Tullamore women lose as mens' thirds held to draw

Leinster Womens' League Division 1: Balbriggan 42, Tullamore 36

Balbriggan edged out Tullamore in the end despite a riveting fightback from the Tullier women. In a high scoring spectacle of heart, determination and grit, Balbriggan came out the better side of the score board.Balbriggan started the better team, leaving the Tulliers shellshocked as within the first 12 minutes it was 20-0. It looked like it was going to be a long day.However, there’s huge heart in this Tullamore team and they seem to thrive under pressure. It wasn’t long before they were back in the game with tries from Roisin Feighery and Amy Berry. Making it 25-12 at half time.
The game wasn’t over, the fightback needed to be massive.
Tullamore came out the fences hot with a slick interception from winger Vicki Carey, she dotted down to make it 25-17. Balbriggan are a tough unit and came back themselves with a blistering break up to score and leave it 30-17.
Both teams were shattered with 20 minutes to go, after a physical, tough game. The heads couldn’t drop, the result was hanging in the balance- there was no time for anyone to falter.
Tullamore got a nudge again and with some clever play and beautifully executed crossfield kick, winger Claire Leonard brought it to 30-22. It was so close to Tullamore now.
Balbriggan showed their class again and got the score back to 35-22. The Tullamore
offence was beginning to look like a fantastically well oiled machine when Hannah Kennedy jinked over and around defenders to make it 35-29.
Balbriggan wanted this win too and went charging for the whitewash and put another score between the teams, 42-29.
This Tullamore team will not die off, and came back with a huge charge for Amy Hanlon to get over and Becky Gavin to slot a beauty of a conversion to make it a 6 point game.
3 minutes left and it was nervy from both sides, and what was a thrilling encounter ended petering out slowly.
We’re looking forward to these sides meeting again.

TULLAMORE: Dani Murphy, Róisin Feighery, Robin Maher, Kate Fox, Caoimhe Guinan, Niamh Hickey ©, Ciara Dunne, Hannah Kennedy, Sorcha Tierney, Becky Gavin, Claire Leonard, Shannon Tierney, Lauryn O’ Reilly, Vicki Carey, Amy Berry. Replacements Joan Tynan, Amy Hanlon

SEE NEXT: “We just lost control of the game” - Tullamore manager

Metro League Division 6: Stillorgan-Rathfarnham 1sts 10, Tullamore 3rds 10

Tullamore made yet another trip to Dublin on Saturday for their 4th consecutive away fixture in the league. The orange weather warnings had the game in doubt but to be fair to their opponents, Stillorgan-Rathfarnham’s pitches were in great condition, benefiting from good drainage, high up near the Wicklow mountains.

Stillorgan-Rathfarnham sat top of the table going into this fixture, so Tullamore knew it was going to be a battle. Tullamore started the game incredibly well and were the better team for large parts of the 1st half. For all their territory and possession however, they weren’t clinical enough in their opponents 22.

The forwards were showing very well in these exchanges with steely veterans Cathal Feighery & Dan Cronin to the fore. They were ably supported by youngster Griff Smith who started his first game this year. John Dunican & David Mann in the backrow also showed their quality with the ball in hand, as well as their ability to tackle low to counter any size differential the Stillorgan pack offered. Indeed, Tullamore felt they had the ball over the line for the first try only for it to be ruled short by the referee.

The games first score came midway through the first half during a small purple patch for the home side. After a handful of forward carries and with the Tullamore defence stretched, they were able to move the ball wide to cut through and score. The conversion left the score at 7-0. Tullamore were dealt blows in losing Eoghan O’Connor to concussion and Luka Meyer to a hamstring injury, but they continued playing well for the rest of the half. Kevin Healy was showing nice touches in the midfield while Jake Kenny was relentless in his work ethic around the pitch.

At half time, the Tullamore management were confident that if they kept playing like they did in the 1st half, chances would present themselves. Paul Galvin and John McQuade came into bolster the pack at half time, and Adam Hughes moved into scrum half with Ronan Hooper moving to the wing to provide some extra pace.

The second half was all that is good about rugby at this level with crunching tackles being mixed with excellent running and desperate defence. It was Tullamore who scored next with Galvin finishing off the relentless Tullamore attack that spread over multiple phases. Adam Hughes and Colin Draper were to the fore in marshalling the team into Stillorgan territory where strong carries from our back row and Jake Kenny brought them to the Stillorgan line. After a few intricate passes Paul found himself in a bit of space and there was nothing that was going to stop the Daingean Dynamo from close range. The conversion missed left the score at 7-5 to Stillorgan.

The game was an end-to-end affair with both sides showing incredible defensive sets to withstand each other’s attacks. Tullamore were utilising quick-tap penalties a bit more to try catch the organised Stillorgan defence ‘on the hop’. Sensing an opportunity, Hughes took one of these quick taps on the Stillorgan 10-yard line where he beat some tiring defenders before passing to the rampaging Kon Fennelly who scored in the corner. The difficult conversion was missed to leave Tullamore ahead by 3 with 20 to play.

This ding-dong affair was far from over and Stillorgan peppered the Tullamore line for large parts of the finale. The Tullamore defence stood firm with McQuade and his back row teammates chopping the Stillorgan carriers low to stifle their attacks. In this period of Stillorgan dominance, Tullamore gave away a penalty - the home team decided to take the three points to level up the match at 10-10 with 10 to play.

The last 10 minutes were frenetic with both sides showing determination and fortitude in supressing each other’s attacks. In the end, neither team really got close to getting over the line to win the game and a draw seemed to be a fair result by the end.

The Tullamore management were pleased to have come away from an away match against the league leaders with 2 points. They were particularly pleased with the performances of Griff Smith in the front row, and the entire back row. Cronin and Feighery provided leadership throughout the day in the pack and Galvin and McQuade showed how their great footwork can constantly get them over the gain-line. Draper led the team from outhalf, excellently marshalling his backs and forwards, as well as being a constant in leading the defensive line all day long. Adam Hughes provided calmness at scrum half in the second half while young gun Ronan Hooper yet again showed his talents both at scrum half and on the wing in the second half.

However, it was David Mann in the back row who received the much-coveted ‘Player of the Match’ award from captain Draper for his relentless tackling and constant desire to carry ball and beat defenders.

In what has been a strange start to the season, Tullamore play their 5th consecutive away match next Saturday against Greystones. Tullamore will be eager to get something from that game to give them confidence going into their run of 7 home games from December through to March.