Barnhall U16 10-15 Wolves u16: victory for girls in local derby

Wolves travelled to Barnhall for a local derby, a ground they have left disappointed over the years. Sunday was to be Wolves day to earn the bragging rights however.

The first half was a very tight affair. Wolves had most of the possession but found it difficult to penetrate the Barnhall defence. The opening quarter was scoreless with both teams searching for a spark of magic to open the scoring.

Wolves made hard metres through the forwards with the front row trio of Caitlín McKeever, Leah Ryan and Lizzie Crumpton working hard to get into the Barnhall 22. Hannah Malone then surged forward, passing the ball to Jess Lawlor who fed Hannah Kelly. She popped the ball off to Cliona Lawlor to crash over for the first score of the game.

Barnhall came back with a fine try of their own to level the scores as half time loomed.

Wolves began to build the pressure on their opposition in the second half, depriving them of possession and holding them in their own half. Once again it was unstoppable Cliona Lawlor who tapped down for Wolves second try, after being set up by Leah Ryan from close range.

Wolves kept their foot down and camped in the Barnhall half. Great yards were made by the outstanding Hannah Malone, Sarah Ferguson and Caitlín McKeever, supported by the speedy handling of the backs with the ball going through the hands of Éabha Alexander. Maeve O'Brien fed the speedy Amelie Cree to score in the corner to put the score at 5-15 with only a few minutes to go.

Credit to Barnhall, they never gave up and scored another try at the death. But the game belonged to the Wolves.

A special shout out to Órla Conway and Elizabeth O'Neill who both had their first competitive game of rugby today. A day they will never forget.