"Kilkenny Women Suffer 39-12 Loss to Greystones in Tough Windy Conditions"

Kilkenny RFC 12-39 Greystones RFC

Leinster Womens League Division 3

By Marianne Jordan

The Kilkenny Women’s team traveled to Greystones RFC on Sunday for their latest league match in extremely windy conditions. The wind wreaked havoc on lineouts and passing, with Greystones stealing a Kilkenny lineout early on.

Kilkenny once again dominated in the scrums, with Ella Carroll making a promising break for the try line, but she was isolated and Greystones turned over possession. After a series of penalties against Kilkenny, Greystones crossed the line for the first try, but the wind pushed the conversion wide, leaving the score at 5-0.

Greystones quickly added a second try following some sharp passing, despite Rachel Brickell’s efforts in defense. Kilkenny responded, with Emily Kenny’s smart kick putting pressure on Greystones, leading to a penalty. Although Kilkenny attempted a maul from the resulting lineout, Greystones' defense held firm.

Kilkenny’s first try came when Clara Whelan Fox spotted a gap in the defense to dart through, and Emily Kenny added the conversion to make it 10-7. However, Greystones struck back soon after, with their number 10 creating a try through quick hands, extending the lead to 15-7. Penalties continued to disrupt the game, and Greystones were warned by the referee, though Kilkenny struggled to build momentum as frequent scrums slowed the pace.

In the second half, Kilkenny started strongly but lost possession after a turnover at the ruck. Greystones capitalized on a scrum penalty near Kilkenny’s 5-meter line to score another try, which was converted, bringing the score to 22-7. A yellow card for Kilkenny reduced them to 14 players, and Greystones took advantage, kicking a penalty to push the score to 25-7.

Spotting gaps in Kilkenny’s defense, Greystones added two more tries to extend their lead to 37-7. Despite the tough battle, Kilkenny kept fighting, and after Greystones were finally shown a yellow card, Lieke Hoban powered over the line for a consolation try. The match ended 39-12, with both teams showing plenty of competitiveness throughout.