Triple Crown Win Steals The Show

The top Irish performance of the weekend was the Ireland Women’s 30-3 victory against Scotland Women, securing World Cup qualification and claiming the Triple Crown for the first time ever.

Ireland Women continued their winning form to secure the Triple Crown for the first time in the history of Irish Women’s rugby and the girls in green are currently the only undefeated side in the Championship.

It is a huge achievement for the side and one that is not going unnoticed with a deserved influx in coverage over the past few weeks. The squad includes a number of Munster representatives including fullback Niamh Briggs who has a personal haul of 27 points in the competition so far, including a try, two conversions and two penalties against Scotland at the weekend.

Niamh’s Munster colleague Siobhan Fleming also touched for a try while Connacht winger Alison Miller adder to her 3 try tally (v England) with a further 2 tries on Sunday.

The next challenge sees Ireland Women play France Women in Ashbourne on Friday the 8th of March, with a rallying call for supporters to come out and get behind the girls in green.

Ireland Women Scorers – Tries: Alison Miller 2, Siobhan Fleming, Niamh Briggs; Cons: Niamh Briggs 2; Pens: Niamh Briggs 2

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

Womens Results & Next Fixture:
Feb 3rd: Wales Women 10 Ireland Women 12
Feb 9th: Ireland Women 25 England Women 0
Feb 23rd: Scotland Women 3 Ireland Women 30
Mar 8th: Ireland Women v France Women, Ashbourne RFC

The Ireland U20s suffered their second defeat of the campaign when they narrowly missed out to Scotland on a 21-20 score-line on Friday night.

The Mike Ruddock coached Irish side were a point down at the half-way mark (14-13) but following a sustained amount of pressure and Scotland reduced to 14 they were rewarded with a penalty try for their efforts. The home side fought back with a second Damien Hoyland try before Tommy Allan kicked the match winning conversion giving his side the one point win. Dolphin’s Ryan Murphy got on the score-sheet in the opening 40.

Ireland U20 Scorers – Tries: Ryan Murphy, David Panter, Penalty try; Con: Tom Daly; Pen: Tom Daly

Ireland U20s: Darragh Leader (Galwegians/Connacht); David Panter (Corinthians/Connacht), Tom Daly (Lansdowne/Leinster), Rory Scannell (Dolphin/Munster), Rory Scholes (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster); Steve Crosbie (Old Belvedere/Leinster), 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), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), Ryan Murphy (Dolphin/Munster). Replacements used: Mark Roche (Lansdowne/Connacht) for Scannell (2-8 mins, blood sub; 66), John Andrew (Ballymena/Ulster) for McGuigan (69), Darren Sweetnam (UCC/Munster) for Crosbie (72), John Creighton (Malone/Ulster) for McGrath (77), Eoghan Masterson (Clontarf/Leinster) for Timmins (79). Not used: Ryan Furness (Worcester Warriors/Exiles), Adam Boland (Lansdowne/Connacht), Jerry Sexton (St. Mary's College/Leinster).

U20s Results & Next Fixture:
Feb 1st: Wales U20s 17 Ireland U20s 15
Feb 8th: Ireland U20s 16 England U20s 15
Feb 22nd: Scotland U20s 21 Ireland U20 20
Mar 8th: Ireland U20s v France U20s, Dubarry Park

The Ireland U18 Club side drew level with their Italian counterparts 16 points apiece. An injury time try from flanker Marco Lazzaroni denied a home victory for the young Irish side.

Ireland U18 Club Scorers – Tries: Anthony McGivney, Sean O'Hagan. Pens: James Nolan 2

U18 Clubs Result & Next Fixture:
Feb 23rd: Ireland U18 ClubS 16 Italy U18 16
Mar 10th: Scotland U18s v Ireland U18 Clubs, Hamilton RFC