UCC Women have had an impressive few months of growth since the 2025/26 season kicked off. The semester began with over 70 players registered and we hit the pitch running with two teams entered into Munster’s Twilight 10s Blitz held in MTU Cork on the 1st of October under the guidance of Captain Brighid Twohig and Vice Captain Sinéad Barron.

Our SSI Division 2 League campaign began with a 48-19 win at home at the Farm against University of Galway which saw 12 new caps for UCC! Following this win and looking to get some game time for the extended squad we were delighted to head to Dolphin RFC for a training game. Not often we have the opportunity to rotate our entire squad at halftime and give over 30 players a good run out!

We were back to SSI action a week later with an away win against SETU Carlow (21-38). It’s never an easy game up in Carlow and we’ve developed a bit of a rivalry over the last few years, but the girls returned to Cork having secured their position at the top of the table with one regular league game left to play.

This year saw the addition of regional crossover games to be played alongside the regular SSI league fixtures and UCC were drawn to play University of Limerick at home. A tough game at the Farm against a quality UL team saw UCC fall short with a final score of 24-44 in this Munster derby.

The weather is never our friend this time of year, and there was no better example of that than our final regular season fixture against Queens University Belfast in the neutral venue of De La Salle Palmerston. The rain started falling once our bus left Cork and some say it hasn’t stopped since… The match may not have gone our way (26-5) but it wasn’t enough to knock UCC from the top of the table and see them into the final.

On the 4G Pitch in UL we came up against University of Galway in the SSI Div. 2 League Final. An incredibly competitive game saw UCC in full control in the first half, but a strong Galway comeback after half time finished off with a winning try in the last play saw UCC fall short 29-34. A tough loss for the girls, but no fear of this young team bouncing back after the Christmas break!

There have been plenty of highs in the first half of the season - every year it’s beyond exciting to see so many players taking up rugby for the first time, and to see them progress and enjoy the sport. We’ve also been delighted to welcome first year players from rugby clubs all over the country, some of whom continue to play dual status with the likes of Ballincollig, Dolphin, Bruff, Wexford Wanderers, Ennis, Midleton, Tralee and so on. Before our final against Galway we were delighted to welcome ex-UCC, Munster and Ireland player Helen Brosnan and UCC Director of Rugby Tomás O’Leary to the Pavilion for a jersey presentation, which was definitely a high point of the year so far.

We’re very proud to have seven UCC Sports Scholarship recipients and one Quercus Scholar with us this year - Fia Whelan, Ellie Cournane, Miriam Murphy, Saoirse Brazil Kearney, Aoibheann McGrath, Niamh Crotty, Niamh McCarthy, and Lyndsey Clarke.

Over Christmas we can’t wait to watch current UCC Sports Scholar Aoibheann McGrath along with ex-UCC players Emily Lane and Siobhán McCarthy line out for the Clovers in the Celtic Challenge, expertly coached by one of our own coaches, Leah Lyons!

Thank you to Jack Casey and Tomás O’Leary for their unwavering support this semester, as always. As team manager and now also backs coach, I want to thank our players for a really enjoyable first half of the season, as well as a massive thank you to Tamsin, Leah, Niamh and Helen for keeping the show on the road!

Big things to come from this young team, onwards and upwards for the second half of the season!