No score but ladies show their strength

Cavan Ladies 0 Belfast Harlequins 0 The Cavan Ladies welcomed the Belfast Harlequins to Swellan Park on October 25, in what was an eagerly anticipated match for both teams. Cavan travelled up to the Harlequins last year in their first year together as a team and lost 53-0 that day. This was a chance to avenge that defeat and show how far the ladies have progressed in the last year. No chances were taken this time and the girls had been training extremely hard in the weeks leading up to this match, as coaches John Loughnanne, Tamaille Tsola and John Conaty kept them focused and determined to get a good result. Things started at a frantic pace as Cavan took the game to the Harlequins. Some powerful running from number eight Bridget Reynolds, props Claire McDermott and Caroline O'Reilly, wing forward Lisa Lynch and clever kicking from out half Ellen Cahill kept Cavan in the visitors' 22 for the first 25 minutes. Only some last ditch tackles from the Harlequins denied Cavan the scores they deserved. The Harlequins made a few breaks into the Cavan half in the first period, only to find captain and scrum half Karen O'Reilly, centres Catherine McCollum and Kathleen Dawson and second row Yvonne Courtney all in fine tackling form to keep them out, leaving the teams level at 0-0 at half time. The second half started similarly to the first with the Cavan Ladies on the attack, despite being against the wind. Cavan were awarded a penalty early in the half and decided to kick for the posts. The attempt in the difficult conditions was unsuccessful to leave the score at 0-0. Cavan's dominance at this point was mainly thanks to their excellent set-piece play retaining most of their own line-out ball and stealing a lot of the Harlequins' line-outs. This possession was proving their best form of attack and meant the backline could have a real go at the Harlequins defence, who again had to make some last ditch tackles to deny wingers Maggie White and Davina Treiner midway through the second half. The Harlequin Ladies were now starting to apply more and more pressure on the home side, in search of a score. The well drilled Cavan defence was equipped to deal with this however with some great tackling, rucking and counter rucking. With 15 minutes left the Belfast side were throwing everything at the Cavan defence, but were finding that this team were in no mood to concede late on. Some brave tackling held up the Harlequins on the Cavan try-line when a score seemed inevitable. The Harlequins came close to scoring in the last minute but were again denied by the dogged Cavan defence. A clearing kick from the ever impressive Cahill brought this scoreless but exhilarating game to a finish. The game though scoreless, was extremely enjoyable and played at a fast pace. The effort, determination and commitment from both teams was immense. The result has proved how far this Cavan Ladies team have come in a year after the disappointing result against the Belfast Harlequins last year, and is a great source of pride for everybody involved with the club. Team manager John Loughnanne said of his charges: "I'm extremely proud of this bunch of girls, especially after the result against this team last year." He also awarded the player of the match award to Centre Kathleen Dawson for her outstanding tackling and attacking display against Harlequins. Cavan: 1 Caroline O'Reilly. 2 Emer McBrien. 3 Claire McDermott. 4 Lynn Maguire. 5 Cathy King. 6 Lisa Lynch. 7 Yvonne Courtney. 8 Brigit Reynolds. 9 Karen O'Reilly (captain). 10 Ellen Cahill. 11 Davina Treiner. 12 Catherine McCollum. 13 Kathleen Dawson. 14 Maggie White. 15 Anna Coyle. Subs: 16 Kammie Pilgrim. 17 Grainne McDermott. Replacement: Kammie Pilgrim for Emer McBrien. Grainne McDermott for Lisa Lynch.