Galwegians women enjoyed a Christmas bonus with a well deserved win over Cooke to move closer to the top three in their All Ireland League division one campaign.
A closely-fought 12 - 10 victory at Crowley Park ensured Galwegians retained their fourth place in the league before facing fifth-placed Highfield away on January 10.
After Cooke had potted an early penalty, Wegian flanker Carol Staunton crossed for an opening try, converted by Angela Flaherty. Within the first minute of the second half, wing Heather Cary chased a well controlled Claire Raftery kick before gathering and crossing the white-wash to propel Galwegians to a 12-3 lead. A fortuitous converted Cooke try later in the second half - the only lapse in the Galwegians’ defence - closed the home side’s advantage to just two points. That set up an epic 20 minutes of rugby but Galwegians’ defence, starring Maire Murray and player of the match Emer O’Dowd, never waivered.
Galwegians: A Flaherty; E Durkin; R O’Reilly (C ); K McDonagh; T Fitzgerald; M Murray; C Staunton; E O’Dowd; A O’Callaghan; C Raftery ); M Foley; S Ni Chadhain; E Fritsch; H Cary; S Healy. Subs: S Craig; W Hickey; T Matvei; G Kelly; M Roger; A Lacken; D O’Reilly.
