Challenge Games: A small piece of history was written yesterday at Westmanstown, Co Dublin, as the Garda women's rugby team and their Defence Force counterparts squared up to one another for the first time.
Their male colleagues have been going head to head for a number of years, as they did again yesterday, but it was the women's match which preceded it that grabbed the attention. In wintry conditions and on a heavy pitch the sides managed to serve up a captivating game that finished 5-5.
"We only got the girls together (for training) for the first time yesterday," explained the Forces' manager Johnny Molloy. "Considering that, what we saw out there from both teams was fantastic. They've got great commitment and I don't see any reason why this can't become an annual fixture."
The high standard of play was all the more laudable considering approximately one third of the participants had never played a competitive rugby game beforehand. At the other end of the scale was Sue Ramsbottom, an Irish international and Gaelic football All-Ireland winner with Laois.
Ramsbottom helped set up the opening try for the Defence Forces' Gillian Morrissey after 27 minutes but Clár Quirke's touchdown eight minutes from time grabbed a deserved draw for the Garda.
In the men's game, Garda triumphed 14-8. Garda's Alan O'Donnell and the Defence Forces' Emmet Harney traded a try apiece, but it was John O'Neill's contribution of three penalties to Bernard Behan's one that made all the difference.
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