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Daire Walsh reports from Kingspan Stadium
THE RETURNING EIMEAR Considine was amongst the try-scorers as Ireland convincingly defeated Australia in a women’s rugby international test at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast this afternoon.
Back in the international fold for the first time since a Six Nations Championship loss to England at Welford Road on 24 April, 2022, Considine – who suffered MCL and ACL injuries either side of giving birth to her son Caolán in January 2023 – crossed over in the opening half of a game that marked the start of Irish Rugby’s 150th year celebrations in 2024.
It also proved to be a useful exercise for Ireland ahead of their forthcoming outings at the WXV 1 tournament in Vancouver and with player of the match Aoife Wafer helping herself to a brace of tries over the course of the action, Scott Bemand’s side had too much in the tank for their southern hemisphere rivals.
While the return of Considine to the test arena grabbed the headlines, the inclusion of uncapped duo Vicky Elmes Kinlan (one of six players in the match day squad to feature in the Rugby Sevens at the Paris Olympics) and Ruth Campbell in Ireland’s starting line-up for this game was also noteworthy.
This encounter saw the hosts returning to the venue where they sealed a third-place finish in the Six Nations – and, by extension, qualification for next year’s World Cup finals in England – with a 15-12 triumph over Scotland on 27 April.
The hope was that the Irish could build on that particular success and they enjoyed a perfect start on a breezy day in Belfast.
Having seen her side patiently work their way through a series of phase plays inside the Australian ‘22’, Dannah O’Brien eventually picked out Aoife Dalton and the outside centre proceeded to power over the whitewash for a fifth-minute try.
O’Brien followed up with a routine conversion to give Ireland a seven-point platform during the early stages of the contest, but their Australian counterparts subsequently sprung into life in clinical style.
Best known in their homeland as the Wallaroos, the visitors kept the Irish defence on the back-foot for an extended spell and following a neat pass out wide by Cecilia Smith, NSW Waratahs winger Maya Stewart side-stepped Considine on her way to dotting down beyond the opposition line.
Yet a wayward bonus kick from full-back Lori Cramer kept Ireland in the ascendancy and after they once again found themselves camped inside the ‘22’, the home team secured their second try on 13 minutes.
O’Brien was once again the creative force as Dalton’s namesake Wafer crashed over in typically robust fashion to the left of the posts. Even though Carlow native O’Brien couldn’t add the bonuses on this occasion, Ireland were ticking along nicely in attack.
Stout defensive work from the Wallaroos did frustrate them for large spells, but just when it looked like the gap was going to remain at seven in time for the interval, the most popular score of the day arrived. After an overly elaborate pass had left Australian winger Desiree Miller exposed, Considine kicked a loose ball along the ground before comfortably gathering possession and raced over in the right-corner.
This unconverted finish was met with the overwhelming approval of the Irish replacements who were warming up behind the posts and it ensured Ireland brought a 17-5 buffer into the second half.
Eager to explore the depth of his squad ahead of their departure to the WXV 1, Bemand introduced six simultaneous substitutes 12 minutes after the resumption – including their Olympic quartet of Erin King, Emily Lane, Eve Higgins and Stacey Flood.
While there might have been a fear that Ireland’s play might become disjointed as a result of making so many changes at once, this notion was emphatically dismissed on the hour mark. After spreading the ball from the right-flank into a more central area, Lane and Enya Breen combined to set up Higgins for Ireland’s fourth try of the action.
Breen assumed kicking duties from the now-departed O’Brien and she expertly supplied the extras to Higgins’ impressive five-pointer. The aforementioned Flood was also determined to make an impression in her first 15s outing for Ireland in more than two years and her superb approach work opened the door for Wafer to claim her second try with 11 minutes still left on the clock.
Linda Djougang and Breen had tries ruled out for earlier infringements during a lively final-quarter in Ravenhill, but despite Wallaroos star Stewart joining Wafer in registering a brace of five-pointers, a dominant Ireland had the final say when replacement hooker Cliodhna Moloney touched down off a line-out maul move in the final minute.
Ireland scorers:
Tries: Aoife Wafer (2), Aoife Dalton, Eimear Considine, Eve Higgins, Cliodhna Moloney
Conversions: Dannah O’Brien [1 from 3], Enya Breen [2 from 3]
Australia scorers:
Tries: Maya Stewart 2
Conversions: Lori Cramer [0 from 1], Arabella McKenzie [0 from 1]
IRELAND: Eimear Considine; Vicky Elmes Kinlan (Stacey Flood ’52), Aoife Dalton, Enya Breen, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe; Dannah O’Brien (Eve Higgins ’52), Molly Scuffil-McCabe (Emily Lane ’52); Niamh O’Dowd (Christy Haney ’48 (Siobhan McCarthy ’68)), Neve Jones (Cliodhna Moloney ’52), Linda Djougang; Dorothy Wall (Fiona Tuite ’52), Ruth Campbell; Aoife Wafer, Edel McMahon (Erin King ’52), Brittany Hogan.
AUSTRALIA: Lori Cramer (Arabella McKenzie ’52); Maya Stewart (Biola Dawa ’74), Georgina Friedrichs, Cecilia Smith, Desiree Miller; Faitala Moleka, Natalie Wright (Layne Morgan ’52); Bridie O’Gorman (Lydia Kavoa ’70), Ashley Marsters (Tiarna Molloy ’57), Eva Karpani (Alapeta Ngauamo ’52); Kaitlan Leaney, Michaela Leonard (Tiarah Minns ’70); Siokapesi Palu, Leilani Nathan (Lucy Dinnen ’57), Tabua Tuinakauvadra.
Referee: Clara Munarini (Italy).
Written by Daire Walsh and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
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Fair play to Martin. Someone needed to take Arlene down off her high horse, the stubborn mule.
Get the popcorn out. It’s good to fun watching her come back down the earth
@watersedge – aren’t you mixing your metaphors a bit there. A stubborn mule on a high horse?
Anyone see the bitter humour in this call for an investigation by Arlene Foster?
Clever (but cynical) political manoeuvring.
The same parties and individuals will be elected next time.
And around and around we go….
@Diarmuid: And what happens if the same elected parties next time decide not to go around and around.
Chris, unfortunately that will not happen. It’s in the very nature of the parties. It’s built into the system.
Power-sharing results in a flight to the extremes, divided along sectarian lines.
It suits DUP/SF to rabble rouse, condemn the other side, whip up their bases, play the victim.
NI is decades away from any grown-up form of democratic government (if ever).
Jaysus a sniper wouldn’t take her out
Diarmuid, everyone was calling for her to step down, not just SF.
I was looking at the lovely Arlenes FB page yesterday and there was a lot of criticism for her and a lot of it coming from unionists. Maybe the UUP will gain somewhat from this controversy.
@Mr Phil Officer: That was before yesterday Phil, the prospect of an election changes the run of play….
@Tony Daly: Yes, only Shinners can be victims.
All politicians are over paid lazy idiots who have a completely stupid public who vote for them. Imagine Noonan should have had a vote of no confidence put down by Sinn Fein since the vulture fund program yesterday. They are all the same.
@Gerry O’Rourke: well said. Again why is no Irish politician looking for him to be sacked.
Foster had a go at SF for causing instability and putting the peace process in jeopardy and called it irresponsible! She must be very peed off considering that the DUP sees that as their job if not divine right. They can’t stand the fact that they are the ones this time who are at fault and they can’t play the sanctimonious better than thou card.
In fairness, the DUP didn’t collapse the Assembly when the continued existence of the PIRA terrorist group was confirmed.
DUP let Sinn Féin off the hook that time.
The now updated story is that she now wants an investigation! Sorry Arlene but I don’t think that it will do you any good. SF called your bluff and now you are trying to cover your tracks. The DUP have spent so long on their high horses that they forgot that sooner or later they are bound to fall off them. Now they are in the shite and should get used to it because they have thrown enough of it around for long enough.
If the other NI parties have any sense they will find out who it was benefited from the RHI scheme and I would be willing to bet that the vast majority are nice rich DUP donors. It won’t be them who will feel the pain of cuts to services that the lower income DUP voters will have to face because of the £400 million shortfall due to the RHI.
@Diarmuid: “when the continued existence of the PIRA terrorist group was confirmed.”
dermo, you were trying that one on a year ago before your last account was banned. You kept postig PART of a sentence from a statement to ‘prove’ your point.
Have you used your time in the wilderness to come up with actual proof?
Just pointing out Shinner hypocrisy…
P.S. Know any “Good Republicans” who could fill this gap in the British Exchequer?
@Diarmuid: ‘Pointing out’ by using a statement you can’t back up.
Good lad dermo, new account, still nothing to add.
Pointing out that the DUP did not collapse the institutions during the last crisis?
Silly post-truth Shinnerbot.
@Diarmuid: Thank you for help proving my point that you’ve nothing to add to the converstion.
At least you finally managed to prove something, and sure enough it was a point made by someone else.
Missed u hun x
@Diarmuid: the lads with that few quid from the northern bank
Good point Colm. Lots of good sources of money from “Good Republicans”.
Slab Murphy will be soon released too, perhaps our resident shinnerbots can tap him up for some sponds.
Anglo loans was another source of good money.
@Diarmuid: im a republican and im broke
Lots of “good republicans” in the Republican Party.
It’s very hard to sympathise with arlene foster in this debacle. Every other party asked her to stand aside temporarily and without predjuice, but instead she has spent the last month pointing fingers and making ridiculous inflammatory statements. It had to be brought to a head, and it was by yet another (and hopefully not final) statesmanlike act from Martin McGuinness.
Lols. Shinners have taught her well…
When you’re in trouble, just scream “political policing” or “threat to the Peace Process”.
@Diarmuid: Give over, will you?
The Lady who oversaw and ran the show is looking for an inquirery into it. Am I missing something here. Has she not thrown enough money over the side of a cliff..
@The Viking: So now the British government can carry out the inquiry into RHI instead which is what the MP’s in Westminster are now calling for.
@Chris Kirk. I hear you. Tho it would be only right for her to put her hands up and admit responsibility and then hand in her resignation. That way it would save money that would be pumped into inquiry. Also possibly she may be able to walk away with some dignity. POSSIBLY….
@The Viking it was a PAC investigation she wants. Same shite as we have here. Investigate and shut the window. Nothing happens so it continues.
@The Viking: True, but I don’t think her DUP colleagues would allow that to happen, they are like rats in a barrel
The arrogance of Arlene Foster is astounding someone who has not the humility to resign after such a misappropriation of taxpayers money has no place in politics. Now the proverbial has hit the fan she’s not so smug trying to back peddle from the position she maintained only a few days ago. She might wanna burn all the evidence while she’s the chance.
@Bhiniáimin Ó Beith: I think she should seek some professional therapy, she obviously has a problem working with other people.
Don’t worry fg/DUP will do their best to put the blame on sf when it was all the parties who have called for her to step aside but after watching the program last night on rte she should not be the only one who should go but that won’t happen
Luckly for people i NI, 18 seats are been cut this for this election.
Foster wants an independent enquiry of which she wants her officials to setup. Now that’s INDEPENDENT!!!
Remember Arlene, pride comes before a fall. And by the looks of it your going to be hitting the ground mighty hard when your hot air balloon comes crashing down to earth
Will an election actually solve anything? The DUP will throw out a load of sectarian nonsense on the campaign trail and their core voters will just lap it up like they always do. SF have no viable opposition so their seats will be largely unchanged. So where do they go from there?
It would be more of an innovation if those who supported removing any cap on the free heating subsidy were obliged to pay the money back. But that’s too responsible a move for politicians to consider. At lrast they haven’t brought in consultants to explain where the scam wasted public taxes.
Her bluff was called and now the pennys finally dropped for her. She’s only now realising that she would have been better off standing aside. This was she gets turfed out by SF.
Not just in NI but in Europe the whole bio energy wood scheme is not green at all, but is even worse than coal in terms of emissions and involves the deforestation of millions of trees in US and Europe, trees that had they not been cut would have acted to curb emissions. As regards Foster all she had to do was step aside for a few weeks but instead chose to bring NI back to the brink of madness and create a vacuum for the hard men to strut their stuff.
Arlene Foster should have walked long go the world knows that but look at the state of her she wouldn’t walk far fair play to Martin I will vote Sinn Fein next time for sure..
If she had done the honourable thing and voluntarily stepped aside for the duration of the enquiry she would have enhanced her reputation all round if she was found to have done no wrong. The question so is what is she hiding that compelled her not to step aside temporarily?
About Time for those politicians in Northern Ireland to grow up and leave baby infants class. The day of handholding by politicians outside the jurisdiction of the six counties is over. Surely they cannot expect another big effort by the US government and the UK government to force them to become reconciled. So much effort has already gone into the establishment of the Northern Ireland executive.
@Irish big fellow: Well at least they won’t have to concern themselves about the EU and brexit negotiations now being dictated by Theresa May. If the parties don’t sort themselves out in the north then perhaps the UK government could cut their wages and put an end to sectarian politics.
Provisional SF proving again how unsuitable they are for Govt, letting DUP off the hook and letting all the people down rather than dealing with the issues of BREXIT
@Stephen Kearon:
So to be suitable for government you have to accept whatever the bigots want?strange logic.
@Stephen Kearon: Another waste of taxpayers’ money. Only the truly stupid could fall for the antics of a gang that has been responsible for so much.
Hello Green Beard, your views are outdated.
@Stephen Kearon: In fairness this is a guy who worked for for Dick Roche while FF were destroying the country and inviting the trokia in the door, your party does have one thing in common with the DUP though, the penchant for fondling in the greasy till – seriously a person like you lecturing anybody about their suitability for government given how your lot behaved in power is laughable – as the man said it’s like the hunchback of Notre Dame giving a lecture on good posture.
New fianna fail slogan Well done “unsuitable for govt”
Stephen Kearon is another FF Gombeen, joke of a man!
What a general election followed by a border poll, I don’t see that happening
Elections? WTF aren’t you jumping the gun a bit
Mother of god, if Mary Loo spent as much time worrying about what is going on in the 26 counties she might find there are far more pressing matters than a bunch of self serving, sense of entitlement clowns up north making idiots of themselves. The sight of the entire SF parliamentary gathered around a Mike outside the dail this evening commenting on northern rubbish made my blood boil. Gob$@ites the lot of them
@Joseph Dempsey: Well said, Mary Gloo should be tending to matters within her own costituency to help the homeless…
Sur why don’t he make a treble out of it and predict an election in the south as well.
If you think this is bad then surely the idea of a united Ireland is even more unrealistic.
Calling an idea that hasn’t even been debated yet as “unrealistic” is a tad premature.
@Mr Phil Officer: I think chris has already had the “If Sinn Feins for it, I’m against it” debate with himself in relation to reunification.
Think you’ll find that Sinn Féin and the Provisional IRA don’t own the idea of unification….
The realities of economic situation will push the drive for unification, judging by the speed at which some in the north have rushed to get Irish passports that realisation seems to have already set in.
@Chris Kirk: Arlene Foster – future Taoiseach in a DUP/FG coalition?
@Mr Phil Officer: Where have you been Phil, the question over a proposed United Ireland has been on everyones lips since brexit was announced. Now we can see how stupid the idea is……
Horrible woman
I don’t know about the poker in the eye, but the well to do farmers grabbing all the money could do with poking the wood chip renewable fire.
@Val Martin: I don’t think it ends there Val, according to the leader of the NI farmers they have signed contracts for the RHI scheme and will expect to be compensated for the cost of installing the expensive biomass boiler systems if the contracts are withdrawn……Arlene Foster was a solicitor in her previous life.
It would be great if Brokenshire ordered a full public enquiry of his own volition. Let’s not forget that neither Sinn Fein or DUP want that, but every other party and the public are calling for it. The NI legislation is nearly 99% identical to the GB scheme, with the main difference being the omission of cost controls by a removal of one paragraph.
@Crom Cruach: Indeed, several MP’s in Westminster today are now calling for it and Brokenshire acknowledged their calling saying that if the parties can’t settle their differences over the coming days then he will call an election. This in effect will allow the UK government to investigate the norths RHI scheme along with everything else the NI executive was doing. Arlene Foster might then wish she played the game instead of the hard ball.
Agree McGuiness had fair reason to stand down but could this be a shrewd move by the Shinners? Triggering an election as anti-Brexit sentiment grows. Remember NI voted to remain. Interesting to see the debate that could be sparked on the door steps, you can imagine Sinn Fein will drive a pro ‘new’ Europe approach potentially putting the Unionists in an awkward position clinging to the coattails of Brexit that, by that time, starts to unravel.
The Shinners should have knee capped her or took her from her home in the dark of night never to be seen again, Like the good old days.
What about the sisterhood?
WTF is cash for ash? Why doesn’t the article say? It’s in the bloody headline.
@Congress Tart: There is a link in the article to an explainer.
@Congress Tart:
To paraphrase it..a scheme to promote the use of wood pellets for heating which basically paid out £1.50? for every £spent..and lead to the ludicrous situation where large empty building and barn’s etc were being heated to turn a tidy profits. while the taxpayers in NI have been caught to pay the projected overspend of about £400,000,000..whilst people of both communities are suffering fuel poverty..kind of clusterf##& that normally has the handprints’ of democratic parties like FG/FF all over it..puts the money wasted on electronic voting in the hapenny place..but doesn’t look bad when compared to IW..
@Kieran OKeeffe: That seems to be the gist of it, besides which it turns a tidy profit for Balcas the supplier of biomass wood pellets.
Seeing as Leinster House is a biomass customer of Balcas, I wonder did they benefit from the RHI scheme….big empty barn like.
Like kids fighting in the school yard. Pathetic the lot of them.
I See Mary Lou Is Back,She Was On Sick Leave When Gerry Adams Was Being Questioned About The Murder Of Prison Officer Mr. Stack.. A Fianna Failer Who Looks Like A Monica Lewinsky Distant Relative…
Jaypers Mary Lou leave the shovel at home next time yer putting on foundation.
@Phil Swan; I hope someone got you a set of knitting needles and pink elastic leg bloomers at xmas to match that bi tch of an attitude you have there!!!!
She should keep her nose out nothing to do with her
Typical SF blackmail tactics.
It all stinks to high heaven especially the SF guys allowing the whole thing to get this far.
have your say