Leinster ladies retain title after Munster gripper

LEINSTER retained the Ladies Inter-provincial title at Royal Belfast yesterday after an exciting final round of singles matches against great rivals Munster.

Leinster will thank the two Delaney sisters, Tara and Karen, who both halved their matches in dramatic circumstances.

There was nothing between Munster and Leinster all day and they finished all square on 5½ each. Leinster finished the tournament with a superior difference by virtue of an earlier 10-1 victory over Ulster and a 7-4 win against Connacht and the title is theirs again for another year.

In the morning sessions, Leinster and Munster halved the Foursomes matches to set up the all-important battle for the title in the afternoon singles.

Top Leinster pairing of Martina Gillen and Tara Delaney maintained their unbeaten record in a 4/3 win over Tricia Mangan and Catherine Tucker, while Claire Coughlan and Pamela Murphy notched up a vital point for Munster against Sinead Keane and Maria Dunne.

In the other game, hosts Ulster defeated Connacht 8-3 to finish in third place overall.

Ulster took on Connacht in the other morning Foursomes game and came out strong with Helen Jones and Naoimh Quigg on song to beat Sinead O’Sullivan and Darragh McGowan.

This was followed up by a win for Nikki Taggart and Shauna McVeigh. Connacht came back in the third match with a win for Niamh Kitching and Deirdre Walsh over Gemma Hegarty and Nikki Moore.