Round 2 of the Celtic Challenge proved fruitful for the Irish contingents, the Wolfhounds made it two wins from two, while the Clovers got on the board with victory in Dublin.
Edinburgh 17-27 Wolfhounds, Hive Stadium
The Wolfhounds were made to work hard for their bonus point win in Edinburgh crossing for five tries in the finish they moved to the summit of the standings.
Edinburgh had the fair share of possession in the opening half, with the Wolfhounds having little opportunities at scoring, it was the hosts who notched the opening score after 13 minutes, the centres combining as a gap opened up, Briar McNamara used her pace to race through and a silky pass out the back door allowed Emma Orr space to race through and dot down the opening try, McNamara added the extras for a 7-0 lead.
Shortly after going behind following a strong few minutes of possession, a penalty gave the Wolfhounds the chance at possession closer to the Edinburgh line. After a strong driving maul, a key weapon for the Irish sides, Sarah Delaney carried the ball over the line and touched down for her second try in the competition, O’Brien missed the conversion which followed.
That lifted spirits for the Wolfhounds as they started to have more opportunities to attack, Linda Djougang went over after 23 minutes however the prop was held up after crossing. Approaching the half hour mark it was all Wolfhounds in possession, Djougang went close but was stopped shy of the line, after phase after phase Katie Whelan spotted space out wide and Ella Durkan had soft hands and allowed Natasja Behan over in the corner for a 10-7 lead.
Shy of the break almost a carbon copy of the opening score, 38 minutes on the clock the Wolfhounds lineout maul doing damage and Aoife Wafer crossed to give the Irish side a 15-7 lead at the break.
Three minutes into the second half following another solid lineout move, Brittany Hogan spotted a gap and powered over for the bonus try, O’Brien converted and the outcome looked in the Irish sides favour.
Play was certainly more cagey as the half wore on both teams attacking but just after the hour mark, Wafer powered over for the fifth try and her second to put a healthy 27-7 lead in place.
The Scottish side landed two late tries, impressive moves for both and well deserved in truth, Cieron Bell with the first before Orr grabbed a second at the death, both tries going unconverted.
Clovers 20-5 Brython Thunder, Energia Park
The Clovers needed a strong second half to defeat the Brython Thunder at Energia Park, tries from Ruth Campbell and Sadhbh McGrath and a Méabh Deely penalty ensuring the result.
In similar fashion to their opening contest in Musgrave Park the contest was cagey in the opening half of action in the capital. The Welsh side were defending well in the early minutes and the odd handling error did cough up possession for the hosts.
Nevertheless with 14 minutes on the clock the opening try arrived, Aoife Corey carried well with the initial drive and from the ruck that formed, Ailsa Hughes showed her experience to pick and go darting over for the opening try, Deely saw the conversion which followed hit the left post and the lead remained at five.
Thunder were showing signs of serious attacking threat, forcing a dangerous scrum close to the Clovers line after 19 minutes. The Clovers defended well and Deely found touch with a booming clearance kick, the ball going to touch for a lineout to the hosts, some fortune seeing a Thunder player knock the ball into touch.
As the minutes ticked by it was intense between the two, hard hits and chances arrived but neither side could capitalise and grab a score. Play needed to be stopped for Seren Singleton to get some treatment for what looked like a nasty arm injury.
When play resumed the visitors looked sharp with possession and getting the chance to attack, space opened out wide and the Thunder captain Alex Callender crossed to level matters shy of the break. Mollie Wilkinson had the chance to give the visitors the lead from the conversion, the kick however missed the mark.
As the clock neared the red the Clovers made a late burst for a score, first making some ground they edged close to the line but an error at the breakdown led to a turnover and a heated argument amongst the players. Alana McInerney made a strong carry in the final seconds and as she was tackled to the ground, the ball was knocked forward and the half cam to a finish deadlocked at 5-5
With 14 minutes gone in the second half the Thunder lost Rosie Carr to a yellow and with the numerical advantage the Clovers struck soon after. Attacking well play shifted as they were forced wide and Ruth Campbell went over in the corner for an important second try. Deely struck the conversion but it missed the mark.
Carr went to the bin a few minutes after Michelle O’Driscoll came back from also being shown yellow and with the numerical advantage, the Clovers struck through Campbell and would soon add a second.
Clovers started to hit the front and from a tap and go penalty the captain Sadhbh McGrath powered over for the third try and Deely converted for a 17-5 lead. Deely wrapped up the contest with a long range penalty in the final minutes.
Clovers very much full value in the second half and moved second in the standings for the time being, the Wolfhounds top however Gwalia Lightning could move them off the top spot with a bonus win over the Glasgow Warriors tomorrow.
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.