MULLINGAR RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB

BUILDING A COMMUNITY SINCE 1925.

MULLINGAR RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB

BUILDING A COMMUNITY SINCE 1925.

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OUR WOMEN ADVANCE TO DONNYBROOK

March 09, 2015

March 8, 2015. Ladies Leinster League Div1 play-off semi-final.
Mullingar 15 Tullow 3

Revenge served hot as Mullingar make Leinster final in thrilling display
By Finian Coghlan 

In front of the biggest crowd of the season, and no less than two current
Irish internationals, Mullingar women performed a most cathartic exorcism
of the ghost of Tullow past with this most emphatic win at Shay Murtagh
Park last Sunday, and set up a mouthwatering league final against Edenderry
in Donnybrook on Saturday week.
After the heartache of leaving the league title behind them in Tullow a
fortnight ago, Mullingar were given the rarest of opportunities to exact
revenge so soon after, and this dangled carrot of retribution meant that
Miller’s Plan B of chilli powder in the collective gusset was in no way
needed.
He had, however, another, more daring plan up his sleeve, and for the first
time in three years picked someone other than captain Niamh Kennedy at
outhalf, and his bravery in this selection at the tight end of the season
was repaid in spades.
Though a fine footballer – and the team’s top try scorer – Olive Butler’s
day in the deep end was splendidly mollified by playing behind Sinead
Holmes’ best game in a Mullingar shirt, and this domino effect of
excellence throughout the rest of the speedsters was to be the undoing of a
substantial opposition.
Katie Layde led the way with the early fire, and she was well joined on the
front foot by a rampant pack.
Tullow’s first opportunity came in the 4th minute when they tried to
exploit space down Kennedy’s wing but she showed Sean O’Brien a thing or
two about driving an opponent three metres backwards on to her fundament,
and the die was now fully cast.
Mullingar pressure led to a couple of early kickables but Tait was a little
off on both and the score remained tightly tied.
In the 12th minute a third effort went even closer, but when it came back
off the post the Tullow defence knocked on, and Mullingar had a dangerous
scrum. 
They flashed right but were repelled on the far wing.
However, Teenie Burke took it on again, recycled and they came left through
Butler and Tait who popped a peach into Kelly’s stride for her to break
through for the relief-filled opening score under the posts.
Led by the imperious Tracey Talbot up front, it looked like every heifer
had found her bootstraps and had given them the required tug, and Tullow
could not get over the halfway line.
However, the defended like dervishes, and it took until the 25th minute
before Mullingar could deservedly stretch out their lead.
Again it came from another scrum, this time out on the Tullow 22. Holmes
swung a dinger right into the path of her onrushing pivot, and Butler
danced through the Tullow line with hardly a hand on her to go in for a
12-0 lead and a very raucous sideline.
The high dander was up and the Miller imposed discipline was evident
throughout the 15.
Layde, Kelly Burke and Cleary led the hit parade on their bewildered
visitors and Mullingar remained in the danger area.
Another try before the break would have been a fair reward, but they made
do with a Tait penalty on the stroke of half time to push the lead to the
comfort zone of more than two scores.
Unsurprisingly, a wounded Tullow came out with all guns blazing but met an
unwielding barrier of resistance.
They missed an early sitter, but all this did was prompt the heroic
Mulliingar defence into conceding fewer penalties. 
This was a successful policy until the 12th minute when Tullow finally got
on the board, but this was when the shop was closed.
Try as they might, Tullow could not break down the stalwart women of
Mullingar, and had Jenni Gibson a little bit of support when she expertly
blocked and held a attempted Tullow clearance kick Mullingar could easily
have got a third, but their effort of enormity was enough to see them to
the final whistle as worthy victors.
Such was the standard of defence in the second half it prompted their
honorary coach and Ireland try hero Robbie Henshaw to pop into the
ecstatic changing room to offer his heartfelt congratulations and his best
wishes for the final at Leinster headquarters on March 21.
Team: 1. Aoife Bagnall, 2. Claire Farrelly, 3. Tracey Talbot, 4. Claire
O’Brien, 5.Sylvia Rattigan, 6.Sarah Crosby, 7. Katie Layde, 8. Clodagh
Cleary , 9. Sinead Holmes, 10. Olive Butler, 11. Martina ‘Teenie’ Burke,
12. Jenny Gibson, 13.Louise Kelly, 14. Niamh ‘Crilly’ Kennedy , 15. Ellen
Tait. Subs: Stacey Boland, Julie Dunne, Kate Graham, Nicola Rountree,
Gillian Kelly, Aoife Hynes, Alwyn Gibney.
Tries: Butler, Kelly
Pen: Tait
Con: Tait

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