Blackrock remain unbeaten going into the final weekend, Railway Union join them for home semi-final next month, while UL climb to fourth ahead of a final weekend showdown.
Railway Union 17-19 Blackrock College, Park Avenue
Blackrock made a statement as they remain unbeaten following their win over Railway Union, as both have home semi finals to look forward to next month.
Blackrock laid the foundations in the opening half, Anna Doyle, Maeve Óg O’Leary and Méabh Deely crossing for a 19-5 lead at the interval, Lindsay Peat crossing before the break to reduce the arrears.
Into the second half it was all Union, Aoife Doyle and Molly Scuffil-McCabe crashed over to touch down, but Nikki Caughey could only convert one try as the late effort from Scuffil-McCabe proved just short of them taking a draw in the end.
Suttonians 24-12 Ballincollig, JJ McDowell Memorial Grounds
Suttonians picked up just their second win of the season defeating Ballincollig, they were ahead for large parts of the contest and never looked like surrendering the lead.
Their second win and their second try scoring bonus of the season, Australian duo Annie Buntine and Janita Kareta both touched down, as Roisin O’Driscoll and Meabh O’Brien completed the bonus point.
Denise Redmond and Tiare Siguenza crossed the whitewash for Ballincollig, with Redmond converting her own try in the first half.
Cooke 12-55 UL Bohemian, Shaw’s Bridge
UL Bohemians have made a big statement of intent ahead of the final day, as they recorded an empathic win over Cooke on the road.
It was a dominant display from the Shannonsiders in the end pulling out a 26-0 lead by the break, running on nine tries to inflict further defeat on Cooke, who unless they can win next weekend will finish with no points.
Alana McInerney and Ciara O’Dwyer scored two tries each, while Ireland Under-18 duo Clara Barrett and Kate Flannery also crossed the whitewash, Eilis Cahill, Clodagh O’Halloran, and Aoife Corey also touched down. Stacey Sloan and Sadhbh McGrath crossed for second half tries for the hosts.
Old Belvedere 17-8 Wicklow RFC, Ollie Campbell Park
Belvo ended their season on a high with victory over a game Wicklow, a result that sees Wicklow needing a win on the final day and a result elsewhere to make sure they reach the last four.
Belvedere did the damage in the opening half as Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird, Jemma Farrell and Aine Donnelly all crossed for tries, Beth Roberts had Wicklow on the board with a penalty early on after Nic a Bhaird had got over the line, but the two further tries made it 17-3 at the interval.
Wicklow faced a huge task in the second half to come back into the tie, they had to work hard all half as Belvo’s defence was solid, Caoimhe Molloy crossed for an unconverted try in the half but they just could not get the scores to work to claw back the team who look to finish third this year.
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.