Ulster reclaim under-18 crown by drawing with Leinster

Leinster under-16s draw with Munster to win interprovincial title

At the conclusion of the weekend's interprovincial tournaments in Lisnagarvey, Ulster and Leinster took a share of the spoils, the hosts regaining the under-18 title they lost last season, while Leinster retained their under-16 crown.

Since 2000, Ulster had only failed to win the under-18 tournament twice – to Leinster in 2007 and last year – and normal service was resumed yesterday.

By then they had already taken maximum points from their games against Connacht (2-0), Munster (4-1) and South East (7-0), leaving them needing just a draw against Leinster, who had dropped points in a draw with Munster.

Goals from Rhianna Campbell and Jane Kilpatrick, though, gave them a win, Ulster taking the title with a perfect tournament record.

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In the under-16 event it was Leinster who went into their final game having won their first three, beating Connacht (2-1), South East (3-0) and Ulster (2-0), a draw all they needed against Munster. And 0-0 it was, giving Leinster their third title in four years.

On the club front, Pembroke Wanderers gave defending champions UCD a fright at Serpentine Avenue, coming back from trailing 2-0 at half-time to level the game, before the students got a late winner. The teams are level now on nine points, but UCD have a game in hand.

Loreto's 5-2 defeat of Trinity, which included a Sarah Evans hat-trick, moved them up to third, while Hermes rose to fourth after beating Glenanne by the same scoreline.

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan is a sports writer with The Irish Times