Final return a long time coming for UL Bohs captain Pearse

The skipper believes it's high time the Munster club added a 14th title to their record tally.

BACK IN THE BIG TIME: Chloe Pearse of UL Bohemians. Pic: Ben Brady, Inpho

No club has lifted the Energia Women’s All Ireland League trophy more times than UL Bohemian but captain Chloe Pearse feels it is high time the Munster club added a 14th title to their tally.

This Sunday’s match-up against Dublin rivals Railway Union, the first AIL Women’s decider to take place at Aviva Stadium, sees table-topping Bohs meet a team playing its fourth final in succession. Second-placed finishers this season, Railway, led by Niamh Byrne, have won two of those, in 2019 and 2022 but fell at the last 12 months ago, going down 27-7 to Blackrock at Donnybrook’s Energia Park.

For Pearse it is a first return to the final since 2019 and she said: “I think it’s a long time coming. We had a couple of tough seasons where, unfortunately, we were just beaten by better teams (in the semi-finals).

“We haven’t been in an AIL league final since 2019, and I think in that moment, you don’t think it’s going to take five years to get there again, but it did. We’re buzzing to get going on Sunday, delighted to be back to where we like to be anyway."

The Covid pandemic of 2020-21, abruptly ending the 2019-20 campaign and wiping out 20-21, has added to that sense of time passing UL Bohs by, and Pearse spoke about the wait for a return to the final feeling like a long five years for a club which lost 13-8 to Railway in the 2019 decider.

“It has. Like the Covid year was a big one. We were unbeaten then as well, top of the league, and then two games before the season finishes, the whole thing goes up in flames. It’s felt like a long five years when you look at it like that but I suppose it has only been three years really.

“We’d have preferred to be challenging for AILs but we weren’t. Thankfully, we are back doing that now and hopefully we’ll be putting in a good shift on Sunday to try and get it back.” 

With former team-mate and assistant coach Fiona Hayes at the helm this season after a stint with AIL newcomers Ballincollig, Pearse believes Bohs have regained some consistency this term, losing just once in 16 matches to top the division by a point from Railway.

“I think we’ve just had confidence in players, you know, a lot of the team kind of stayed the same from last year. We had a good core group that would have come out of Munster, just girls getting time together, building those cohesive relationships in certain positions, and that seems to have made a difference.

“This season, we just enjoyed it, we had an absolute ball all season and I’m hoping Sunday will be the same.” 

The sense of occasion as the first Women’s final at Aviva Stadium, part of a double-header with the Men’s Division 1A decider between Terenure College and Cork Constitution, is not lost on the UL Bohs captain.

“Absolutely buzzing. I’m here now, and you walk out, and it’s so quiet, but I’m sure it won’t be like that on Sunday. Huge privilege. It’s going to be a really good day for Irish rugby, and Yeah can’t wait, anyone who is thinking about going, get a ticket and come out to it.”