14/10/2026
KILK U18.5 girls opened their season with an away fixture in Cobh Pirates vs Cobh/Kinsale on Sunday afternoon. Players and management alike wanted to pick up where they left at the end of last season, and hit the ground running and they did just that, with a fantastic team performance in horrendous weather condiitions.
The game saw the debut of 5 of last year's U16 girls (Izzy Hilario, Sorcha O'Sullivan, Nessa O'Donoghue, Faye Sparling O'Riordan and Mary Kate O'Sullivan) along with newcomer Ailbhe Dennison, joining the rest of the girls who featured in last years successful u18.5 girls team.
The team performed excellently as a unit, despite only a handful of training sessions together, and the newcomers looked at home in their positions, especially in the forwards, who worked tirelessly in and out of possession to win good territory and set up good positions for scores themselves and out the back line too.
KILK got of the mark first early, with Cobh/Kinsale responding quickly with their own score and conversion to lead 7-5. KILK regathered and took control of the game from there on in, scoring a number of tries and 3 conversions to take the game 37-7.
A lot of positives to take from the game and bring into training for the next game in 2 weeks vs Ballincollig, again away on the road. Well done also to Melissa McCarthy on her first outing as a coach, and thanks to Kieran Reilly for stepping into the coaching role alongside Melissa and Tony Dunne.
Also thanks to all the travelling support who stayed out in the awful weather conditions to cheer on the girls and special thanks to Martina O'Sullivan for helping with the girls and the kit.
Thanks also to the girls and management of both Cobh & Kinsale for the game, and the warm hospitality given to us all before, during and after the game. Best of luck in the rest of the season.
Special thanks to Tony Dunne for the report.
.5s
