Leinster clinch title to give O’Connor perfect send-off
MUNSTER LEINSTER 7 27
Sometimes teams and players have a reason bigger than themselves to motivate them. After Leinster won back-to-back women’s interprovincial titles yesterday, their big reason became clear.
They did it for their captain Hannah O’Connor. Not just because O’Connor missed the
27-7 win over Munster in the final at Ravenhill, but because she confirmed she was hanging up her boots.
O’Connor didn’t get the chance to play her final game for her province because of concussion. She was on the sideline during the game, supporting her teammates. After the game, she lifted the cup with captain-for-the-day Molly Boyne.
“The time was right for me [to retire],” said O’Connor after the game. “I had made the decision from an Ireland point of view earlier in the year and I just loved the summer rugby with Leinster and the way we play with Tania [Rosser, Leinster head coach].
“I wanted to finish on a high with that. The girls, fair play, did the job. Of course you’ll miss it. It’s been part of my life for the last six years in this elite level of it, but I’m still going to play my club rugby with Blackrock. I will miss it, of course. It’s everything and all that you do.”
There were other storylines from the final, such as Leah Tarpey’s very own repeat performance. Last year, she scored two tries for Leinster in their 33-14 interpro final win over Munster at Musgrave Park.
She came up with the goods again yesterday, with two tries and a player-of-the-match performance. Tarpey scored tries in either half. The first arrived after she made a great break in the 23rd minute, while the second came in the second half following an excellent break by fellow centre Aoife Dalton.
So what is it with the final and producing her best against Munster? “Good habit to have,” said Tarpey with a beaming smile. “From not starting the first two games it really pushed me on — the competitiveness within the squad really drove me on. “The main focus was to do it for her [O’Connor] and make her proud.”
Leinster played this final like they were intent on not repeating a trick from round two. They conceded five tries in a 32-21 loss to Munster last month at Musgrave Park.
Munster boast the most lethal try-scorers in this interpro series. However, while top try-scorer Alana McInerney showed her pace by scoring the first try after 11 minutes, that was it.
Leinster had Munster’s number in Belfast and kept them to a single try. That defeat at Musgrave Park fuelled their ambition. “I feel like we didn’t put our best foot forward against them two weeks ago,” Tarpey continued. “And we were definitely coming into this game as the underdogs. So I feel like that gave us a little bit of an edge.”
O’Connor added: “We didn’t play or do ourselves justice two weeks ago. To show up today and put in a performance like that with some really well-worked team tries, everything just clicked for us. So it was great,”
Meanwhile, Connacht lock Faith Oviawe added to her growing reputation on the final day of the interpro series.
The western province secured third place with a 33-19 play-off win over Ulster, who had to play with 13 players towards the end of the first half after a red card for Brittany Hogan and yellow card for Lucinda Kinghan.
Oviawe delivered a playerof-the-match performance that included two tries, bringing her try tally for the series to six.
The Railway Union forward was named as a training panellist in the Ireland squad ahead of Irish Rugby’s 150th year test match against Australia at Ravenhill on September 14.
While Oviawe shrugged off concerns about a knock to her knee, she is planning on taking her chance when she trains with the Irish squad tomorrow. “Honestly, it’s so motivating just to keep going,” she said. “I keep striving to get further. I’m really excited to get in there on Monday. It means a lot. I’m so grateful to be a part of this squad and I can’t wait to train with the girls.”
Ireland international Hogan will face a disciplinary hearing for the red card she received for a tackle on Grace Browne Moran.