Leah Tarpey, the player of the match, scored twice at the Women’s Interprovincial Championship Final where Leinster overpowered Munster with a score of 27-7 at Kingspan Stadium, Belfast on Saturday. This successful outcome allowed Leinster to safeguard their Championship crown, demonstrating leadership in the wake of their recent loss to the Reds at Virgin Media Park, Cork. Their impressive 27-0 comeback followed an initial lag, showcasing their ability to overcome adversity.
Early in the game, Munster enjoyed the majority of possession, but Leinster’s robust defence held firm, halting UL Bohemians hooker Beth Buttimer from scoring in the third minute. Ireland international Linda Djougang helped Leinster establish control further up the pitch before Munster finally scored the first points in the 12th minute.
Alana McInerney capitalised on an opportunity, slicing through from the left-wing and passing Robyn O’Connor before getting the ball behind the posts. This was Mcinterney’s seventh try of the season and a straight-forward conversion by Kate Flannery put Munster ahead by seven points.
However, despite Munster being in the lead, the match was still early and anything could happen. Leinster captain Molly Boyne was held up by Munster full-back Aoife Corey, but didn’t dampen the eastern province’s composure. They made their mark on the scoreboard with an impeccable individual try from Tarpey, who was also the star player at the previous year’s Interpro final.
Leinster managed to gain an edge when Nikki Caughey converted a penalty in the 34th minute and with an exceptional converted try by Aoife Wafer coming off the bench to replace Jane Neill, Leinster entered the mid-game interval with a 17-7 advantage.
Even though Leinster were in a commanding position as the game resumed, Munster still had hopes for a comeback. Dorothy Wall seemingly brought her side back into the game with a try, but a review by the TMO confirmed there was insufficient evidence to support the claim that the ball had been grounded.
Leinster managed to secure a dominant position by the 60-minute mark in what could’ve been a precarious situation, thanks largely to the intervention of substitute fly-half, Dannah O’Brien. In her first match of the 2024 championship, O’Brien successfully converted a place-kick, while Aoife Dalton executed a spectacular field break at the 58th minute, setting up Tarpey for her second try of the game.
Several of the Leinster players showcased their skills in this match, among which Dalton stood out. These players could potentially get a chance to represent the Irish women’s team against Australia in the forthcoming Kingspan event on 14th August. Their outstanding performance in this game indicates that several of them could accompany Dalton in the team.
Earlier during the Kingspan match, Connacht secured a 33-19 win over Ulster in the Interpro play-off for the third/fourth position, thanks to last-minute tries scored by Faith Oviawe and Beibhinn Gleeson.
The scorers for Leinster were L Tarpey with 2 tries, A Wafer with a try, N Caughey with a penalty, 2 conversions, and D O’Brien with a penalty and a conversion. While, A McInerney scored a try for Munster, which was converted by K Flannery.
The Leinster team line-up included R O’Connor, E Tilly, A Dalton, L Tarpey, E Roberts, N Caughey, J Gaffney, L Djougang, S Delaney, C Haney, R Campbell, E Corri, J Neill, M Boyne, and C Molloy. Their replacements, during various minutes of the game included A Wafer, N O’Dowd, D O’Brien, A Hughes, J Farrell, A Doyle, K Burke, A Moore, and Haney.
The Munster team comprised of A Corey, C Ugwueru, S Nunan, E Breen, A McInerney, K Flannery, M Wall, S McCarthy, B Buttimer, E Cahill, D Wall, C Bennett, C O’Halloran, J Clohessy, C Pearse.
Substitutions: B Heylmann swapped for Clohessy, at the 21-minute mark; C Finn substituted for Flannery, in the 56th minute; E Considine and L Linn went in for Corey and Nunan respectively, occurring at the 59-minute mark. A McGrath and C McLoughlin replaced Bennett at the 62-minute mark; C O’Dwyer replaced Buttimer, A O’Flynn subbed in for Pearse, both in the 69th minute. The referee of the match was K Davison, from IRFU.