Big it up for McFerran this is awesome!
Last Sunday saw round 3 of the ladies Ulster Qualifying League matches take place, with some exciting matches taking place.
Carrickfergus RFC I XV v Ballymoney RFC I XV
Current league champions Carrick entertained last seasons league final rivals and current league toppers, Ballymoney at home.
The home side kicked off a stop/start half, with play beginning mid-pitch and moving to the Ballmoney half and soon Carrick could have opened the scoring. As is the norm when these sides meet, neither side dominated for long and a kick took the action to the Ballymoney 22, with Carrick pushing play back to the middle of the pitch where the action resumed until a Ballymoney run and maul resulted in a try from centre Helen Murphy, which was not converted.
Spurred on by this score, Carrick forced Ballymoney into their own 22, with scrum half Lydine Wilson finding the line and centre Arlene Devine converting. On the cusp of half time Ballymoney attacked relentlessly, pushing through the tight Carrick defensive line to allow captain Libby “Slippy” Parke to score a try which was converted as the whistle signalled half time, with the score 7-12.
The second half resumed with both teams determined to out-play the other. However Carrick came back stronger than in the first half and dominated much of the possession, with the forwards playing a more prevalent role than in the previous half. Carrick dominated majority of the possession and pushed to the Ballymoney line, allowing centre Hilary Cawood to score, with another successful conversion from Devine.
Play resumed with Ballymoney making an attack, but were beaten back by a solid defensive line and a penalty saw the ball land in the arms of Lydine Wilson, who made an incredibly impressive run from the half way line to score her second of the match. A missed conversion kept the score at 19-12 to a relieved Carrick side.
Carrick narrowly missed out on a bonus point win as, with moments to go, a line out resulted in a very close call with winger Lyndsay Davidson being pulled out, resulting in a further line out which saw Carrick forwards crash towards the line, but to no avail. The ball was kicked out of play to end the match at 19-12.
Cavan RFC I XV v Letterkenny / Finn Valley RFC I XV:
Cavan travelled to Letterkenny/Finn Valley where the newly combined home side were defeated by 42 points to nil, seeing Cavan off to a great start in their first league match. Tries came courtesy of Cathy King, Brigid Reynolds x 2, Anna Coyle – including 1 conversion, Shauna Brady and Deirdre O’ Reilly x 2.
Next weekend could see major changes in the current standings, with an undefeated Carrick side travelling to Cavan, in a vital clash which could see them reclaim the top league position, however coming from a 42-0 victory Cavan will undoubtedly not make it an easy match.
Letterkenny,/Finn Valley travel to Ballyshannon for a match which could potentially take them off the bottom spot, with both teams on 1 point each, Ballyshannon having played and lost 1 match.
