South East are that bit too strong for the North Midlands Girls

South East 45 

North Midlands 31 

THE latest round of games in the BearingPoint Sarah Robinson Cup for U/17 girls took place in Mullingar Rugby Club in cold but sunny weather conditions.

A much changed North Midlands side faced a strong side from the South East area in a highly entertaining encounter. The South East got off to a fast start with a try scored in the opening minutes after a knock on off the kick off just outside the North Midlands 22 The South East moved the ball across the pitch from the scrum, recycled well through a number of rucks while bringing the ball back across the pitch to score through lock Freya Brennan (Arklow), converted by her clubmate Sophia White.

The South East doubled their advantage through a try from Brennan and conversion by White again. After a good clearing kick from Nicole Walsh (PortDara) from a strong scrum platform inside the North Midlands 22 the South East came back hard into the 22 with some straight running to set up their second try off a penalty five metres out from the North Midlands try line.

North Midlands hit back through a try from Réaltín Whiteley (PortDara) and conversion by Grace Lennon (Athy), after a turnover penalty on the South East’s 10 metre line. Réaltín, Whiteley (Portdara) took a quick tap with a strong carry, offloaded to Faye Kavanagh (Clane) who carried it into contact and then offloaded to Brianna Brannock (PortDara) to set it up on the South Easts 22, Faye Kavanagh (Clane) used footwork to carry into their 22 from the ruck it was recycled to allow Lily Harney (Naas) to carry to about five metres from the try line. The North Midlands brought the ball through a number of phases that led to a penalty to the right of the posts, North Midlands took a quick through Réaltín Whiteley (PortDara) and moved the ball left to eventually come back to Réaltín Whiteley (PortDara) to score under the posts.

From the restart Louise Hyland (Portlaoise) made a good carry into the South East defence, This led to the ball moving to Réaltín Whiteley to take a line to gain 25 metres. North Midlands attacked through the backs down the left with Mary O’Hara (Portlaoise) running deep into the opposition 22 but unfortunately dragged into touch.

From the resulting lineout Hollie Rose Malone (Athy).put huge pressure on the lineout that led to untidy ball for the South East to deal with. The South East conceded a penalty from the clearance kick and the North Midlands scored off a tap penalty through Louise Hyland (Portlaoise) to bring the score to 14 12.

The South East rebounded, accruing a penalty try for a high tackle on the line and a fourth from centre Megan Doyle (Tullow), converted by White. In between those tries the North Midlands showed some great defence by twice stopping tries by holding the ball up over the line, the first one by Faye Kavanagh (Clane) and a few minutes later Ellen Mullaney (Clane) followed suit.

From the restart the South East conceded a number of penalties around their 22. The North Midlands took advantage with an impressive play from the backs with Katelynn Higginbotham (Athy) cutting back in from the wing to set up a ruck yards from the South East’s line The ball was moved to captain Nicole Walsh who evaded the South East’s defence to bring the score to 28-17 After the break, the winners were quick to pick up the pace of the game, posting a try by left-wing Jenny Nolan.

From a penalty just outside the South East 22, Hollie Rose Malone (Athy) took the ball right up in the opposition, from the ruck Claudia Cuddy (Athy) made an abrasive carry deep into the 22 and gained a penalty. From here the North Midlands worked the ball up to the line and Louise Hyland (Portlaoise) powered over from close range.

The South East scored a couple more tries through replacement hooker Freya Molloy and Molly Sheridan.

From a scrum in their own 22 the North Midlands engineered an excellent backline move to release Mary O’Hara (Portlaoise) down the left wing who made 40 metres before being hauled into touch. The North Midlands won the ball back from lineout and launched an attack from the South Easts 10 meter line, with strong phase play they worked the ball inside the 22, the North Midlands won a scrum 5 meters from the try line and worked the ball in field to Lily Harney (Naas) to score under the posts, converted by . Nicole Walsh (PortDara).

Though the North Midlands lost the game, they showed they are capable of competing against the favourites for this year’s Sarah Robinson cup and will look to get their first win of the campaign in their next fixture.

NORTH MIDLANDS SQUAD: Eabha Lawlor (PortDara); Mary O’Hara (Portlaoise), Lily Harney (Naas): Molly Noons (PortDara): Katelynn Higginbotham (Athy); Nicole Walsh (PortDara Capt): Fiadh Lawlor (PortDara): Faye Kavanagh (Clane): Grace Lennon (Athy): Ellen Mullaney (Clane): Louise Hyland (Portlaoise): Réaltín Whiteley (PortDara): Brianna Brannock (PortDara): Avie O’Connor (Naas): Hollie Rose Malone (Athy): Claudia Cuddy (Athy): Kate Ging (Portlaoise): Millie Rose Daly (Clondalkin): Rachel Carey (PortDara): Kate Cameron (Naas): Kate Lawlor (Athy): Isabel Murphy (Athy): Iseult Lonergan (Clane).