Naas 15 Clondalkin 22
Sunday 8th Jan
Naas women suffered their second home defeat of the season to a fired-up Clondalkin side who were delighted to reverse the result of the previous meeting of the two teams.
Both teams had a 6-week break coming into this Leinster Division 2 fixture, and the rustiness showed in the opening exchanges. Clondalkin looked more assured, and their better continuity led to the first try after 13 minutes. Naas indiscipline, once more, cost the Kildare team as a string of penalties allowed the Clondalkin forwards to drive over for the try. They added a second after 18 minutes, leaving the Naas women struggling to find a foothold in the game.
Naas eventually found some continuity, and to their credit, cut down the penalty count to work their way up the field , with some good progress after a quickly taken penalty. The speed of the game increased dramatically which suited the young Naas team. The pressure was rewarded after 34 minutes with Naas’ first try, scored by Aisling Mahon.
Naas were unable to field the restart and Clondalkin pounced to score their third try after some poor defending by the Naas women. Naas showed great character and excellent interplay between forwards and backs to allow 18-year-old Katie Halpin to score on the stroke of half-time, leaving the score 10 17 to Clondalkin.
The visitors then immediately extended their lead three minutes after half time, scoring what would prove to be their last of the day. Naas raised their game and started to apply some pressure, allowing out-half Sheena Hubbard to force a great interception, but sadly the referee had seen an infringement, much to the disappointment of the vocal Naas crowd. The crowd had more to cheer when veteran flanker Amy Moran led a very direct charge up the pitch, eventually allowing Ali Miley, in her first game of the season, to crash over from close range to make the score 15 22 to Clondalkin.
With seven minutes remaining, Naas battered the Clondalkin line, but some unfortunate handling errors on a very cold day allowed the visitors to come away with a win, with Naas having to console themselves with a solitary losing bonus point.
It says a lot for the ability and ambition of this Naas team that they came away from this fixture with a sense of regret for what might have been. They now lie fourth in Leinster Division 2, but only five points separate the top four teams. They now face a tough game away to Mullingar next week, in a match which could well prove crucial for the destination of the league title.
Naas: Zoe Dunbar, Jamie Garland, Ali Miley, Aoife Furlong, Sheena Hubbard, Ciara Mckeown, Clare Finn (c), Ellen Murray, Molly Fitzpatrick, Lauren Bergin, Abbie Cullen, Asta Rowe, Jessica Weld, Aisling Mahon, Malgorzata Korpas, Ella Morris, Rachel Naughton, Caitriona Sheridan, Katie Halpin, Aoibheann O’Sullivan, Amy Moran.