The PortDara girls haven't had a game since their cup final victory over Wicklow before Christmas, so this was an ideal game to dust off the cobwebs and test
themselves against a Connacht U18 development squad. The Connacht girls were competing for places on their provincial team later in the year so there was nothing
friendly about the intent.

The PortDara back-three of Clodagh Burke, Holly Bale and Alanna Fitzpatrick were the brightest combination on the pitch in the early exchanges and it was
no surprise when after 10 minutes Alanna returned a poor clearance kick from the Connacht out-half by beating the defence to score the opening try.
Five minutes later a clever kick from Amy Rushden in behind the Connacht defence was gathered by Holly Bale. A few phases later Alanna Fitzpatrick has a
clear run in to score her second and put PortDara 10 points ahead. After the water break Connacht finally got some territory and after a few penalties were
concede the Connacht pack crossed the line for their first score.
The PortDara midfield pairing of Eadaoin Murtagh and Roisin Kehoe were quick off the line all day and was rewarded after 24 minutes of the half when Eadaoin
intercept a mid-field pass on the half-way line and ran in unimpeded to touch down under the posts. Amy obliged with the extra points putting 12 points between
the teams.
A new combination in the front row of Aoife Thompson and Megan Farrell either side of Sarah Delaney at hooker won the scrum confrontation with a couple of
against the head wins, showing the depth in this squad.
The regular second row combination of Blaithnead Smith and Alice Cross were as solid as ever and in the back row the combination of Saoirse Murtagh and
Orla McDonald dominated the breakdown, well supported by Allana Fraiser who was comfortably the best line-out performer on the day.
Just before half-time Connacht scored an almost carbon copy of their first try when their pack again took advantage of a quick tap-and-go
penalty to score near the posts. A good conversion left the score 17 12 at the break

Half Time: Connacht 12 PortDara 17

In the second half Elanor Scully replaced her older sister Mairead at scrum half and the change was seamless - out half Amy Rushden would not have noticed
any change given the continued quick ball she received. However, it was Connacht who got the better of the early exchanges in the second half as new centre
pairing of Kate Eacrett and Evie Dickinson settled in. Two tries in less than 10 minutes before the water break gave Connacht a 5-point lead.
The introduction of fresh forwards Shauna Bryan and the excellent ball carrier Ruth Whittle put PortDara back on the front foot again as they
camped inside the opposition's 22. The pressure eventually told in the 24th minute when Holly Bale caught a Connacht goal-line drop out returning it to
within 10 meters of the line before Ruth took it on to within inches of the line. Holly followed it up and popped it down from close range.
After the missed conversion from the touch-line it was all level at 22 points each. Replacement winger Ava Kenny was unlucky on a number of occasions out wide
when she just failed to get around the last defender but was heavily involved in the last score of the game when following excellent defence from the PortDara
back-line resulted in a loose ball that Alanna Fitzpatrick took full advantage of to score under the posts following a waving run from midfield.
Amy Rushden converted and PortDara saw out the last 3 minutes with ease to record a good win.

Full Time: Connacht 22 PortDara 29

Squad: Alanna Fitzpatrick, Clodagh Burke, Roisin Kehoe, Holly Bale, Amy Rushden, Mairead Scully, Aoife Thompson, Sarah Delaney, Megan Farrell, Blaithnead Smith,
Alice Cross, Saoirse Murtagh, Alanna Fraiser, Orla McDonald, Shauna Bryan, Ruth Whittle, Elanor Scully, Evie Dickinson, Ava Kenny, Kate Eacrett