Wolfhounds Beat Brython To Make It An All-Irish Decider In Edinburgh
20-year-old winger Robyn O'Connor was in try-scoring form for the Wolfhounds against Brython Thunder, their semi-final opponents ©Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile
Building another big lead by half-time, the Wolfhounds proved too strong for Brython Thunder at Dexcom Stadium where they booked their Celtic Challenge final berth courtesy of a 36-10 victory.
CELTIC CHALLENGE SEMI-FINAL:
Saturday, March 21 –
WOLFHOUNDS 36 BRYTHON THUNDER 10, Dexcom Stadium
Scorers: Wolfhounds: Tries: Naoise Smyth, Stacey Flood 2, Eve Higgins, Vicky Elmes Kinlan, Robyn O’Connor; Cons: Dannah O’Brien 3
Brython Thunder: Tries: Branwen Metcalfe, Jorja Aiono
HT: Wolfhounds 31 Brython Thunder 0
The Wolfhounds are now just 80 minutes away from winning their third successive title, with Irish rivals, the Clovers, their opponents in next Saturday’s decider at Edinburgh’s Hive Stadium (kick-off 3pm). Tickets are available to buy here.
Stacey Flood’s neatly-taken early brace, adding to a third-minute opener from Naoise Smyth, saw Neill Alcorn’s charges take control of the scoreboard. Navan’s Alex Connor impressed on her first start at scrum half.
Player-of-the-match Eve Higgins sliced her way over nearing the half-hour mark, and fellow dual international Vicky Elmes Kinlan scored from Flood’s charge-down, with Dannah O’Brien tagging on her third successful conversion for a 31-0 scoreline
Brython Thunder had won their previous five matches, including a recent home encounter with the Wolfhounds. They had some purple patches in either half, albeit that they failed to profit from Sophie Barrett’s sin-binning.
A pacy first-phase try from Robyn O’Connor – one of eleven members of Ireland’s Six Nations squad on show – wrapped up the result with 25 minutes remaining. Branwen Metcalfe and Jorja Aiona crossed for some late consolation for the visitors.
Giving his reaction afterwards, head coach Alcorn said: “Very happy with the performance. We just wanted to get back to how we wanted to play. When we went away to the Thunder we didn’t have the glorious Galway sun, but I thought in training, these last weeks, we really showed what we’re about.
“I think today was another step in the right direction. We could see some threats that they kind of get after, especially around the contact area. So you see that they were trying to choke tackle us and keep us up, but we really identified that this week and really went after that.
“The big thing is when we’ve got talent like Eve, and the rest of the guys out in the backs, give them the ball and we’ll hopefully see some tries.”
He added: “We had a good ding-dong against the Clovers in the last round before today, and then had a training session against them, so we’ve been pretty close to them recently. Looking forward to the game.”
Full report to follow…
WOLFHOUNDS: Stacey Flood (Leinster); Robyn O’Connor (Leinster), Aoife Dalton (Leinster) (capt), Eve Higgins (Leinster), Vicky Elmes Kinlan (Leinster); Dannah O’Brien (Leinster), Alex Connor (Leinster); Linda Djougang (Leinster), India Daley (Ulster), Sophie Barrett (Ulster), Kate Jordan (Leinster), Naoise Smyth (Leinster), Fiona Tuite (Ulster), Grace Moore (IQ Rugby), Erin King (Leinster).
Replacements: Sarah Delaney (Leinster), Hannah Wilson (Leinster), Caoimhe Molloy (Leinster), Clíodhna Ní Chonchobhair (Leinster), Regan Casey (IQ Rugby), Jade Gaffney (Leinster), Abby Moyles (Ulster), Amy Larn (Leinster).
BRYTHON THUNDER: Lisa Neumann; Jasmine Joyce, Courtney Keight, Savannah Picton-Powell, Seren Singleton; Hanna Marshall, Seren Lockwood; Stella Orrin, Shanelle Williams, Elan Jones, Gwen Crabb (capt), Natalia John, Branwen Metcalfe, Lucy Isaac, Jorja Aiono.
Replacements: Rhian Bowden, Lowri Williams, Megan Lewis, Robyn Davies, Alisha Joyce, Mollie Wilkinson, Hannah Bluck, Mabli Evans.
Referee: John Lillis (IRFU)