Match Report: AIL Round 4 Double Header at Ollie Campbell Park

Energia All-Ireland League – Round 4 at Ollie Campbell Park

AIL Women: Old Belvedere 34 – 13 Wicklow
AIL Men: Old Belvedere 12 – 34 Clontarf
Saturday, October 25th

It was another busy weekend of AIL action at Ollie Campbell Park, with both our Senior Women and Men lining out for Round 4 of the Energia All-Ireland League in front of a strong home crowd.

 

Old Belvedere’s Women secured their second win of the season with a composed 34-13 victory over Wicklow under the lights at Ollie Campbell Park. The result lifts Fiona Hayes’ side to fifth in the table and highlights the growing cohesion within the squad as the season gathers momentum.

Centre Robyn O’Connor opened the scoring inside the first minute, breaking through tackles to dot down beside the posts for her first AIL try in black and white. Wicklow hit back quickly through Roisin Stone, but Belvo soon reasserted control.

Ireland international Ivana Kiripati powered over from the edge of the 22 to restore the lead, followed soon after by Katie Whelan, who finished smartly out wide after slick handling through the backline. Ellie O’Sullivan Sexton kept the scoreboard ticking, adding three conversions and a penalty to give Belvo a 22-10 advantage at the break.

Wicklow narrowed the gap briefly through a Beth Roberts penalty, but Belvo’s attacking intent didn’t fade. O’Connor bagged her second try of the evening after a sharp break from Brooke Gilroy, and Sinéad Farrell rounded off the scoring late on following powerful carries from Kiripati and captain Lesley Ring.

O’Sullivan Sexton finished with 11 points from the tee, while Alisha Flynn, Hazel Simmons, and Emily Byrne impressed up front. The win reflects a team continuing to find its rhythm under Hayes and assistant coach Niamh Ní Dhróma, showing plenty of balance between experience and new energy throughout the squad.

Earlier in the day, our Senior Men faced defending champions Clontarf in a hard-fought Division 1A encounter that saw the visitors take a 34-12 bonus point win despite a strong first-half effort from Belvo.

Ryan McMahon opened the scoring with a powerful finish from close range, his third try of the campaign, converted by David Wilkinson. The defending champions hit back through Dylan Donnellan, who continued his prolific try-scoring run, before Luke McLaughlin crossed from a maul to reclaim the lead at 12-8.

A late first-half try from Connor Fahy swung the advantage back Clontarf’s way, and they led 15-12 at the break. Belvo threatened early in the second half, but a yellow card proved costly as Tadhg Bird and Alex O’Grady added further tries for the visitors. Peter Maher sealed the result with a final score in the closing stages.

Despite the defeat, there were encouraging moments for Quenton O’Neale’s side, particularly in the first half where they matched Clontarf physically and created several scoring opportunities. The team remains competitive in their first season back in Division 1A, showing the work rate and structure to trouble any opponent in the weeks ahead.

Next Up:
Our Senior Men face Young Munster away this Saturday, followed by the Senior Women travelling to Tullow on November 8th.

Both teams return home on November 15th for a big double header: Women vs Ballincollig and Men vs Lansdowne at Ollie Campbell Park.