Latest news with #Interprovincial
RTÉ News
12 hours ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Hannah O'Connor: Bolters won't disrupt Ireland's Rugby World Cup plans
Hannah O'Connor doesn't believe that the inclusion of three relatively unknown players in Ireland's squad will be disruptive to the team's Rugby World Cup hopes. Former England prop Ellena Perry and Exeter centre Nancy McGillivray both made their Ireland debuts in the recent warm-up games against Canada and Scotland, respectively, while Connacht back row Ivana Kiripati played in both Tests. Kiripati, 22, played most of her adult rugby in college in the USA but dovetailed her time there with stints in Ireland, impressing for the Clovers in the Celtic Challenge, and Connacht. Gloucester's Perry, 28, is a replacement for injured front row Christy Haney, while 22-year-old McGillivray's PWR experience has earned her a place in Scott Bemand's 32-player squad. Neither was named in the 37-player preparation panel back in May. Back row Deirbhile Nic a Bháird and back Vicky Elmes Kinlan are among those who didn't make the cut for the trip to England, where Ireland will face Japan, Spain and New Zealand in Pool C. Asked what sort of effect parachuting players in at a late stage has on a squad, former Ireland forward Hannah O'Connor told the RTÉ Rugby podcast: "You can kind of get the gist from the girls and from what you hear in the media and anybody doing interviews, it's a very tight-knit group. "Everybody gets along very well and they spend a lot of time in each other's company. "We've heard it in the past from Irish teams under Andy Farrell as well of how cohesive they are as a group in terms of how they get along and that makes a huge difference. "So from that point of view of the new girls coming in, I wouldn't be overly worried about cohesion in terms of knitting in with the group and I heard Scott mention about everybody who has been in the group has brought something to the group. On the overall squad selection, O'Connor, who retired last year after leading Leinster to the Women's Interprovincial crown, added: "I suppose no massive surprises in the backs. Former international @HannahOConnor22 believes the three new Ireland call-ups won't disrupt squad cohesion so close to #RWC2025 - full #RTERugby podcast here — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 13, 2025 "I think they kind of picked themselves, there hasn't been a lot of surprises. "I suppose Nancy McGillivray being the only kind of new face in there compared to what we had seen over the last little while [it's] Vicky Elmes Kinlan who'd be disappointed to miss out there. "In the forwards, obviously Christy Haney is a big blow in terms of the scrum. "We're not flush on props in Ireland in terms of the grassroots, Ellena Perry comes in [because of her] experience. "It's such a key position and [I'm] gutted for Christy. "Scrummaging is her baby and as said she brings a lot of stability there when she's either started or come off the bench. "Ivana Kiripati is probably the bolter there. "She's obviously been in the extended squad the last number of years and been in and around the group and training. "She has played a rugby overseas with college in America and come home for the Celtic Challenge and has played a few interpro games with Connacht. "I suppose someone like Deirbhile Nic a Bháird is a big name that misses out, which I was surprised at myself, to be honest. "Her versatility and what she's done both in a Munster jersey and in a club jersey for Belvedere, anytime she's gotten a chance to shine for Ireland, she is that kind of all-action back row player."
Irish Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Munster v Connacht watch LIVE stream of women's interprovincial clash
Munster take on Connacht this afternoon in the opening round of the Vodafone Women's Interprovincial Championship. Today's game kicks-off at 4:15pm, with coverage available on the Sport TG4 YouTube channel. You can catch the live stream of the game at the top of this article. Maeve Óg O'Leary (Munster): 'I feel delighted and very privileged to lead such an incredible team, alongside Chloe (Pearse) and Steph (Nunan). I'm just so happy to be back (from injury), and so happy to be back in a Munster jersey. 'Just a few weeks ago we sat down with some former players, and hearing their stories and how far that they've come, and how far they've brought this jersey and this team, so it's an absolute privilege and an honour, and the goal as a squad is just to leave the jersey in a better place. 'We're really focusing on ourselves. The Interpros is a short enough window, we've been training as a squad since June 10. I can't wait to get on the field and show what we've been working on. The key thing for us will be to get performances and string them together.' Éabha Nic Dhonnacha (Connacht): 'I felt honoured to be picked as captain, and happy that they thought that I could do the job. Proud to be able to do the job. We're buzzing (to start the Interprovincial campaign), I think there's a really good buzz in the group. 'We can really put it up to Munster and the other teams this year. We have amazing depth from the younger ones coming up to the people that were here. The success at age-grade has come from the unbelievable coaching we got from a fairly young age. Coaching and analysis from 16 onwards. 'These girls know how to win, they love to win, and they bring a competitiveness and a buzz to training that we might not have had. I think bringing that up to senior (level), we just need to up the physicality, up the leadership, and keep driving forward.'
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Women's Interprovincial Championship 2025: All you need to know
Fixtures Round 1: Sunday August 10th Leinster v Ulster, Energia Park at 2:30pm Munster v Connacht, Virgin Media Park at 4:15pm Round 2: Saturday August 16th Leinster v Munster, Energia Park at 2:30pm Connacht v Ulster, Dexcom Stadium at 4:15pm Round 3: Saturday August 23rd Connacht v Leinster, Dexcom Stadium at 2:30pm Ulster v Munster, Kingspan Stadium at 4:15pm Finals Day: Saturday August 30th 3rd v 4th and 1st v 2nd in Energia Park TV Watch all eight games on TG4's YouTube channel. Online Match reports available on RTÉ Sport Online and RTÉ News app. Recent Winners 2024: Leinster (beat Munster in final) 2023: Leinster (beat Munster in final) 2022: Munster (round robin win; Leinster finished 2nd) 2021: Munster (beat Leinster in final) The Vodafone Women's Interprovincial series kicks off this afternoon with a double header that sees defending champions Leinster host Ulster at the Energia Stadium in Donnybrook, while Connacht visit Munster in Cork. There's an off-Broadway feel to the interprovincial championship during a World Cup year, more so with the changeover across the board. However, with star players in Ireland camp mixed with coaching and captaincy changes at the provinces, it's all to play for this time around. Leinster and Munster have dominated this competition since the early 2000s but are no strangers to a rotated and fresh feel to their squads, meaning their round-two clash might not be the dress rehearsal for the final like it has been in recent years. Although most eyes will be on Northampton for the final weekend in August, the 'Finals Day' in Energia Park is finely poised to be a brilliant day of action. All that is three weeks away, as first up in the round robin stages Leinster and Munster host Ulster and Connacht respectively. Leinster v Ulster First up at 2.30pm, Ulster travel to Energia Park to face the reigning champions Leinster. Now under the stewardship of new head coach Ben Martin, Leinster come into the competition looking to win three interprovincial titles in a row for the first time. Martin named a massive 65-player training squad earlier in the summer, later whittled down to 30, with Wexford native Molly Boyne taking over the captaincy following the retirement of Hannah O'Connor. Meanwhile, former Kerry Gaelic footballer Andrea Murphy is named in the squad and is set to win her first cap for the province. Ulster are led into the championship by head coach Murray Houston, with Ulster men's prop Eric O'Sullivan also among the coaching ticket. The returning India Daley will captain the side for the tournament while outside back Lucy Thompson will be one to watch having impressed in last year's tournament. Coaching comments: Ben Martin:"It is clear for all to see the talent that is out there and the work that is going on in our schools and clubs, and with the player pathway programmes and the BearingPoint Sarah Robinson Cup. It's all eyes on Ulster now... We can't wait to tear into our first match week and run out in front of our supporters in Energia Park." Murray Houston:"With the absence of the World Cup hopefuls, it presents an opportunity for players who may not have had the chance previously. There are nine players in our squad who will be looking to get their first cap this summer." Leinster: Caoimhe McCormack; Emma Brogan, Kathy Baker, Cara Martin, Maggie Boylan; Nikki Caughey, Jade Gaffney; Aoife Moore, Lisa Callan, Katie Layde; Clíodhna Ní Chonchobhair, Kate Jordan; Ciara Short, Molly Boyne (capt), Jane Neill. Replacements: Méabh Keegan, Kelly Burke, Clodagh Dunne, Rosie Searle, Emma Kelly, Erin McConnell, Ellie O'Sullivan-Sexton, Katie Corrigan. Ulster: Niamh Marley; Lucy Thompson, Siohbán Sheerin, Tara O'Neill, Paige Smyth; Lauren Farrell McCabe, Georgia Boyce; Sarah Roberts, Maebh Clenaghan, Sophie Barrett; Lauren Darley, Brenda Barr; Ruby Starrett, Katie Hetherington, India Daley (capt). Replacements: Megan Simpson, Cara McLean, Ava Fannin, Rebecca Beacom, Moya Hill, Rachael McIlroy, Kelly McCormill, Stacey Sloan. Munster v Connacht The second of the opening-round fixtures sees Munster host Connacht in Cork at 4.15pm. With Matt Brown now in charge of the southern province, he will be looking to mix in some young prospects with the experience of new captain Maeve Óg O'Leary, Chloe Pearse, Stephanie Nunan and others. Like Leinster, Connacht elected for a large extended training panel of 56, given the potential absences of some Ireland 15s or 7s players. It is a squad loaded with Galwegians players, as the highest ranked Connacht club, but also features Lily Brady, Clara Barrett and captain Éabha Nic Dhonnacha from AIL champions UL Bohemians, while Ailish Quinn returns from Ireland camp. These two sides played out an entertaining, end-to-end battle in the Dexcom Stadium last year which Munster edged 29-24, and although Connacht appear slightly more hamstrung to losses to Ireland camp, they do have an exciting crop of younger players looking to make the step-up after impressive underage interprovincial showings in recent seasons. Coaching comments: Matt Brown: "Everyone is excited, and I think when you've been training for that long everyone is excited for the game because with training you can never directly replicate it, so yeah, we're all in a good spot." Emer O'Dowd: "We're not going down to participate anymore. We're going down to put a performance together and that performance, I think, will lead to something special." Munster: Aoife Corey; Lyndsay Clarke, Alana McInerney, Stephanie Nunan, Chisom Ugwueru; Caitriona Finn, Abbie Salter-Townshend; Gráinne Burke, Saoirse Crowe, Eilís Cahill; Aoibhe O'Flynn, Claire Bennett; Brianna Heylmann, Maeve Óg O'Leary (capt), Chloe Pearse. Replacements: Aoife Fleming, Ciara McLoughlin, Lily Morris, Jane Clohessy, Annakate Cournane, Eve Prendergast, Kate Flannery, Orna Moynihan. Connacht: Clara Barrett; Emily Foley, Orla Dixon, Éabha Nic Dhonnacha (capt), Ava Ryder; Siofra Hession, Grainne Moran; Ella Burns, Lily Brady, Megan Collis; Poppy Garvey, Grace Browne Moran; Beibhinn Gleeson, Lesley Ring, Jemima Adams Verling.
NZ Herald
29-07-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
History-making King of the Coast win to William Brown at Tolaga Bay
Brown, the Queenstown-based former Poverty Bay head greenkeeper, turned Sunday into 'a day of best'. Having admitted to being 'a bit rough' on the Saturday in beating Kawerau's T.K. Whata 5 and 4 in round one and Auckland-based Waikohu member David Solomann on the first extra hole in the afternoon quarter-finals, after 'Solly' had birdied the 18th, Brown flicked the switch on Sunday. He needed to. His semifinal opponent was Marcus Lloyd, a quality left-hander and New Zealand Māori Golf stalwart from Bay of Plenty's Springfield course. Brown saw off Lloyd 2 and 1 in what turned into a history-repeating day in several ways. Last year, Brown also beat Lloyd in the semis – on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff – and just like 2024, it set up an all-Brown final against good mate Hukanui Brown. Patutahi's Brown – the KotC champion in 2019 – saw off Poverty Bay's Tony Akroyd (sinking a 10m birdie putt on the second extra hole) and Mahia's Wade Wesche to advance to a semifinal against Ōpōtiki's Micky Huriwaka, who in round one played his 15-year-old son Elijah in a tournament for the first time ... and won on the 17th. Huriwaka was 2-up with two holes to play, only for Brown to birdie the 17th and par the 18th to take it to extra holes, eventually winning on the 20th after Huriwaka three-putted. William Brown turned up the heat in the final of the King of the Coast, winning seven holes in a row to beat Hukanui Brown on the 12th hole. Photo / Paul Rickard Heading into the final, William Brown was well aware he was a victory away from exclusivity. He won the first two holes against his fellow Tairāwhiti representative, then Hukanui got one back, but that hint of a comeback was obliterated from the sixth hole on. William Brown won seven holes on the trot, four of those with birdies, in a Mike Tyson-like blitz that not only underlined his sovereignty over the KotC, but stamped an exclamation point on it. 'The second day was a whole lot different,' he said, estimating he was 5-under over the two rounds. Brown has great respect for golfing history and was elated to have made his own. He plans to add to it too, although the Poverty Bay Open in September could be his only chance for the rest of 2025. A greenkeeper at the Jack's Point course (he plays pennants golf for Cromwell), Brown is set to move into an irrigation technician role. With that is the opportunity to go to the Australian Open at Royal Melbourne. Unfortunately, that is the same week as the men's national Interprovincial, which Brown has competed at for Poverty Bay-East Coast and now Tairāwhiti for 16 consecutive years. This year would have seen him join an elite club of players to have clocked up 100 national Interprovincial matches. Brown is confirmed for the P.B. Open, but is unlikely to make the East Coast Open at Te Puia Hot Springs in November due to work. In other results from the KotC, Regan Hindmarsh (Patutahi) won the Cook Handicap second 16; B.J. Sidney (Tolaga Bay) the Ūawa Handicap third 16; and Max Ratana (Kawerau) the Hauiti Handicap fourth 16. The tournament was played in perfect weather on a course that received high praise from everyone, including the champion. Brown said it was 'the best I've seen it in my time'. Meanwhile, two of the players in the tournament will be shifting their focus to Heartland rugby. Huriwaka and Sidney were this week named in the Ngāti Porou East Coast squad for the Heartland Championship, which starts on August 16. The NPEC squad also features loan player Sheridan Rangihuna, who played national interprovincial golf for Poverty Bay-East Coast in 2011.
RTÉ News
15-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Ben Martin named as new Leinster Women head coach
Ben Martin will take over as head coach of the Leinster Women's senior team ahead of this summer's Vodafone Interprovincial Championship, replacing the outgoing Tania Rosser. Martin represented his native Australia on the Sevens circuit during his playing career. He served as a player-coach at Kanturk in the AIL before taking over UL Bohemians Women, where he won the AIL title and picked up the 2019 Women's Coach of the Year award. He guided Blackrock College RFC's Women's team to two AIL finals, lifting the trophy in the 2022/23 campaign. Most recently, he served on Neill Alcorn's coaching ticket in the Celtic Challenge as the Wolfhounds won nine of their ten games to claim the crown. "It's an exciting time, obviously, with a Women's World Cup on the horizon," said Martin, who has Michelle Claffey and Charlie Doel as backs and forwards coaches, respectively. "There's a chance to potentially unearth some diamonds that haven't been found yet within the pathways of women's rugby. "I'm excited. It's a big challenge. There's a nice history with what's happened, especially in the recent history, with Leinster being back-to-back champions, so that puts a little bit of pressure on us." Leinster begin the defence of their Interprovincial crown against Ulster at Energia Park on 10 August. Women's Interprovincial Championship Fixtures: Round 1: Sunday, 10 August Leinster v Ulster at Energia Park (kick-off 2.30pm) Munster v Connacht at Virgin Media Park (4.15pm) Round 2: Saturday, 16 August Leinster v Munster at Energia Park (2.30pm) Connacht v Ulster at Dexcom Stadium (4.15pm) Round 3: Saturday, 23 August Connacht v Leinster at Dexcom Stadium (2.30pm) Ulster v Munster at Kingspan Stadium (4.15pm) Finals Day: Saturday, 30 August Games will be played at Energia Park.
