Tri Nations Report - July 2010

It was an early start on Friday morning for the first departure on the ferry at 8am from Dublin port. There were 3 International teams and 3 club sides bringing a total of 42 horses to Chester all with one common goal…show them Ireland is a country to be reckoned with on the International Polocrosse circuit.

After a smooth crossing on the Irish sea, we drove for just 2 hours before reaching our destination in Mollington, Chester and set up camp. Spirits were high as the teams knuckled down to focusing on the game plan for the weekend ahead. The venue was perfect with 4 neatly cut and lined pitches for play by day and marquee and bar for play by night. There was a constant stream of Irish supporters arriving throughout the day with the last one appearing at 1am from the airport and ready for the party on his arrival… however all the Irish were tucked up in be by this time (much to his surprise!) as it was going to be a big weekend.

The format of the Tri Nations is a combined UK/Wales side playing Ireland in 2 test matches, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. The Juniors had 2 additional games against an Australian state side, New South Wales, who were touring the UK. The Irish juniors were first up on Saturday morning against a very experienced NSW side who had the upper hand right from the start. This did not put the Irish juniors off and fought hard to show they were committed to the end. The final score was 26-6 to NSW.

Their next game against the UK was a different ball game altogether where the Irish juniors came out strong and positive and won convincingly by 23-9. Emily McDonagh and Mark Hall put in great performances in the 1 position pumping through the goals and Emma Errity and Sarah Brandon were solid in defence as 3's.

On Sunday the Juniors played the UK first and knew they had to be ready as the UK had under estimated the Irish first time round. Ireland were up to the challenge and there was nothing in it all the way through the game. The 1's and 3's remained the same as on Saturday and the support they received from their 2's in Ellie Byrne, Shannen Furlong and Jennie Whelan kept them in the match all the way to the final whistle. It was minutes to go and the scores were level so it was to great applause that Emma Errity who was outstanding as a 3 linked up with her 1 Emily McDonagh to score the winning goal to clinch the match for Ireland. The final score was 12-11.

The final match for the Juniors was against New South Wales and it was a tough one where the Australians emerged victorious again. The juniors were not going to let them have it easy and NSW had to fight for every goal. The final score did not reflect the level of commitment that Ireland had put into the match and the NSW juniors are a very experienced side so they did themselves proud over the weekend regardless of the score in the final game.

The Ladies test was up next and they had a battle on their hands right from the start. The UK ladies were a very experienced side and this was clear from the off. The first two chukkas were close enough but then the UK got into their stride and took control. There were strong performances from Avis Wotton and Ruth Shanahan and coaches Tony O'Donnell and Seamus McDonagh continued to make changes on the teams to try and find the winning combinations but the UK were well in their stride and came out on top 28-11.

On Sundays the Ladies came out focused and ready to do battle again. Things were looking good when the combination of Joanne Lavery, Ruth Shanahan and Avis Wotton as 1, 2 and 3 really started to fire and expectations were high. However the UK ladies were not going to give an inch and were quick to capitalise on any mistakes made by the Irish. Their relatively young 1's of Charlotte Pykett and Annie Waterer were supported by the experienced 3's Debbie Harris and Sarah Simkin and they rarely made a mistake which shut down any hope of opportunities for Ireland. The final score of 26-16 was an improvement which was encouraging and best player and horse went to Joanne Lavery who had an outstanding game.

The headline act of both days were the Open mens and Ireland were more than ready for the challenge. Ireland had never beaten the UK on home soil and the most recent measure of the UK team was where the vastly experienced South African team had only marginally beaten the UK in their test against them in 2009. The first few chukkas were goal for goal with both sides quick to capitalise on possession and converting almost every ball they got. Irelands captain, Aidan McDonagh led by example and paired with young player Eoin O'Donnell quickly got into their stride to score some amazing goals. They were followed up by another young player, Seb Chambers as 1 with the experienced Paul O'Leary as 3 and both also proved to be an invincible combination. The final score of 28-19 left the UK side shell shocked as they went back to regroup for the final test on Sunday.

For the second test, coaches Tony O'Donnell and Seamus McDonagh left the team virtually unchanged and the players rewarded them with another outstanding performance. Aidan McDonagh was firing on all cylinders again and Seb Chambers talent of making it look easy would have fooled any inexperienced bystander. Aaron Power and Conor Doyle were 2 more of the young guns to the team and proved invaluable at the 2 position where their work rate was exhausting. James Smyth was given the challenge of stepping up to the mark when positional changes were required to rest tired horses and he showed that Ireland were still unrelentless regardless of what changes were made to players on the pitch. Overall it was a memorable victory where Ireland were quicker in the line outs, quicker to the ball and quicker to mark up in defence. Final score was 30-20 to Ireland with Seb Chambers receiving best player of the tournament.

It was a tired but happy bunch that packed up and made their way back on the ferries late on Sunday night. The club sides had fared well in their own tournament with Carrickmines coming 2nd in C division and in B Division Tipperary were 3rd with Carrickmines 5th and a good weekend was had by all. A big thank you must go to all who managed and supported these squads and made the weekend a success. There is no doubt there were many people involved and we certainly achieved our goal of making a big impression…Roll on the World Cup in 2011 when the Irish will be back!

by Sharon Kennedy

Emily McDonagh (Ireland) on "Janey Mac" being chased by NSW

Ireland Senior Men in the lineout against UK

Elle Byrne (Ireland) on "Fern" takes the ball from the UK

Ireland Juniors line up against the UK

Aidan McDonagh (Captain Irish Men's Team) being chased by the UK