Impressive Loreto College power to victory

Loreto College, Mullingar 45, The High School 0

Brilliant Loreto College Mullingar were relentless in pursuit of the Bank of Ireland Leinster Rugby Girls Schools Senior Cup title at Energia Park on Thursday afternoon.

Leading 14-0 at half-time, the talented Mullingar ladies ultimately proved far too strong for their Dublin opponents and there was simply no denying Loreto their moment of glory.

The opening minutes were full of commitment and invention as Mullingar’s Méabh O’Hara, Abigail Johnston and Eimear Doonan made metres.

While High School were defending soundly, they needed to play down the other end. Maya Neely drove the ball up. Layte tickled a kick in behind. Saoirse Byrne covered well. Ava Cosgrave sniped the short-side. O’Neill was alert to the danger. O’Hara’s angled kick was dealt with by Airmid Devitt-O’Byrne. It was only a matter of time before the pressure had to tell.

A monster carry by High School openside Elisa MacGabhann and break up the left by Devitt-O’Byrne was stopped by Catherine Gildea’s textbook tackle. Just as High School found their rhythm, Mullingar centre Cleary reached out for an interception and stayed ahead of Devitt-O’Byrne for the first try, converted by O’Hara in the 21st minute.

O’Hara poached the ball off the floor to give Orla Rijksen the opportunity to kick and chase down the left but it was cut off by Devitt-O’Byrne. The Mullingar forwards made life difficult in close before the ball was moved right for Rijksen to cut back to the posts for the second try, converted by O’Hara for 14-0 in the 25th minute. High School appeared to have plenty of pace out wide, Amilee Cree threatening on the left and Navya Navak flew down the right. Out-half Layte was met with a ferocious tackle by Doonan and O’Brien corralled wing Cree in the backfield. O’Hara sent a crossfield kick which was taken on the bounce by Chloe Mulcahy, who was hammered in the tackle by O’Neill to close the half with Mullingar up 14-0.

Last year’s finalists were soon back on the frontfoot, using backs and forwards well to create chances forfeited by poor final passes. A cracking tackle by Layte on Gildea prevented further damage but Loreto number eight Johnston drove from the base of a scrum. Flanker O’Brien’s strength and ball placement guaranteed the third try, converted by O’Hara in the 36th minute.

High School did their best to come out swinging, flanker MacGabhann making ground and scrum-half Sargent looking for weaknesses in the Mullingar defence. There were precious few. A lapse in concentration was all O’Brien needed to rifle through the defence for her second try and O’Hara’s fourth conversion in the 43rd minute.

There was no climbing out of a 28-point hole as Rijksen’s pass allowed Cleary to show her power through contact for the fifth try in the 49th minute. O’Brien almost completed a hat-trick direct from the restart on a 60-metre break. When the ball was recycled, Cleary was the one to get her third as O’Hara converted once more.

High School kept moving the ball, Layte accelerating to halfway and ball movement keeping Mullingar on their toes. Still, there was time for a seventh try by wing Chloe Mulcahy to round out an impressive performance.

Scorers: G Cleary 3 tries; O O’Brien 2 tries; O Rijksen, C Mulcahy try each; M O’Hara 5 cons.

Loreto Mullingar: Catherine Gildea; Saoirse Byrne, Orla Rijksen, Grainne Cleary, Chloe Mulcahy; Meabh O’Hara, Ava Cosgrave; Darci Gibbons, Aine Forde, Moya Murtagh, Anne Reynolds, Millie Corrigan, Orlagh O’Brien, Eimear Doonan, Abigail Johnston.

The High School: Airmid Devitt-O’Byrne; Amilee Cree, Chloe O’Neill, Esme Fowler, Navya Navak; Siobhan Laythe, Zoe Sargent; Sophie Bainton, Leah Murdock, Zara Deacon, Seren Hurley, Ruby Small, Grace James, Elisa MacGabhann, Maya Neely (Capt). Replacements: Ava Deacon for Devitt-O’Byrne (22 mins); Sarah Lees for MacGabhann (43 mins); Elsa Hughes for Hurley, Mollie Courtney for Laythe (both 54 mins).

Referee: K Byrne (Leinster Branch).