Round 6 of the Women’s Division has three of the top four away from home this weekend, UL Bohemians, Railway Union and Blackrock all face away trips while Belvedere remain on home soil.
Ballincollig v UL Bohemian, Saturday November 4th, Tanner Park, 5pm
A Munster Derby at Tanner Park with Ballincollig hoping to end the recent unbeaten streak of UL Bohemians. The Shannonsiders are looking strong and are favoured to remain top on Saturday evening with a sixth win notched.
Ballincollig dropped out of the top four following their second defeat of the campaign two weeks ago. Suffering a 36 point defeat to Railway Union it certainly was more one sided than their earlier 12-5 defeat to Suttonians in round two. The Cork outfit will look to bounce back from that against the league leaders, Michelle O’Driscoll will look to further her three try haul this weekend for her side, while Heather Kennedy and Roisin Ormond are no strangers to getting over for a score. All three representing Munster will know just what UL bring to the table.
The Red Robins are looking for their sixth straight win in as many weeks before they take a week’s rest ahead of a showdown with Railway Union. Fiona Haye’s charges are looking strong in the early part of the season and will hope to secure another impressive win to add to their five bonus point berths this campaign. With nine tries to her name Chisom Ugwueru topps the try scoring charts in the league and her impressive scoring accolade puts her as a serious threat. Kate Flannery has 49 points to her name, four more than her teammate this term, 44 of which have come from the boot.
Old Belvedere v Cooke, Saturday November 4th, Ollie Campbell Park, 5pm
Belvedere are the only side inside the top four facing a home test this weekend and with bottom placed Cooke travelling to Dublin they are fancied to take their fourth win in five games.
Since their narrow opening day defeat at the hands of Blackrock, Belvedere have won their last three contests taking three bonus points along the way. Four points behind Railway in second they will look to remain on their coattails come Saturday evening, unless they suffer a defeat. Jess Keating and Emma Tilly bring a serious try scoring threat for this Belvo side with three each this campaign, Jemma Farrell remains the top scorer with 28 notched, 23 all coming from the kicking tee.
With a score differential of -170 coming into this contest, Cooke could move bottom of the standings following another heavy defeat this weekend. 26 points to their name on the scoring charts, two tries from Niamh Marley and one from Ilse van Staden, alongside two Amanda Morton conversions is all Cooke have scored this season outside of a penalty try awarded against Ballincollig at the start of last month. Their losing streak continues in the campaign and it’s an uphill battle to see that end this weekend.
Suttonians v Blackrock College, Saturday November 4th, JJ McDowell Memorial Grounds, 5pm
Blackrock will hope to bounce back after their 14 game unbeaten streak came to an end two weeks ago, with a short trip to meet Suttonians in an all Dublin clash.
Sutts picked up their second win of the season two weeks ago ending a three game winless streak in the process. This weekend they face another tough challenge against one of the leagues “top four”, have been beaten well by Railway and UL Bohs, they also suffered a one sided defeat to Belvedere, with Blackrock now the final side of the so called top four to be faced, will they manage to end that streak.
History for the hosts against Blackrock does not make for good reading in recent years, less than 12 months ago they were beaten 79-0 by Blackrock away from home, while a year prior at this same venue it was a 50-0 defeat. During the cup campaign earlier this year, Rock prevailed 31-5 missing like they are now a host of regulars. This year they still are a quality side, Beth Creegan, Abby Moyles, Ellen Boylan and Shannon Heapes are amongst the players to bring the scores and keep the side in contention while a host of stars are away.
Wicklow v Railway Union, Saturday November 4th, Ashtown Lane, 5pm
Second placed Railway Union can extend their unbeaten streak to five games should they inflict defeat on Wicklow this weekend.
Last season’s conference champions are struggling to find their feet this season, just one point to their name coming from an 18-17 defeat to Ballincollig which was their best outing of the campaign. Three weeks on from that contest they face a much tougher test against Railway, the hosts are much improved from their 142-0 defeat back in 2021 and will look to cause the visitors an issue on Saturday. Alannah Dixon, Eimear Douglas, Jessica Griffey, Erin McConnell, Naoise O’Reilly and Saoirse O’Reilly have all added tries for their side this year and will be out to lead by example this weekend.
It is however hard to look past Railway in this contest as they look to reclaim the title they lost last season. A scoring output that is only matched by the league leaders, with 13 points more with one game extra played. Railway have a purpose this year, their Energia Cup campaign was fuelled having lost the league title at Christmas last year. This year they want it back and looking at their form this year, it is hard to look past that, ahead of their showdown in Annacotty in three weeks, they want to keep this form up. Aimee Clarke is on fire this campaign, the lighting quick winger has five tries to her name, one ahead of teammate Rhian Heery. Nikki Caughey is the top scorer with 38 points to her name, her kicking exploits have been strong as she remains yet to cross for a try.
More Info on the Women’s Division here.
Diarmuid Kearney
Diarmuid Kearney is a freelance Sports Journalist based in Co Kerry. He has more than 5 years experience covering domestic and international soccer for different media organisations, while also working for local and national print and digital organisations covering GAA.