Abbie’s hattrick leads the way for Portlaoise to advance in the cup

Leinster Rugby Girls Under-16s Cup Rd 2

Portlaoise (Whites) 34 

Arklow 5

On Saturday Portlaoise welcomed their long time rivals Arklow to Togher for second round of the Leinster Cup. Both teams boast a rich history in this competition, Arklow winning it last year, and Portlaoise securing the title for the two years prior.

With injuries and illness sweeping through the camp, Portlaoise were down to their bare bones.

Arklow got proceedings underway, and the opening ten minutes became a fierce war of attrition.

Portlaoise slowly began to take control of the contest, with bone crunching tackles from Freya Stanley and Lily Brophy forcing Arklow to lose their two props to injury. This resulted in uncontested scrums for the remainder of the match.

Smelling opportunity, Portlaoise tightened the screw. Emily Harvey fired passes with pace and precision, creating an overlap on the wing for Molly Jane Dempsey, who touched down for the first try of the day.

Arklow adjusted quickly, knowing they now had to protect the wings. Portlaoise out half Molly Fitzpatrick began exploiting the space intelligently, and a perfectly timed pass sent Abbie Delaney slicing through the centre for Portlaoise’s second score, which Dempsey converted.

Ball retention from both sides was impressive, with strong clean outs throughout. Chloe Kavanagh and Tara Peavoy were particularly influential. Meanwhile, Faye Scully and Daisy Whitten consistently punched holes, driving Portlaoise deep into Arklow territory.

A break from Sarah Cunningham on the opposite wing released Niamh Ramsbottom, who raced through only to be dragged down inside the five metre line. A quick pop pass found the onrushing Abbie Delaney, who crossed for her second try of the day and at the break Portlaoise had a healthy 17-0 lead.

Arklow came out firing in the second half, applying stern pressure as they camped inside the Portlaoise 22 in search of their first score. Relentless tackling from Sarah Keane and Ciara Cuddy kept them at bay.

Then a relieving clearance kick from Portlaoise landed in midfield, sparking a counterattack. Quick hands released St Joseph’s native Abbie Delaney, who waltzed her way through the Arklow defence to complete her hat trick.

The momentum was now fully with Portlaoise. Bailey Campion gathered the restart with an impressive one handed catch. With the team drifting to one side, space opened across the pitch. Swift hands sent the ball wide to Molly Jane Dempsey, who rounded the final defender to score under the posts before adding the conversion herself.

In the closing stages, Portlaoise’s dominance continued across the field. The line-out was no exception, with Amy Peters securing clean ball to launch another attack. Camped inside Arklow’s five metre line, Jessica Delaney spotted a gap and powered over for another try.

Arklow, to their credit, had the final say with a well earned try on the last play of the match.

PORTLAOISE SQUAD: Bailey Campion, Faye Scully, Daisy Whitten, Amy Peters, Ciara Cuddy, Tara Peavoy, Chloe Kavanagh, Jessica Delaney, Lily Brophy, Sarah Cunningham, Emily Harvey, Molly Jane Dempsey, Abbie Delaney, Freya Stanley, Molly Fitzpatrick, Niamh Ramsbotton, Aoibheann Conroy, Sophie Sweeney, Pippa Casey, Sarah Keane, Cara Daly.