Youth Day Blitz at Ladies U19 League Final

A fine Sunday morning in Armagh saw a number of teams from across Northern Ireland and Co. Donegal compete in an u16s Junior Blitz in the lead up to the u19 League Finals. The aim of the day was participation and so clubs were encouraged to bring along any u16s players that were interested and some teams were combinted to allow everyone to play giving the stars of the future to show their skills in a number of rugby and tag games allowing girls of all skill levels to compete.

The day commenced with the Letterkenny/Donegal team competing in a tag match against home side, Armagh. Armagh showed that as they progress to the contact game they will be a force to be reckoned with as they showed great ball handling and general movement to marginally win the game. At the same time Bangor competed against the Malone/Carrick team in a contact game showing of some excellent tackling and rucking skills.

The Virgina/Harlequins team then had their chance to show off their skills against Armagh in tag however were marginally beaten before completing in a contact game against Letterkenny/Donegal which saw the Virginia/Harlequins team score a number of well worked tries.

The Bangor team then completed against Malone/Carrick and showed themselves to be an extremely well drilled team with excellent defensive skills and communication on the field that many senior teams are unable to achieve.
Following their defeat of the Malone/Carrick team, Bangor came up against the Virginia/Harlequins team who showed no fear against the well drilled team. An excellent tackle first up saw the Virginia/Harlequins team play with confidence and score a number of tries including 'Best Try of the Day' to Virginia's number six.

The final game of the day saw Virginia/Harlequins take on the newly dubbed 'Carlone' team. The rivalry between Virginia and Malone in all levels of the junior game ensured that it would be a tense battle and the game did not disappoint. The Virginia/Harlequins team drew first blood through a well worked try between the scrum half and out half before Malone drew level. Harlequins player, Charlie May scored a try with a strong run right before the end of the game to see Virginia/Harlequins win the game.

Congratulations to Armagh who won overall - undefeated - and also to the Virginia/Harlequins team who won all their contact games! A big thank you to all the teams that came along - next seasons u16s competition promises to be very competative!

Following the u16s Blitz saw Letterkenny/Donegal take on Enniskillen in an u19s game. Letterkenny/Donegal started out well but the strength and experience of the Enniskillen team soon surfaced. Sporting a number of players who have been playing at Senior level - despite still being u19s - the Skins were able to show why they will be a force in the All Ireland League next season. With tries to Eimear Corrigan, Ashleigh Baxter, Aoibhan, Sarah Teague who scored twice as well as 5 successful conversions the game ended 45 - 0 to the Skins.

The Final of the u19s league saw the old rivalary between Virginia and Malone revived - both teams have featured in the finals of the u19s league frequently in past seasons. In a tightly fought match in which both teams scored some well worked tries, Malone was eventually victorious following a break by Nicky Caughey who ran almost 80 metres to score in extra time and secure the title.

Congratulations to both teams for their continued success in the u19s league but of course to Malone for their well deserved victory!