Swords R.F.C. 3
Tallaght R.F.C 19
Try: Nicole Fanning, Louise Leonard, Aisling Pyke
Conversion: Grainne Flood 2
Women’s Leinster Division 5
Toberbunny
06/11/2022
The Tallaght women’s team took on Swords away looking to make it two wins from two in Division 5 of the Metro League.
Tallaght had a strong wind at their back and Grainne Flood took advantage by kicking long into the Swords half. Swords lost a lineout close to their line and Tallaght pounced on the ball. After Martina Fitzpatrick and Louise Leonard went close, Nicole Fanning showed good strength to get over the line to score a try. Grainne Flood kicked an excellent conversion to make it 7-0 to Tallaght.
Having succeeded from kicking the ball long, Tallaght frustratingly declined to kick the ball again for most of the first half. Instead they tried to run the ball out of their own half with limited success. When one such attack was turned over, Swords won a penalty which they kicked to make it 7-3. However Tallaght soon hit back when Swords lost another lineout close to their line and Louise Leonard got over the line for a second Tallaght try to give them a 12-3 lead at half-time.
Tallaght played smarter rugby in the second half kicking the ball well through Grainne Flood and Aisling Pyke. They made the pressure tell when a great run by wing Ellen Crotty put Tallaght in a good position. Then Nicole Fanning combined with Aisling Pyke who went through a gap to score under the posts and Grainne Flood converted. The game petered out after that with Louise Leonard’s yellow card for a high tackle the only real incident of note.
Tallaght coach Hayley White was proud of her team’s effort. “It was a really strong defensive performance. We didn’t really give them any clear linebreaks and they didn’t really ever look like scoring a try. Our pack was excellent and our midfield trio of Grainne Flood, Nicole Fanning and Aisling Pyke all had great games with Nicole taking the woman of the match award. Ellen Crotty was playing her first game in two years but she put in some great hits and all our bench came on and made an impact. There are things to work on, but overall we’re very happy with where we are and we’re looking forward to playing Ashbourne in two week’s time.”
Player of the match: Nicole Fanning
Tallaght RFC
- Veronica Criado
- Emma Irvin
- Larissa Marenelli
- Aimee Travers
- Martina Fitzpatrick
- Lisa O’Connell
- Kim Littlefield
- Louise Leonard
- Eileen Shanahan (Captain)
- Grainne Flood
- Ellen Crotty
- Nicole Fanning
- Aisling Pyke
- Nikita Murray
- Doireann O’Byrne
- Laura Dalton
- Lisa Connors
- Hilary Allen
- Ciara McLoughlin
- Niamh Moore
- Clodagh Cullagh
Photos: Mark Luttrell
