todd’s short pass.

Robyn Johnston and Roisin Stone were covering well in the back-field for Wicklow, yet ‘Rock managed to hold onto the momentum in attack. They struck again midway through the first half, opening up a 10-3 lead.

The in-form Boylan had little space to manouevre in, but did brilliantly to gather Lauren Farrell McCabe’s pass on the bounce and wriggle past three defenders to make it over in the left corner.

Wicklow tightened up in defence for the next period of play, with Elmes Kinlan digging in for a well-won turnover penalty, and despite a dominant maul from the visitors, Ciara Short stayed in the fight to force another turnover.

Still, after strong runs from Boylan, Ella Durkan, and Maeve Óg O’Leary, it was O’Connor who seized the initiative as she drove in low to score from a five-metre tap penalty. The conversion from Abby Moyles opened up a 14-point advantage.

Blackrock were now getting over the gainline with more regularity, their maul doing some damage before Ireland Sevens star Burns collected Moyles’ cross-field kick to touch down out on the right.

Caoimhe Molloy, the pick of the Wicklow forwards, managed to hold up O’Leary as Blackrock came hunting for an early second-half try. Molloy increased her influence a few minutes later by fighting hard for a penalty at the breakdown.

Jason Moreton’s charges moved back into the opposition 22, propelled forward by a scrum penalty and a ‘Rock offside. A crooked lineout throw came at just the wrong time for them, though, and the third quarter played out scoreless.

Blackrock had to cope with the sin-binning of flanker Casey for a high tackle, but won back key field position thanks to the pace of Burns followed by a cracking 50:22 kick from Moyles.

Wicklow were soon back on the attack, with Ciara O’Leary and Molloy combining to tear through midfield. ‘Rock’s scramble defence stood up to the task, resulting in a timely Lauren Farrell McCabe turnover.

Megan Brodie’s lineout steal stood out in what a scrappy spell, as handling errors resulted in a number of turnovers. Stone was first to a breaking ball for Wicklow, and Jamie Church’s turnover penalty got them back on track after losing ground.

They were able to turn the possession into another try of the season contender from Elmes Kinlan. Quick hands kept the ball alive before the 22-year-old burst through a gap and stayed clear of the chasing Kate Farrell McCabe, her Ireland Sevens team-mate, to dive over at the clubhouse end.

That shaved the deficit down to 22-8, with Roberts flashing her conversion across the posts. Desperate for another breakout, Wicklow were pinned back over the subsequent minutes despite industrious openside Short winning another penalty at the breakdown.

Blackrock showed their quality with an incisive 76th-minute attack, the forwards taking them back into Wicklow’s 22 before Boylan used Moyles’ inside pass to raid over beside the posts. The low-slung conversion from Moyles made it a 21-point winning margin.

TIME LINE: 6 minutes – Wicklow penalty: Beth Roberts – 3-0; 15 mins – Blackrock College try: Regan Casey – 3-5; conversion: missed by Abby Moyles – 3-5; 20 mins – Blackrock College try: Maggie Boylan – 3-10; conversion: missed by Abby Moyles – 3-10; 35 mins – Blackrock College try: Hannah O’Connor 3-15; conversion: Abby Moyles – 3-17; 40 mins – Blackrock College try: Megan Burns – 3-22; conversion: missed by Abby Moyles – 3-22; Half-time – Wicklow 3 Blackrock College 22; 52 mins – Blackrock College yellow card: Regan Casey; 70 mins – Wicklow try: Vicky Elmes Kinlan – 8-22; conversion: missed by Beth Roberts – 8-22; 76 mins – Blackrock College try: Maggie Boylan – 8-27; conversion: Abby Moyles – 8-29; Full-time – Wicklow 8 Blackrock College 29

WICKLOW: Robyn Johnston; Roisin Stone, Jamie Church, Vicky Elmes Kinlan, Faye O’Neill; Beth Roberts, Erin McConnell; Dannii Masters, Eimear Douglas (co-capt), Caoimhe Molloy, Renee Koper, Caitlin Griffey, Ciara O’Leary, Ciara Short, Rachel Griffey (co-capt).

Replacements: Lorraine Voorbach, Joanne Smith, Laura Newsome, Rebecca Brennan, Usha Daly O’Toole, Sophie Richardson, Laura Griffin.

BLACKROCK COLLEGE: Méabh Deely; Megan Burns, Trinity Todd, Ella Durkan, Maggie Boylan; Abby Moyles, Lauren Farrell McCabe; Ava Fannin, Sam Brackett, Megan Brodie, Kate Jordan, Nikki Gibson, Regan Casey, Maeve Óg O’Leary, Hannah O’Connor (capt).

Replacements: Niamh Tester, Katie O’Driscoll, Molly Fitzpatrick, Clíodhna Ní Chonchobhair, Carrie O’Keeffe, Kate Farrell McCabe, Andi Murphy.

Referee: Kenny Coldrick (IRFU)