Waterford duo Ellen Boylan and Brianna Heylmann marked their Vodafone Women's Interprovincial Championship debuts with second half tries as defending champions Munster ran out 41-14 bonus point winners over Ulster. Murray Houston's first game in charge of Ulster saw them produce a strong performance across the opening hour at City of Armagh RFC, with Maebh Clenaghan's 55th-minute try reducing the arrears to 10 points. However, Niamh Briggs' side sealed the result through closing scores from replacements Boylan and Heylmann, and Vodafone player-of-the-match Stephanie Carroll also completed her hat-trick late on.
Munster had led 17-7 at the end of a tightly-contested first half, with Ella Durkan's converted try briefly having the hosts ahead in between two Carroll five-pointers. Clodagh O'Halloran crossed in the 36th minute to extend the visitors' advantage. The closing 40 minutes saw Deirbhile Nic a Bháird, a real game breaker during last season's tournament, have the desired impact off the bench for seven-try Munster.
They are back at Musgrave Park next Saturday to play Connacht, while Ulster take on Leinster at Energia Park. Ulster offered some early promise in the Armagh sunshine with Fiona Tuite and Sadhbh McGrath punching holes in the visitors' defence, yet Munster were able to score from their first visit to the opposition 22. Despite Maeve Liston dealing well with an initial kick through, Durkan fumbled a pass near the Ulster whitewash, under pressure from Aoife Doyle, and the latter's wing colleague Carroll was able to ground the loose ball for a five-nil lead.
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