I’d been looking forward to catching up with Ballincollig under the new coaching ticket of Fiona Hayes. The last time we covered them, in the short lived Community Series, they went down to Kerry and there was a bit of work to do to get them AIL ready.

By the time I caught up with this match, Ballincollig were trailing 12 – 0, at the start of the second half, thanks to first half tries from Cooke’s Katie Hetherington and Ilse van Staden, plus a conversion from Amanda Morton. Cooke had them under pressure in the Ballincollig 22 and it wasn’t long before Aishling O’Connell powered over to take the score to 17 – 0 midway through the third quarter.

On the Cooke side I was pleased to see the pairing of Cáolinn McCormack and Naomi McCord in second row, two youngster I’ve a lot of time for, and it wasn’t long before McCord showed the class that Ulster has been missing, for a few season now, with a powerful run from midfield to score the bonus point try under the posts. Morton added the extras to give Cooke a 24 – 0 lead.

As you would expect from a team coached by Hayes, the young Ballincollig side refused to lie down and to their credit they worked two tries before the game ended. Outside centre Jayne Pennefather finished off a powerful run down the left for the first before Katelyn Fleming, who caught the eye throughout the game, battled her way over a crowded try line for their second with the last play of the game. Neither were converted but there were plenty of positives for the visiting side despite the 24 – 10 loss.

COOKE: Teah Maguire, Georgia Boyce, Dolores Hughes, Tamzin Boyce, Amanda Morton, Hannah Kilgore, Ilse van Staden, Beth Cregan, Aishling O Connell, Sorcha Mac Laimhin, Naomi Mc Cord, Katie Hetherington, Lesley Megarity, Helen McGhee. Replacements: Fiona McCaughan, Katie Kerr, Cáolinn McCormack, Hannah Allen, Eimear McQuillan.

BALLINCOLLIG: Lauren Fahey, Alison Kelly, Jayne Pennefather, Mona Fehily , Michelle Stafford, Kelly
Griffin, Gemma Lane, Alix Cunneen, Clodagh Walsh, Clare Coombes, Sarah O Donovan, Gillian Coombes, Eimear Perryman , Katelyn Fleming, Eimear Minihane. Replacements: Roisin Ormond, Naoise Murray, Laurileigh Baker, Kira Fitzgerald , Olivia Hay Mulvihill, Christine Arthurs, Gerda Coyne.

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