Flannery finding comfort and confidence in Aviva familiarity

Irish Examiner

26-04-2025

UL Bohemian fly-half Kate Flannery will go into Sunday's Energia Women's All-Ireland final against Railway Union with confidence bolstered by a hard-fought semi-final victory and memories of last season's epic title-clinching victory over the same opponents.
Flannery and her teammates booked their return to Aviva Stadium with a come-from-behind victory over Blackrock on home soil a fortnight ago, while Railway earned their place in a fifth consecutive decider with a 19th win on the trot in their play-off with Old Belvedere.
It sets up a repeat of the 2024 final when the IRFU staged a first AIL double-header of men's and women's deciders and were rewarded with an instant classic from UL Bohs and Railway, the Limerick club earning their first title since 2019 with a 48-38 victory.
Flannery kicked three conversions 12 months ago and was influential throughout a 12-try thriller and the fly-half was on form again at Annacotty two weeks ago when helping to engineer a Bohs comeback from 12-0 down to overhaul Blackrock 15-12.
Her pinpoint crossfield kick for wing and last season's hat-trick final star Chisom Ugwueru sparked the fightback for Bohs' first try of three, repeating a kicking strategy from last year's final when she teed up Aoife Corey for a vital try just before half-time at the Aviva.
Both victories, 12 months apart, will send Bohs back to Dublin with confidence sky-high as they bid to claim a first win of the season over Railway having narrowly lost both league encounters, home and away.
'Everyone's really excited now. It's kind of nice, like last year it was playing in the Aviva for the first time, it was a bit like going into the unknown so it's nice going in this year knowing what to expect,' Flannery said in her role as a Pinergy brand ambassador this week.
'They've managed to get the better of us twice this year, so I'd say we'll be going in as underdogs so it will always be a good game like last year, it was a great final so just excited to go again and hopefully win.
'It's good to be back. It was a very tough semi-final, so it was good to get through that.'
The return to Lansdowne Road has evoked treasured memories for Bohs, both of a milestone outing for the club and a chaotic match that ebbed and flowed for much of the 80 minutes.
'It was such a good day, like when I think about it, it was one of the best days I've had in my rugby career so far,' Flannery said. 'The match itself, I feel like it's a bit of a blur… but I do remember it was like we'd score, they'd score, we'd score and then we managed to pull away and win in the end.
'It was like a game where I really didn't know who was going to win, even when I was playing, I was like 'I'm not sure which way this will go'. But it was exciting and to be fair, even though we went down a few times in the game, I was confident throughout and hopefully we can bring that confidence into Sunday now.'