UL Bohemian won the eagerly anticipated top of the table clash against their nearest rivals, Railway Union, on Sunday afternoon, the Limerick outfit recording a 0 – 12 win at Park Avenue.
Laura Sheehan and Aine Staunton both crossed for Bohs with Edel Murphy converting the first.
The game wasn’t the free flowing extravaganza that I’d hoped for but it was an honest, gritty encounter that the visitors largely dominated as they controlled the pace and tempo from the off. Railway looked rattled as they struggled with their normal expansive game, their many handling errors playing into the hands of Boh’s who dominated in the scrum early on.
However both defences were sound and scoring chances were few and far between. Bohs breakthrough came about 15 minutes in, a missed tackle in midfield allowing Sheehan to sprint clear from thirty yards out to finish under the posts. Murphy added the extras and the visitors led 0 – 7.
Railway eventually settled on a less expansive game as the half wore on and they enjoyed some territory in the second quarter. But still the mistakes continued and a steady stream of handling errors and penalty offences allowed the more composed Bohs to clear their lines, the half ending without further score.
The visitors had their tails up at the start of the second half and a period of expansive play between the forwards and the backs created an overlap on the right which Staunton finished off for an unconverted try, taking the score to 0 – 12.
The home side looked for a response but struggled to find one, their continuity continuing to let them down as Boh’s defence held firm. A huge effort from the Railway pack did see Emma Taylor cross the line only to be held up in a mass of bodies. Bohs cleared their line and finished the game on the front foot to claim an impressive win.
Final score: Railway Union 0 UL Bohemian 12
The Women’s all Ireland league now takes a break until January 13th as the Women’s Interprovincials are played throughout December.
UL Bohemian are now the only unbeaten side and they lead Railway by five points at the top of the table with both teams starting to pull away from the rest of the field.
Following completion of this rearranged fixture the league now looks as follows:
| Team | Pl | W | D | PD | BP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.L. Bohemian | 8 | 8 | 0 | 226 | 7 | 39 |
| Railway Union RFC | 8 | 7 | 0 | 316 | 6 | 34 |
| Old Belvedere | 8 | 5 | 0 | 152 | 6 | 26 |
| Cooke | 8 | 5 | 0 | 22 | 3 | 23 |
| Tullamore | 8 | 2 | 0 | (205) | 4 | 12 |
| Blackrock | 8 | 2 | 0 | (180) | 3 | 11 |
| Galwegians | 8 | 1 | 1 | (175) | 4 | 10 |
| Highfield | 8 | 1 | 1 | (156) | 3 | 9 |
Match Gallery Below
