Representative Round-Up

The weekend’s representative rugby kicked off on Friday night in Dubarry Park and Temple Hill with the U20s and the Club XV International side both in action.

And it was a winning start at that with the U20s clinching a dramatic 16-15 win thanks to a 76th minute Rory Scholes try that man of the match Tom Daly converted to give his side the one point winning margin.

England were reduced to 14 men when blindside flanker Ross Moriarty received a red card in the 23rd minute for a dangerous tackle but this did not deter the visitors as they went ahead 15-6 thanks to the boot of Henry Slade. Scholes added Ireland’s third penalty before he scored the only try of the game, moving Ireland to within a point, and then the last challenge fell to Daly who coolly slotted the final kick.

Ireland U20s Scorers – Try: Rory Scholes; Con: Tom Daly; Pens: Tom Daly 2, Rory Scholes

While in Cork the Club XV squad played out an equally nervous finish to their game after conceding 12 points in the second half to allow the visitors England Counties back in to the game with 3 points the difference going into the final quarter. Young Munster’s Ger Slattery put an end to the English momentum when he claimed the decisive score in the final minute which Craig Ronaldson converted to give the Gerry Hurley led side a 30-20 victory in their opening game.

The support enjoyed a thrilling, action-packed encounter on the pitch between two hugely committed teams, and off it, it was a landmark occasion for hosts Cork Constitution FC as they opened their new clubhouse.

Ireland Club XV Scorers – Tries: Stuart Morrow, Ben Reilly, Ger Slattery; Cons: Craig Ronaldson 3; Pens: Craig Ronaldson 3

The winning trend didn’t let up on Saturday afternoon and the result that claimed all of the headlines was when Ireland Women recorded an historic victory over their English rivals.

Not only did they secure their very first win over England but they did so in impressive fashion, keeping the reigning Grand Slam Champions scoreless while crossing the line on four occasions thanks to winger Alison Miller’s hat-trick in the opening 40 and UL Boh’s Niamh Briggs adding her own in the latter half.

The victory was hugely significant for Philip Doyle's charges as England are the standard bearers of women's rugby in the northern Hemisphere and this was only their second defeat in the last 40 Six Nations matches. The 25-point loss also ended England's 13-match winning streak which they embarked on after drawing 8-8 with World Cup champions New Zealand in December 2011.

Ireland Women Scorers – Tries: Alison Miller 3, Niamh Briggs; Con: Niamh Briggs; Pen: Niamh Briggs

Squads

Ireland Club XV Squad: Richie Mullane (Shannon); Tim McCoy (Clontarf), Killian Lett (Clontarf), Stuart Morrow (Ballynahinch), Darragh Fanning (St. Mary's College); Craig Ronaldson (Lansdowne), Gerry Hurley (Cork Constitution) (capt); Colm McMahon (St. Mary's College), Ger Slattery (Young Munster), Kevin Griffin (Shannon), Ed Kelly (UL Bohemians), Ben Reilly (Clontarf), William Ryan (UCC), Danny Kenny (UCD), Frank Cogan (Clontarf). Replacements used: James Thompson (Ballynahinch) for McCoy (34 mins, inj), Neville Melbourne (Young Munster) for Kelly, Glenn Moore (Malone) for Kenny (both 61), Pat O'Regan (Old Belvedere) for Griffin (70), Sam Cronin (Clontarf) for Hurley, Barry Keeshan (Dolphin) for Ronaldson, Risteard Byrne (UCD) for Slattery (all 80+1).

Ireland U20s Squad: Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Connacht); David Panter (Corinthians/Connacht), Tom Daly (Lansdowne/Leinster), Mark Roche (Lansdowne/Connacht), Rory Scholes (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster); Rory Scannell (Dolphin/Munster), Luke McGrath (UCD/Leinster) (capt); Peter Dooley (Lansdowne/Leinster), George McGuigan (Newcastle Falcons/Exiles), Chris Taylor (Malone/Ulster), Gavin Thornbury (UCD/Leinster), John Donnan (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Peadar Timmins (UCD/Leinster), Ryan Murphy (Dolphin/Munster), Conor Joyce (Malone/Ulster). Replacements used: Sean McCarthy (Shannon/Munster) for Thornbury (11-15 mins, blood sub), Ryan Furness (Worcester Warriors/Exiles) for Taylor (31), McCarthy for Donnan (58), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster) for Timmins (60), Adam Boland (Lansdowne/Connacht) for Furness (72), John Andrew (Ballymena/Ulster) for McGuigan, Darren Sweetnam (UCC/Munster) for Scannell (both 74). Not used: John Creighton (Malone/Ulster), Eogháin Quinn (Lansdowne/Leinster).

Ireland Women: Niamh Briggs (UL Bohemians/Munster); Ashleigh Baxter (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), Lynne Cantwell (Richmond/Exiles), Jenny Murphy (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Alison Miller (Portlaoise/Connacht); Nora Stapleton (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Larissa Muldoon (UWIC/Exiles); Fiona Coghlan (UL Bohemians/Leinster) (capt), Gillian Bourke (UL Bohemians/Munster), Ailis Egan (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Sophie Spence (Mowden Park Sharks/Exiles), Marie Louise Reilly (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Siobhan Fleming (Tralee/Munster), Claire Molloy (Bristol/Exiles), Joy Neville (UL Bohemians/Munster). Replacements used: Amy Davis (Blackrock College/Ulster) for Muldoon, Niamh Kavanagh (UL Bohemians/Munster) for Baxter, Stacey-Lea Kennedy (City of Derry/Ulster) for Bourke (all 63 mins), Grace Davitt (Cooke/Ulster) for Murphy (69), Lauren Day (Waterloo/Exiles) for Egan, Fiona Hayes (UL Bohemians/Munster) for Coghlan, Leigh Dargan (Saracens/Exiles) for Spence (all 73). Laura Guest (Highfield/Munster) for Molloy (74).

Results & Next Fixture:
Women
Feb 3rd: Wales Women 10 Ireland Women 12
Feb 9th: Ireland Women 25 England Women 0
Feb 23rd: Scotland Women v Ireland Women, Lasswade

U20s
Feb 1st: Wales U20s 17 Ireland U20s 15
Feb 8th: Ireland U20s 16 England U20s 15
Feb 22nd: Scotland U20s v Ireland U20s, Netherdale

Club XV
Feb 8th: Ireland Club XV 30 England Counties 20
Mar 8th: Scotland Club v Ireland Club XV, Ayr