Oviawe marks Ireland call with brace for Connacht

The biggest talking point was the sending-off of Ulster's stand-in captain Brittany Hogan

Connacht’s Faith Oviawe celebrates after the game

Vodafone Women's Interprovincial Championship 3rd-place play-off:

Connacht 33 Ulster 19

Faith Oviawe celebrated her call-up as an Ireland training panellist by helping Connacht to a third place finish, wearing down a Brittany Hogan-less Ulster to close out the Vodafone Women's Interprovincial Championship with a 33-19 play-off victory.

Oviawe touched down in either half at Kingspan Stadium, taking her tournament haul to six tries, but the game's biggest talking point was the sending-off of Ulster's stand-in captain Hogan in the 33rd minute.

She saw red for an apparent tip tackle on Grace Browne Moran, with referee Tomas O'Sullivan ruling there was no mitigation. Ulster also had to cope with first-half yellow cards for centres Catherine Martin and Lucinda Kinghan.

Connacht’s Faith Oviawe scores a try. Pic ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne

Ireland co-captain Edel McMahon and Oviawe cancelled out Sophie Barrett's 14th-minute try to give Connacht a 14-7 half-time lead. Having fought back for a 25-all draw with Connacht a fortnight ago, Ulster rallied superbly again.

Two Abby Moyles tries got them back level at 19-all, sandwiching a classy Hannah Clarke effort, only for the westerners to outlast their hosts thanks to closing scores from player-of-the-match Oviawe (72 minutes) and Béibhinn Gleeson (81).

Scorers for Connacht: 

Tries: Edel McMahon, Faith Oviawe 2, Hannah Clarke, Béibhinn Gleeson; Cons: Nicole Fowley 4 

Ulster:

Tries: Sophie Barrett, Abby Moyles 2; Cons: Abby Moyles 2 HT: Connacht 14 Ulster 7 

CONNACHT: Méabh Deely (Blackrock College RFC); Ava Ryder (Exeter Chiefs), Orla Dixon (Galwegians RFC), Sarah Purcell (Creggs RFC), Hannah Clarke (Tuam/Oughterard RFC); Nicole Fowley (Galwegians RFC) (co-capt), Gráinne Moran (Ballina RFC); Ella Burns (Tuam/Oughterard RFC), Lily Brady (UL Bohemian RFC), Megan Collis (Railway Union RFC), Faith Oviawe (Railway Union RFC), Grace Browne Moran (Galwegians RFC), Béibhinn Gleeson (Tuam/Oughterard RFC), Edel McMahon (Exeter Chiefs), Shannon Touhey Tierney (Tullamore RFC) (co-capt).

Replacements used: Roisín Maher (Galwegians RFC) for Collis (24 mins), Éabha Nic Dhonnacha (UL Bohemian RFC) for Purcell (50), Emily Foley (Ballina RFC) for Deely (54), Stacy Hanley (Galwegians RFC) for Brady, Ellen Connolly (Galwegians RFC) for Burns, May Goulding (Saracens) for Moran, Orla Fenton (Galwegians RFC) for Browne Moran (all 64), Collis for Maher, Poppy Garvey (Sligo Rugby) for Touhey Tierney (both 73).

ULSTER: Lauren Farrell McCabe (Suttonians RFC); Lucy Thompson (Enniskillen RFC), Catherine Martin (Blackrock College RFC), Lucinda Kinghan (Railway Union RFC), Megan Edwards (Old Belvedere RFC); Abby Moyles (Blackrock College RFC), Rachael McIlroy (Queen’s University Belfast RFC); Ava Fannin (Blackrock College RFC), India Daley (Enniskillen RFC/Blackrock College RFC), Sophie Barrett (Enniskillen RFC/Railway Union RFC), Brenda Barr (Suttonians RFC), Cara O’Kane (Cooke RFC), Moya Hill (Enniskillen RFC), Maebh Clenaghan (Queen’s University Belfast RFC), Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC) (capt).

Replacements used: Bronach Cassidy (Queen’s University Belfast RFC) for Fannin (32 mins), Fannin for Barrett, Megan Brodie (Blackrock College RFC) for Cassidy, Stacey Sloan (Cooke RFC) for M Hill (all 54), Barrett for Fannin (65), Paige Smyth (Ballynahinch RFC) for Thompson (69), Christy Hill (Ballymena RFC) for Clenaghan (73). 

Referee: Tomas O’Sullivan (IRFU)