Men’s Interprovincials wide open as Leinster & Munster set to do battle in Women’s Finale

Munster and Leinster will both be hoping to secure a memorable double at the Men’s and Women’s Interprovincial Championships finale tomorrow after another exciting day in Knightsbrook.

The Munster Women’s team will face off against their Leinster counterparts in a winner-takes-all affair, whilst the Men’s Championship remains wide open.

On the second day of play of the Women’s Championship in Meath, Munster followed up their opening day triumph over Ulster with a 6.5-2.5 success against Connacht. Despite a strong 6&5 win for the formidable pair of Anna Dawson (Tramore) and Valerie Clancy (Killarney), who opened their account with a 5&3 win yesterday, the match with Connacht was all square heading into the afternoon singles.

In the top singles match, Ballinrobe’s Shannon Burke impressively overcame Aine Martin (Kanturk) 5&4 in what turned out to be the only point of the afternoon for those in green, as Caitlin Shippam (Ballykisteen), Aideen Walsh (Lahinch) and Lucy Grattan (Tralee) joined Dawson and Clancy on the winning trail, each picking up full points, with no matches reaching the 17^th.

In the other Women’s match, it was Ulster who took an early 2-1 lead after foursomes wins for Holly Hamilton (Belvoir Park) & Molly O’Hara (Clandeboye) and Louise Coffey (Malone) & Maeve Cummins (Lurgan). Coffey continued her excellent form with a dominant 5&4 win against Libby Fleming (Kilkenny), but once again no points were to follow for the victor of the top singles match.

Anna Abom (Edmondstown) and Isabella Stewart (Woodbrook) backed up their important morning foursomes win with singles successes, with Rachael McDonnell (Elm Park), Ellen O’Shaughnessy (Co.Louth) and Ciara Casey (Hermitage) following suit, to claim a 6-3 win for Leinster and setup a mouthwatering matchup with Munster tomorrow. Both teams go into the clash with two points, but Munster are ahead 12-11.5 on Match Points and so lead the standings.

Meanwhile an exciting final day lies in store in the Men’s Championship, as all four regions have secured a solitary point whilst only one Match Point separates 1^st from 4^th in the standings.

Today Connacht were looking to bounce back after their opening loss to Ulster, but their quartet of morning foursomes with Munster were shared 2-2, leaving everything to play for in the afternoon. Through the first four singles matches the spoils were shared in what was a remarkably tight contest, but it was Cathal Penny (Athenry) and David Shiel (Enniscrone) who secured narrow victories in the final two singles matches to give Connacht a slender 6-5 win over those in red.

Elsewhere, five-in-a-row chasing Leinster came into their matchup with Ulster knowing nothing less than a win would keep their hopes alive after their opening defeat to Munster, but they didn’t have it all their own way. Keith Egan (Carton House) and Patrick Keeling (Roganstown) may have kicked things off with a win in the first match out, but the home side would go into the afternoon singles tied up at two points apiece after Fionn Dobbin (Malone) & Darcy Hogg (Belvoir Park) claimed the last of the foursomes points for the Ulstermen.

With seven points on offer in the afternoon, Leinster’s strength in depth shone through as Thomas Abom (Edmondstown), Gerard Dunne (Co.Louth), Patrick Curran (Edmondstown) and Dylan Keating (Seapoint) all delivered when required to help those in navy land a 6.5-4.5 success over their Ulster rivals.

With Leinster and Connacht coming back from their opening defeats against Munster and Ulster respectively, the stage is set for a thrilling finale tomorrow in Knightsbrook, as any one of the four involved could be raising silverware come Friday evening.

The final day action gets underway from 8am with the Women’s matches swiftly followed by the Men’s at 8.24am.

View tee times and scores here

Day 3 Fixtures:

Women’s