U14s v Clontarf
Last Saturday, the Under 14 Girls travelled to Clontarf for the next round of the Leinster League.
The squad were short numbered and plagued this week with clashes from other sports and illnesses. However this still didn’t stop the girls in blue turn up with all their strength and talents.
Clontarf took hold of the game early on. They scored the opening try, the home side then earning themselves a consecutive try not long after. The score was very quickly 12-0 within ten minutes of the first half.
The Mary’s girls were keen to put up a fight however and decided to show the northsiders what they were capable of! Captain Saoirse came gliding over the try line for their first try of the game.
Now in possession, Mary’s were keen to keep the ball on their side. The girls drew the defence in, giving Vice-Captain Ruby a prime opportunity to score with a beautiful dummy pass right underneath the posts, making the score 12-10 to Clontarf.
The battle continued with one of Clontarf’s fast wingers making a break along the wing, increasing the scoreline to 17-10.
Eager to get the ball back, the girls in blue knew they needed to put the pressure on and counter ruck. Prop Farran did exactly this, and managed to clean out a ruck and win the ball back. Spotting some space along the left wing, Lily carried the ball up the line, Clontarf unable to get her down with all their strength.
Just before halftime, the home side slotted in another try to make it 22-15 at the break.
After a short team huddle and words of encouragement from all the team, the second half kicked off with the ball in Mary’s hands.
The backline supported each other well with some excellent handling skills to allow Lily to score her second try of the day.
The battle continued with Clontarf scoring two more tries along the wing which gave them a wider margin of 32-20.
Not ready to give up quite yet, the Mary’s girls sprung into action yet again. This time Ruby noticed some space out on the right wing and so she darted over the try line.
With less than ten minutes to spare and eager to stay at work, the pack of forwards and backs worked hard on bringing the ball back up the pitch. Eve spotted another gap along the wing and strongly carried over the try line.
It was now 32-30 to the home side… this made the Clontarf (and Mary’s!) coaches VERY nervous!
However with smaller numbers and no fresh legs on the bench for Mary’s to compete against, Clontarf were able to score a further two more converted tries from their very talented kicker.
The full time score finished 46-30 to Clontarf which was no mean feat to our Mary’s girls. Mary’s worked hard under pressure and kept the fight going throughout the entire match.
We look forward to a re-match with Clontarf in the coming months in the Metro League.