Final quarter comeback sees Wolfhounds defeat Clovers in Celtic Challenge

Wolfhounds 21-15 Clovers

The Clovers led for over an hour of a fiercely-contested Celtic Challenge opener at Musgrave Park, but a trio of final quarter tries saw the Wolfhounds take the spoils with a 21-15 win.

It was nip and tuck throughout a defence-dominated first half, the only score coming late on when the Clovers' maul exploded into life and impressive 18-year-old hooker Beth Buttimer crossed to make it 5-0.

The Connacht-Munster selection, coached by Ireland Women's scrum coach Denis Fogarty, added a second unconverted try when replacement scrum half Ailsa Hughes sniped over following another dominant lineout drive.

Inspired by captain Hannah O'Connor and the excellent Aoife Wafer, Neill Alcorn's Wolfhounds turned the tables with a run of scores from Ireland forwards Linda Djougang (63 minutes), Sarah Delaney (69), and Eimear Corri (77) to push ahead.

Nikki Caughey, the Energia All-Ireland League's top points scorer this season, converted all three tries to steer the Leinster-Ulster side to victory in this historic derby clash. Clara Barrett claimed a last-minute Clovers try from a Méabh Deely (below) cross-field kick.

The Wolfhounds face their first away trip of the competition when they play Edinburgh next Saturday (kick-off 2pm). The Clovers will look to bounce back against Wales' Brython Thunder at Energia Park (kick-off 2.30pm).

Amid a scrappy opening spell, Aoife Corey and Kayla Waldron combined to force a turnover penalty for the Clovers before a move broke down and Aoife Dalton countered back up past halfway.

Ulster duo Brittany Hogan and Sophie Barrett showed their handling skills to bring the Wolfhounds into the opposition 22, but a slight knock-on denied O'Connor a try at the end of a free-flowing attack.

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