UNDER-21 WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS SERIES – ROUND 2:
Saturday, May 2 –
ENGLAND UNDER-21s 40 IRELAND UNDER-21s 41, Nick Newbold Stadium, Coventry
Scorers: England U-21s: Tries: Hayley Jones 2, Kaya Acton, Molly Bunker, Ella Cromack, Carmela Morrall; Cons: Ella Cromack 5
Ireland U-21s: Tries: Katie Corrigan, Róisín Maher, Lucia Linn, Jemima Adams Verling, Beth Buttimer 2, Ailish Quinn; Cons: Caitríona Finn, Ellie O’Sullivan Sexton 2
HT: England Under-21s 19 Ireland Under-21s 17
Niamh Briggs’ Ireland Under-21s took their U-21 Women’s Six Nations Series campaign on the road for the first time, and followed up on their impressive opening 55-8 win over Italy in Galway with a historic result against their English counterparts.
Captain and player-of-the-match Lucia Linn was one of six different try scorers, including Beth Buttimer with a brace off the bench, as Ireland – scoring 24 unanswered points either side of half-time – overcame England for the first time at U-21 or U-20 level.
They managed to get the better of their hosts despite yellow cards for Sally Kelly, Linn, and Buttimer, even responding to each sin-binning with a try. Connacht’s Ailish Quinn touched down with eight minutes remaining to give them a match-winning cushion.
Katie Corrigan’s fourth try of the competition was Ireland’s lone score at 19-5 down, but Róisín Maher and Linn, whose excellent opportunist effort came during flanker Kelly’s sin-binning, closed the gap to just two points by the break.
Hayley Jones (2) and Kaya Acton had crossed before that, showing the strength of England’s pack. Yet, the returning Kelly sent Jemima Adams Verling charging over in the 45th minute, and the visitors pushed 29-19 clear after Ellie O’Sullivan Sexton converted Buttimer’s 52nd-minute maul effort.
Molly Bunker and Ella Cromack twice cut Ireland’s lead to three points, sandwiching Buttimer’s second try, but showing a huge amount of character and resilience, Briggs’ youngsters broke back downfield for Quinn’s match winner before a last-gasp consolation score from Carmela Morrall.
This was the second victory for an Irish Women’s age-grade team against England in the last month. Craig Hansberry’s Under-18s triumphed 12-5 at the recent U-18 Six Nations Festival, with the achievements of both young squads a ringing endorsement of the growing strength of the IRFU’s Women’s National Talent Squad and age-grade international pathways.
The goal for the Ireland U-21s now will be to complete a Six Nations Series hat-trick in their final outing against Wales in Ystrad Mynach next Sunday (kick-off 2pm), less than 24 hours after the nations’ senior game at Ulster Rugby’s Affidea Stadium.
Round 2 of the U-21 tournament provided important game-time for Caitríona Finn, fresh from her Energia All-Ireland League title-winning exploits with UL Bohemian. The teenage out-half made her first start since her quad tear in January, and Aoibhe Kelly and Emily Foley also came into the back-line.
England, who were 51-12 winners over Scotland in their opening match, built some early momentum thanks to a Bunker break. Skipper Sophie McQueen knocked on close to the try-line, but the hosts were able to open the scoring in the ninth minute.
A couple of penalties invited England forward, and a determined drive landed hooker Jones over the whitewash for Cromack to convert. Corrigan had to reel in the fast-breaking Solana Shaw de Leon before Jones scored again with a quick 12th-minute pick from a ruck.
Ireland barely had any ball in hand until Niamh Murphy pounced on a knock-on, offloading quickly for Aoibhe O’Flynn to break past halfway. Quinn and Adams Verling had them into a similar position after Sarah Delaney had gobbled up an overthrown English lineout.
This time they made the possession count in the 16th minute, as Finn floated a pinpoint cross-field kick out to the right where Corrigan coolly collected it on the bounce and had the pace to evade Shaw de Leon on a 35-metre run-in.
Having closed the gap to 12-5, Ireland were frustrated to concede before the end of the opening quarter. Winger Grace White used a Cromack kick to dance her way into the Irish 22, and the forwards chipped away before a sidestepping Acton crossed for a close-range seven-pointer.
However, once Briggs’ charges put together some multi-phase attacks, they began to trouble England. Quinn and Linn combined neatly to carve their way through midfield, and a kick chase launched by Corrigan from further out had Shaw de Leon under pressure.
The increasingly-influential Delaney did well to control a Finn pass with her right boot, keeping an attack developing that saw Murphy dink a kick through, on the opposite wing, for the onrushing Foley to gather.
England were on the retreat now, and armed with a penalty advantage, Linn and the forwards progressed further. Sally Kelly popped the ball back for Maher to muscle her way over in the 26th minute, supported by Quinn. Finn missed the conversion on the near side, leaving it a nine-point game.
Jones and Cromack were then at the heart of a promising attacking spell from England, with a TMO review seeing Kelly sin-binned for a high tackle on the English out-half. Ireland stood firm in defence, as the presence of Maher and Quinn drew a knock-on from Keevy Fitzpatrick.
The English pack pressed again following a scrum penalty, only to be pinged for obstruction at the resulting maul. They were stung further when Finn blocked a Cromack kick, Linn hacking the loose ball on and retrieving it just inside the hosts’ half for a superb sprint to the try-line.
Finn converted her captain’s 39th-minute try, ensuring Ireland returned to their dressing room with a definite pep in their step. The Tipperary native’s big left boot relieved some pressure just after the restart, with O’Flynn following up with a lineout steal.
Five minutes in, the green shirts flooded forward to take the lead. Foley countered impressively from a kick, Maher sucked in defenders with a strong carry, and then Sally Kelly’s clever run into space and offload freed up Adams Verling for a brilliant try-scoring surge from over 30 metres out.
Foley and scrum half Aoibhe Kelly, who is still just 18 but plays with an assurance beyond her years, soon bundled White into touch, keeping the girls in green playing in the right areas of the pitch.
Powrful tighthead Maher and the back row punched their way up close, before a maul infringement, near the right corner, let England off the hook. Nonetheless, the home side were guilty of the same offence at the next lineout.
A tremendous touchfinder from Finn had Ireland just five metres out, and Buttimer duly scored just seconds after her introduction. She connected with fellow replacement Poppy Garvey with a quick and accurate throw before a well-controlled maul did the damage.
Full-back O’Sullivan Sexton took over the kicking duties, nailing the conversion from five metres in from the right touchline. England profited from Linn’s sin-binning though, as the centre, who appeared to be held down at a ruck by Acton, was punished for reacting with a slap.
They tied in a few defenders from a tap penalty, and worked the ball to the right of the posts for Bunker to touch down on the hour mark. Cromack’s conversion made it 29-26 heading into the final quarter, but Ireland swiftly rallied in their captain’s absence.
After Corrigan had gained ground on the right, Buttimer broke clean through from a ruck and linked with Garvey. The forwards sensed a score, and Quinn had a cut before the replacement hooker – supported by Ella Burns and Garvey – reached out to get her grounding, confirmed by TMO Finlay Brown.
The 10-point buffer was restored thanks to another crisp conversion from O’Sullivan Sexton, but only briefly. England came back strongly, their half-backs creating the opening for number 10 Cromack to dart over in the 68th minute, pulling it back to 36-33.
The Irish bench was emptied at that stage, the new entrants including Under-21 debutants Naoise Smyth, Amy Larn, and Heidi Lyons. They suffered a setback when Buttimer saw yellow for a stray hand at an English ruck, yet a timely scrum penalty put them back on the right track.
They backed their rugby to secure the result rather than trying to hold onto their narrow advantage. With Delaney back on, the maul suddenly had the English forwards backpedalling, and Linn made a few more metres, setting up Quinn, with Smyth on her shoulder, to barge over for a crucial score.
Ireland were eight points to the good, O’Sullivan Sexton’s conversion attempt agonisingly bouncing away off the near right-hand post. England hammered away late on, let down by a loose lineout and a knock-on, and their persistence paid off when Morrall nipped over in the final play.
TIME LINE: 9 minutes – England Under-21s try: Hayley Jones – 5-0; conversion: Ella Cromack – 7-0; 12 mins – England Under-21s try: Hayley Jones – 12-0; conversion: missed by Ella Cromack – 12-0; 16 mins – Ireland Under-21s try: Katie Corrigan – 12-5; conversion: missed by Caitríona Finn – 12-5; 19 mins – England Under-21s try: Kaya Acton – 17-5; conversion: Ella Cromack – 19-5; 26 mins – Ireland Under-21s try: Róisín Maher – 19-10; conversion: missed by Caitríona Finn – 19-10; 34 mins – Ireland Under-21s yellow card: Sally Kelly; 39 mins – Ireland Under-21s try: Lucia Linn – 19-15; conversion: Caitríona Finn – 19-17; Half-time – England Under-21s 19 Ireland Under-21s 17; 45 mins – Ireland Under-21s try: Jemima Adams Verling – 19-22; conversion: missed by Caitríona Finn – 19-22; 52 mins – Ireland Under-21s try: Beth Buttimer – 19-27; conversion: Ellie O’Sullivan Sexton – 19-29; 60 mins – Ireland Under-21s yellow card: Lucia Linn; 60 mins – England Under-21s try: Molly Bunker – 24-29; conversion: Ella Cromack – 26-29; 63 mins – Ireland Under-21s try: Beth Buttimer – 26-34; conversion: Ellie O’Sullivan Sexton – 26-36; 67 mins – England Under-21s try: Ella Cromack – 31-36; conversion: Ella Cromack – 33-36; 69 mins – Ireland Under-21s yellow card: Beth Buttimer; 72 mins – Ireland Under-21s try: Ailish Quinn – 33-41; conversion: missed by Ellie O’Sullivan Sexton – 33-41; 80+1 mins – England Under-21s try: Carmela Morrall – 38-41; conversion: Ella Cromack – 40-41; Full-time – England Under-21s 40 Ireland Under-21s 41
ENGLAND U-21: Solana Shaw de Leon (Harlequins/Sutton & Epsom RFC); Grace White (Trailfinders Women/Winscombe RFC), Millie Hyett (Bristol Bears/Evesham RFC), Molly Bunker (Gloucester-Hartpury/Havant RFC), Jemma-Jo Linkins (Saracens/Ashford RFC); Ella Cromack (Harlequins/Reading RFC), Amelia MacDougall (Saracens/Old Albanian RFC); Annabel Meta (Trailfinders Women/Wimbledon RFC), Hayley Jones (Trailfinders Women/Ealing Trailfinders), Aisha Jah (Bristol Bears/Mansfield RFC), Jodie Verghese (Saracens/Thurrock RFC), Keevy Fitzpatrick (Loughborough Lightning/Sudbury RFC), Tamsin Baynes (Loughborough Lightning/Market Harborough RFC), Kaya Acton (Loughborough Lightning/Hull Ionians RFC), Sophie McQueen (Gloucester-Hartpury/Chippenham RFC) (capt).
Replacements: Lucy Simpson (Gloucester-Hartpury/Rams RFC), Amelia Williams (Loughborough Lightning/Medway RFC), Lilly Plowman (Exeter Chiefs/Crediton RFC), Jasmine Adonri (Trailfinders Women/Dartford Valley RFC), Grace Keel (Harlequins/North Bristol RFC), Ashton Adcock (Loughborough Lightning/Tamworth RUFC), Carmela Morrall (Loughborough Lightning/Dubai Hurricanes), Lauren Bailey (Bristol Bears/Dings Crusaders RFC).
IRELAND U-21: Ellie O’Sullivan Sexton (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster); Katie Corrigan (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Niamh Murphy (Galwegians RFC/Leinster), Lucia Linn (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster) (capt), Emily Foley (Galwegians RFC/Connacht); Caitríona Finn (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster), Aoibhe Kelly (Loughborough Lightning/Leinster); Ella Burns (Galwegians RFC/Connacht), Sarah Delaney (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster), Róisín Maher (Gloucester Hartpury/IQ Rugby), Aoibhe O’Flynn (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster), Aoibheann McGrath (Ballincollig RFC/Munster), Sally Kelly (Ennis RFC/Munster), Ailish Quinn (Galwegians RFC/Connacht), Jemima Adams Verling (Galwegians RFC/Connacht).
Replacements: Beth Buttimer (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster), Gráinne Burke (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster), Alisha Flynn (Old Belvedere RFC/Munster), Naoise Smyth (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Poppy Garvey (Railway Union RFC/Connacht), Amy Larn (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Síofra Hession (Galwegians RFC/Connacht), Heidi Lyons (Railway Union RFC/Leinster).
Referee: Bérénice Loubet-Bralley (FFR)