TUS Midlands crowned champions with thrilling victory

TUS Midlands were crowned champions of the Student Sport Ireland Women’s Rugby Cup Tier 3 after an impressive 26-7 victory over SETU Waterford in Carlow recently.

In extremely challenging conditions, with strong winds and bursts of driving rain throughout, TUS Midlands produced a superb defensive display that laid the foundation for their success, while also taking their chances clinically when they arose.

The Midlanders made the perfect start, striking within the opening minutes through centre Katie Counihan. Deep in Waterford territory, just five metres from the try line, Orna Moynihan initiated the move with a strong run. After going to ground, Moynihan showed excellent awareness to pop the ball up on the blindside, where Counihan reacted quickest before touching down near the posts. Moynihan added the conversion to give TUS an early 7-0 lead.

TUS continued to build momentum and soon added a second try through Ava Cullen-Sweeney, who found herself in acres of space and called for possession. She backed her pace and surged forward to finish superbly in the left corner. Moynihan narrowly missed the difficult conversion.

SETU Waterford got themselves back into the contest with a converted try of their own, their inside centre bursting powerfully through the middle to score under the posts.

However, TUS Midlands finished the first half strongly with another excellent try, this time from No. 8 Mollie Starr. Out-half Maria Gorham carried the ball into contact and intelligently drew in defenders, creating space for Starr to exploit. Starr received a perfectly timed pop pass and charged for the line. Despite being met by two heavy tackles, she showed immense strength and determination to fight through the contact and ground the ball for a superb try which Moynihan converted.

SETU pushed hard to close the gap but were repeatedly denied by a heroic and well-organised TUS defence. The decisive moment came when Counihan struck for her second try. Counihan read the play brilliantly, intercepting a pass and sprinting clear to score a crucial try that effectively sealed the contest. Moynihan again added the points. Despite SETU’s continued efforts, they were unable to break through the resolute TUS defence again, and the Midlanders saw out the game with composure.

There were jubilant scenes afterwards as TUS celebrated a well-deserved victory. It was a particularly special occasion for several players, including Maria Gorham, Mollie Starr, Megan Commins and Niamh Talon, who were playing their final match for TUS. The occasion was made even more meaningful by the return of Aoibhe McMorrow, who made her first appearance since suffering a horrific injury last October.

Head coach Clem Higginbotham, alongside assistants Eoghan McLoughlin and Lar Berrigan, was delighted with the performance and result, which capped off a highly successful season for the squad.