THE opening round of the Women’s AIL got underway last weekend as Limerick’s UL Bohemians got their new season off to a winning start.
Bohs under the tutelage of Niamh Briggs made light work of Cooke in the opening round of the Women’s AIL picking up the bonus point in the 46-12 win.
Elsewhere, defending champions Railway Union, Malone, Wicklow and Ballincollig picked up opening round wins.
Check out all the results below.
UL Bohemians 46 : 12 Cooke
Irish Rugby legend Niamh Briggs made her league coaching debut as Bohs’ new head coach in their thrashing of Cooke.
Tries from Cooke’s Helen McGhee and Naomi McCord in the first half were dwarfed by Stephanie Nunan’s hat-trick of tries for Bohs.
However in the second half UL added 22 points without reply, with Munster’s Nicole Cronin directing operations from out-half and scoring 11 points.
Bohs full-back Aoife Corey crossed the line, along with replacements Louise Costello and Michelle Ring.
Ballincollig 14 : 13 Suttonians
It was a nail biting finish in the tournaments opening fixture between Ballincollig and Suttonians last weekend at Tanner Park. The Cork clubs return to AIL rugby came with some flair as out-half Kelly Griffin danced through the midfield to score and convert after just six minutes.
It wasn’t long until the North Dubliners got on the score board, as scrum half Lena Kibler sniped from the base of a ruck to score for Suttonians. A Catherine Galvin penalty earned the visitors the lead not long after the restart.
The Fiona Hayes coached Ballincollig remained focused on attack with just five minutes remaining, a high tackle on Heather Kennedy in the corner saw the home side awarded a penalty try.
Sutts’ Katie Grant Duggan got over to score her sides second try but the conversion would prove too difficult, giving Ballincollig a hard earned four point win.
Railway Union 25 : 11 Blackrock
Last years champions Railway Union began their title defence with a convincing win over Blackrock in Stradbrook last weekend with winger Aoife Doyle scoring twice for the visiting side.
Munster and Blackrock flanker Maeve Og O’Leary set the half-time score when she charged over to give Blackrock an 11-7 lead after 40-minutes
Ireland international Doyle squeezed in at the corner in the second half to add to Kate McCarthy’s earlier try, moving Railway back in front.
A costly Blackrock penalty allowed for Railway captain Niamh Byrne to dot down, however it didn’t take long for Railway to respond in the form of Doyle, who sealed the bonus point win for the visitors.
Malone 25 : 17 Galwegians
Jamie McMullan coached Malone got off to a flying start with their bonus point win over Galwegians in Belfast.
The Cregagh Red Sox compiled five out of the games eight tries, shared out between Sarah Murphy, Rebecca Smyth, Sophie Armstrong, Holly Brannigan and Emma Catherine Jordan.
Wicklow 63 : 0 Old Belvedere
Wicklow had a less then ideal league debut with a 63 – 0 hammering from Old Belvedere over the weekend.
Performances from Belveder Captain Jenny Murphy and Hannah Tyrrell stood out, with Tyrrell scoring 16 points for the Dublin side.
The powerful Belvo pack appeared unstoppable, namely player-of-the-match Alice O’Dowd and Ireland International Vic O’Mahony, who scored two tries from powerful carries close to the line.
Doubles for Tyrrell, Fiona Tuite, Ailbhe Dowling and prop O’Mahony all added to the 63-point scoreline in the 11-try rampage, while Belgian Sevens international Manon Nairac also touched down on her debut.
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