Mullingar women within touching distance of ail

This Saturday, March 21 is a massive day in the history of women's rugby in Mullingar, with Mullingar RFC's senior ladies set to reach the lofty heights of the All-Ireland League, should they make it past Edenderry in the Leinster Ladies' League Division 1 final at Donnybrook.

By all accounts, good luck messages have been flooding in for the girls from the likes of Irish rugby star Rob Henshaw, and One Direction's Niall Horan, as they hunt for their AIL berth.

Coaches Davy Miller and Dave Farrelly have named their team ahead of tomorrow's fixture (12.45pm), and club president Mick Lambe - in a statement released today - says that while previous encounters between the sides have been tight, he believes Mullingar will get the rub of the green on the Dublin 4 turf.

"A glance at the women's Div 1 table and the 'tries against' column, will show that our women are mean... 4 tries scored against them in 12 league games and a total of 38 points against, given an average of 3 points conceded per game, I would say we have the meanest defence of any league anywhere," said Mick.

"The women, however, have scored 299 points and 50 tries during their campaign, giving them a points difference of +261.

"Our women are more than capable of winning and getting promoted and the heartache of last year's final loss, will drive our women on to win the title and promotion."

The team which will face Edenderry is as follows:

1. Aoife Bagnall; 2. Claire Farrelly; 3. Tracy Talbot; 4. Claire O'Brien; 5. Sylvia Rattigan; 6. Sarah Crosby; 7. Katie Layde; 8. Clodagh Cleary; 9. Sinead Holmes; 10. Olive Butler; 11. Martina Burke; 12. Jenny Gibson; 13. Louise Kelly; 14. Niamh Kennedy; 15. Ellen Taite. Replacements: 16. Stacy Boland; 17. Alwyn Gibney; 18. Adrienne Andrews; 19. Aoife Hynes; 20. Catherine Graham; 21. Gillian Kelly; 22. Julie Anne Dunne.