Gillian Bourke broke Welsh hearts five
minutes from time, as the Irish hooker barged her way over out-wide to gift the
visitors with the narrowest of victories.
A good crowd formed at the home of Welsh Premiership’s
Aberavon Wizards to witness this evenly contested opening round match.
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| TRY TIME: Rosie Fletcher races under the posts. Photo courtesy of Joseph Kiff |
Rhys Edwards’ team were bolstered by the return
to International duty of Gem Hallett, Catrin Edwards, Catrina Nicholas and
Elinor Snowsill as they looked to overturn a heavy 36-0 defeat their opponents
dished out last season.
Defences were very much on top in the opening quarter with space and quick ball at a premium, and it was the Irish that broke the deadlock after 22 minutes when lock Sophie Spence dived over in the corner. Niamh Briggs fired home the extras with a conversion from tight on the touchline
The score seemed to burst Wales into life and
they were back level just before the interval, with full back Rosie Fletcher
rounding off the move on the blindside after great play from the Welsh forwards set up the
initial attack. Snowsill slotted the conversion to draw the sides level.
Wales
carried on where they left off after the break and perhaps Rachel Taylor’s
troops were guilty of spurning points, as twice they were denied by knock-ons
over the try line.
With the
hosts well and truly on the front foot, Caryl James sent the home support into
raptures, as the diminutive wing looked to have touched down in the corner.
However, her opposite number Alison Miller covered well to hack the ball away, with
James’ fingers agonisingly close to glory.
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| NEAR MISS: Wing Caryl James was agonisingly close to touching down Photo courtesy of Joseph Kiff |
The pressure did eventually pay for Wales ten
minutes from time as replacement Laura Prosser slotted a successful penalty to
put her side into the lead for the first time, while Ireland were down to 14
players after Stacey-Lea Kennedy saw yellow.
Having stemmed
the tide the Irish were now on the front foot, and whereas Wales were wasteful
in front of the whitewash, the visitors needed no invitation. Wave after wave
of Green attack threatened the Welsh line with Bourke making no mistake,
crashing over to clinch victory.
“It's
a real kick in the teeth to lose a game that was there for the taking but we go
to France next week knowing that if we repeat today's performance, we've got a
great chance of coming away with a positive result,” admitted Head Coach
Edwards.
Wales
must finish fourth in the competition if they are to secure an automatic place
at next year’s World Cup, and now face difficult trips to France, Italy and
Scotland. Edwards will no doubt be encouraged by his side’s performance but
they will have to be more clinical if they are to meet their target.
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