Kilkenny Women make it five out of five in Leinster League

After a two week break, subsequent to receiving a walkover from St Mary’s, Kilkenny WXV, were back in action against MU Barnhall on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Celbridge.

Kilkenny entered the tie unbeaten but knew it would be a tough battle to keep there winning streak going against a solid Kildare side.

Kilkenny gained ground through a mixture of their dynamic ball carries by the pack and dynamic backline. Breaking into the Barnhall 22, a few quick crash balls edged Kilkenny closer to the line and through Lieke Hoban got their first points on the board.

Shortly after Alice Brennan went in under the posts, with Tara Holohan converting, bringing the game to 12-0.

Kilkenny continued to put pressure on Barnhall in every aspect of the game, with captain Rosie Miller, being a nuisance in lineouts, continuously stealing the ball, while the pack excelled in the scrums.

Building off the solid platform provided by the forwards, the backline could subsequently make ground with every ball that was offered to them.

Making their possession tell, Lucy Harte showed typical agility and speed to dance past defenders to get in for her first try of the game, bringing the score at half time to 17-0.

MU Barnhall came out with intent for the second half, making every carry with aggression.

Poor Kilkenny discipline afforded a series of penalties to the Kildare women.

A few penalties later Barnhall made their territory count, recording their first score after some great play, converting the score leaving a 10-point deficit.

To their credit Kilkenny regrouped and got back into attack, using Natalie Clinton’s speed and footwork to get into the Barnhall 22.

Some efficient continuity and snappy passing afforded to Lucy Harte allowed her to show her class and get over the line for her second try, which was converted by Tara Holohan, bringing the score to 24-7.

Unfortunately, Kilkenny didn’t have much possession of the ball after this and with further indiscipline allowed Barnhall to set out on the attack thus spending a lot of time inside Kilkenny’s half.

The referee became exasperated with Kilkenny’s indiscipline, showing two yellow cards, bringing Kilkenny down to 13 players.

However, during this period Kilkenny showed composure, holding up two tries in the final minutes of the game.

Sorcha Barcoe Keogh dug deep in this passage of play to continually be a thorn in the side of Barnhall.

Immense effort in the last 20 minutes of the game showed that this Kilkenny side are not just an attacking side.

They offered exceptional spirit and pride in defence to keep Barnhall down to one score.

Kilkenny now sit at the top of the table with five wins out of five with a big game against the South East Lions to come.