Wanderers R.F.C. 43

Tallaght R.F.C. 0

Womens League Division 4
Tymon Park
12/02/16

Tallaght travelled to Merrion road to take on top of the table Wanderers in the final league game of the season. It was a bitterly cold day with snow showers during periods of the game. Tallaght got off to a good start pinning Wanderers down in their half for long periods of time. Their were plenty of big hits coming in from the like of Anne Kavanagh, Leone Eugene and Megan Fogarty.

There was a number of promising breaks up the middle from the Meenagh sisters and Ciara McLoughlin but the ball just couldn’t stick to the numb hands in the brutally cold conditions. Wanderers made them pay for their handling errors with a hat trick of tries from their speedy winger to give them a 19-0 lead.

Just before half time Tallaght seemed to spark to life with Wanderers being sent down to 9 with a player binned for a high tackle. Ann Meenagh making a great break up the centre of the pitch, popped the ball to on rushing McLoughlin who spread the ball out wide to Ciara Meenagh to get over the line only for the ball to be deemed to have been knocked on. This left the half time score at 19-0.

The second half showed more promising rugby from the Tallaght team, with a lot more possession and they were keeping the ball alive better. Not long into the second half Tallaght’s hooker Marissa Crane was forced off due to injury and this got women more focused with some nice runs from Caoimhe Hogan, Ann Meenagh and Ciara McLoughlin.

McLoughlin was nearly in the corner for a try on two occasions only to be hauled into touch just short of the line. Tallaght were then reduced by one when skipper Catherine Murphy was yellow carded for a high tackle after the ref had given a warning to Tallaght.

Wanderers punished Tallaght during this period running in another two tries. In the last minutes of the game Tallaght were again back in the Wanderers half, knocking on door but Wanderers were able to hold them off to give a final score of 43-0.

Next week Tallaght will face Wanderers again in the league semi final, so a big turnout is needed at training this coming week to drive them on with a win necessary to secure a place in the final.

TALLAGHT RFC

14. Shauna Power
12. Ciara Meenagh
11. Ciara McLaughlin
10. Caoimhe Young
9. Anne Kavanagh
1. Anne Meenagh
2. Marissa Crane
3. Leone Eugene
4. Megan Fogarty
5. Catherine Murphy

Report & Photos by Moia Flannery