Two tries in each half were enough to see Old Belvedere to victory today over a spirited St Marys side at Anglesea Road in the penultimate round of the women’s AIL.

Marys were on the back foot for much of the first quarter and the pressure finally told on twenty minutes when the home forwards powered over under the sticks with Victoria Dabanovich O’Mahony using all her strength to get the ball to ground. The try was converted to give Belvo a deserved 7-0 lead.

The home side extended their lead just before half time when Nora Stapleton pinned back her ears to scorch over for a second converted try which saw us turn around 14-0.

A couple of tries in the first ten minutes of the second half sealed the victory and the try bonus point as first Vanessa Hullon and then Elise O’Byrne-White dashed down their respective wings to score.

At 26-0 down, Mary’s could have been forgiven for throwing in the towel but this side has never been found wanting in heart or endeavour and, to their credit, they forced their way back into the game and their scrum in particular began to cause Belvo no little trouble.

Alas the familiar struggles in the opposition 22 continue to plague them despite some fine contributions from the hard-carrying Emma Lackey and scrumhalf Emma Kiernan and they were unable to take advantage when the home side found themselves down to 14 as the referee lost patience following a series of infringements.

The final score read 26-0 but both sides can be proud of their contribution to what was an entertaining game considering the truly awful conditions.

Report and pictures – JC Sports Photography