Six-Try Wolfhounds Continue Winning Ways In Glasgow Rain

CELTIC CHALLENGE – ROUND 7:

Sunday, February 15 –

GLASGOW WARRIORS 26 WOLFHOUNDS 42, Scotstoun Stadium
Scorers: Glasgow Warriors: Tries: Briar McNamara, Aicha Sutcliffe, Emily Coubrough, Millie Warren; Cons: Millie Warren 3
Wolfhounds: Tries: Katie Corrigan, Erin King 2, Naoise Smyth, Fiona Tuite, Aoibheann Reilly; Cons: Abby Moyles 6
HT: Glasgow Warriors 7 Wolfhounds 21

New Ireland captain Erin King stood out on both sides of the ball, finishing with a brace of tries and the player-of-the-match accolade, as Neill Alcorn’s charges had too much firepower for a resilient Glasgow side.

King and Naoise Smyth crossed after 32 and 39 minutes to give the Wolfhounds a 21-7 half-time lead in the unrelenting rain. Briar McNamara’s brilliant individual score had earlier cancelled out a 10th-minute opener from Katie Corrigan.

Regrouping after losing Maeve Óg O’Leary to a worrying injury, Fiona Tuite pocketed the bonus point in the 44th minute before King completed her brace with a try that effectively put the unbeaten Celtic Challenge leaders out of reach at 35-7.

Aicha Sutcliffe and Emily Coubrough responded for the Warriors, reducing the arrears to 16 points. Despite the visitors losing India Daley to the sin bin, pacy replacement Aoibheann Reilly delivered another try, with the ultra-consistent Abby Moyles going six out of six from the tee.

Millie Warren converted her 81st-minute intercept effort to pick up a bonus point in Glasgow’s fight for a top four finish. The Wolfhounds, meanwhile, are just one win away from a home semi-final. They are off to Llanelli next Saturday to play fifth-placed Brython Thunder.

Blackrock College’s Regan Casey, a Canadian flanker and IQ Rugby recruit, made her first start in the Wolfhounds back row, with Amy Larn, Megan Burns, Moyles, Jade Gaffney, Sophie Barrett, and O’Leary making it seven changes in all.

The teams had to cope with heavy rain right from the off, a couple of knock-ons giving Glasgow scrums on the all-weather surface. Young full-back Larn was heavily involved in the early exchanges, fielding a number of kicks and running them back with interest.

The Wolfhounds established a foothold with a couple of penalties, the first one coming from a Tuite turnover. A strong O’Leary carry led to the forwards threatening before Moyles dangled a clever kick out to the right for Corrigan to finish neatly past Emily Norval.

Following a pinpoint conversion from Moyles, Glasgow gradually moved their way downfield. Scrum half Gaffney’s interception spoiled one attack from the hosts, and good work from locks Naoise Smyth and Tuite saw them combine for a maul turnover.

After Rianna Darroch had won the kicking battle, Glasgow gained a scrum for accidental offside. Delighting the home support, McNamara expertly slipped out of a tackle from Gaffney and evaded Aoife Dalton’s clutches to burst clear for the try-line. Warren levelled from the tee.

The handling errors increased again due to defensive pressure and the slippery ball, but the table toppers tightened things up approaching the break. O’Leary’s well-won penalty at the breakdown got them moving in the right direction.

Eager for work when coming in off her wing, Sevens international Burns swooped on a loose ball and took play up to the hosts’ 22. The forwards took over, with props Linda Djougang and Barrett both carrying in quick succession, before King drove over the whitewash for Moyles to convert.

Another good defensive read by Gaffney saw her foil a Gemma Thomson break, and the Wolfhounds were able to make up for a Holland Bogan lineout steal by extending their lead late on. It came from a charge-down by King, and her fellow forwards backed her up with some incisive carrying.

The influential number 8 collected the loose ball after blocking Ceitidh Ainsworth’s attempted clearance kick. Barrett and Tuite made dents in the home defence, allowing Smyth in for a quick pick-up from a ruck to touch down. Moyles’ right boot widened the margin to 14 points.

When Wolfhounds captain Dalton carved through inside the second half’s opening minutes, Glasgow were very much on the back foot. O’Leary unfortunately went off holding her arm, having sustained the damage when tackled just short of the try-line.

Tuite’s third try in as many games was the ideal response to that setback. King carried hard off the back of a five-metre scrum, going close herself. Her Ireland team-mate then used the quick ruck ball to power in under the posts, with the newly-introduced Aoife Corcoran on the latch.

A Smyth turnover helped to keep the title holders, who were now 28-7 to the good, playing in the right areas of the pitch. Another attacking surge saw King burrow over in the 53rd minute, with Smyth and replacement Caoimhe Molloy having been stopped just short only moments before.

Glasgow hit double figures themselves by the hour mark, as prop Sutcliffe plunged over from a close-in ruck. They held onto the momentum, drawing a series of penalties as the Wolfhounds’ streak of indiscipline earned them a warning from referee Murray Oliver.

Molloy and Barrett did enough to force a knock-on from a try-hunting Sophie Murphy. Still, an uncharacteristic error from Moyles handed the home side a scrum platform. Coubrough could not be stopped in the 71st minute, with Daley promptly yellow carded for infringing close to her own line.

The impressive Larn’s accuracy and energy when dealing with kicks paved the way for the Wolfhounds to hit back quickly. A sniping Reilly spotted her chance to break from halfway, and she angled her run intelligently to beat the cover defence for a fine seven-pointer.

The Wolfhounds bench was emptied with Emma Jane Wilson and Cara Martin getting on for their Celtic Challenge debuts. Warren did manage to have the final say, snapping up a Moyles pass to break clear and register the Warriors’ sixth try-scoring bonus point in seven outings.

TIME LINE: 10 minutes – Wolfhounds try: Katie Corrigan – 0-5; conversion: Abby Moyles – 0-7; 24 mins – Glasgow Warriors try: Briar McNamara – 5-7; conversion: Millie Warren – 7-7; 32 mins – Wolfhounds try: Erin King – 7-12; conversion: Abby Moyles – 7-14; 39 mins – Wolfhounds try: Naoise Smyth – 7-19; conversion: Abby Moyles – 7-21; Half-time – Glasgow Warriors 7 Wolfhounds 21; 44 mins – Wolfhounds try: Fiona Tuite – 7-26; conversion: Abby Moyles – 7-28; 53 mins – Wolfhounds try: Erin King – 7-33; conversion: Abby Moyles – 7-35; 58 mins – Glasgow Warriors try: Aicha Sutcliffe – 12-35; conversion: missed by Millie Warren – 12-35; 71 mins – Glasgow Warriors try: Emily Coubrough – 17-35; conversion: Millie Warren – 19-35; Wolfhounds yellow card: India Daley; 76 mins – Wolfhounds try: Aoibheann Reilly – 19-40; conversion: Abby Moyles – 19-42; 80+1 mins – Wolfhounds try: Millie Warren – 24-42; conversion: Millie Warren – 26-42; Full-time – Glasgow Warriors 26 Wolfhounds 42

GLASGOW WARRIORS: Poppy Mellanby; Claudia McLaren, Briar McNamara, Millie Warren, Emily Norval; Ceitidh Ainsworth (co-capt), Rianna Darroch; Aicha Sutcliffe, Megan Hyland, Katie Lindsay, Holland Bogan (co-capt), Ellie Williamson, Gemma Thomson, Eilidh MacGilvray, Emily Coubrough.

Replacements: Shelley Main, Poppy Fletcher, Imogen Spence, Sophie Murphy, Freya Walker, Samaanther Taganekurukuru, Hannah Dunnett, Robynn Gibson.

WOLFHOUNDS: Amy Larn (Leinster); Katie Corrigan (Leinster), Aoife Dalton (Leinster) (capt), Vicky Elmes Kinlan (Leinster), Megan Burns (Leinster); Abby Moyles (Ulster), Jade Gaffney (Leinster); Linda Djougang (Leinster), India Daley (Ulster), Sophie Barrett (Ulster), Naoise Smyth (Leinster), Fiona Tuite (Ulster), Maeve Óg O’Leary (Munster), Regan Casey (IQ Rugby), Erin King (Leinster).

Replacements: Emma Jane Wilson (Leinster), Caoimhe Molloy (Leinster), Hannah Wilson (Leinster), Clíodhna Ní Chonchobhair (Leinster), Aoife Corcoran (Leinster), Aoibheann Reilly (Connacht), Cara Martin (Leinster), Kate Farrell McCabe (Ulster).

Referee: Murray Oliver (SRU)