Navan girls also in good form at Balreask Old

Navan u-14 girls defeated Tullamore by 33-14 at the weekend as they established a 28-7 interval lead.

From kick-off Tullamore played phase after phase of attacking rugby and claimed a try that they converted. 

From their huddle, the Navan girls came out looking very determined and focused. 

Lilly Dwyer was first to break through the Tullamore defence to put points on the board for Navan and Roisin Cullen converted. 

Sarah Molly and Roisin Cullen made a number of try-saving tackles and Tullamore widened their attack but were stopped short of the line with a great tackle from Emily Moyles.  

Lilly Dwyer kicked to take the pressure off Navan and chased her own kick and was there in time to tackle the player that caught the ball. 

Navan were able to hold Tullamore on the half way line and won back possession, Alex Connor picked the ball from the bottom of the ruck and dashed through the gap. She sprinted from just inside the Tullamore half to touch down under the post. 

Roisin Cullen’s conversion kick brought the score to 14 - 7, Cullen was next to score stepping and out-pacing the Tullamore defence, she converted and Navan now had momentum and the forwards began to put pressure on Tullamore. 

Caragh Wallace, Aisling Collier, Sally Daly and Chloe Brady worked hard to protect the ball in rucks. 

They had their work cut out for them as Tullamore were hungry for the ball and contested well at rucks, but Tara Quinn was next to score for Navan, Cullen converted for a 28 - 7interval lead.

Tullamore played with great intensity from the restart, but Navan were able hold them back with a good defensive line. 

Lilian Brady marshalled the defence line from the centre of the pitch. Lia McEwan came on for Emily Moyles on the wing and was excellent at keeping the Navan defensive line alert.  

Katie Clarke, Olivia Finnegan and Maebh Mills had the fresh legs to put pressure on Tullamore. 

Emily Flynn spotting an opportunity, came in from the wing to support a break from Caragh Wallace who off-loaded to Emily who took off to score Navan’s last try of the day. Tullamore showed great grit and fought back to score in the final minutes. 

A special mention goes to Ava McNally who made her debut. She got stuck in from the get go, when she did get tackled, she held on and placed the ball perfectly for her team. (She was definitely paying attention in training). 

Her teammates supported and encouraged her along, a testament to the great team spirit in this team. 

Navan - Caragh Wallace, Tara Quinn, Aisling Collier, Chloe Brady, Olivia Finnegan, Sally Daly, Maebh Mills, Katie Clarke, Lia McEwan, Alex Connor, Lillian Brady, Roisin Cullen, Sarah Molly, Emily Flynn, Emily Moyles,  Ava McNally