IRELAND retained the Wheelchair Celtic Cup on Saturday after recording the two biggest wins in their history at Cardiff’s Archers Arena.
Playing in the second and third match of the day, Ireland opened with a 92-20 win over Scotland, which was a record points haul, try (18) and victory margin (72), and followed that up with a 66-10 win over Wales, their second highest win.
Wales won the day’s other game, taking first blood in the competition with a dramatic 62-54 win over Scotland.
The Welsh were never behind but were pushed to the limit by a hard-working Scottish side who did not throw in the towel.
Stuart Williams took just 55 seconds of his comeback to give Wales the lead, converted by Scott Trigg-Turner, and Jodie Boyd-Ward brilliantly added a second in the corner.
Scotland got back into the game on seven minutes through a John Willans try and goal, but Wales increased their lead with tries from Williams and Alex Powell with Trigg-Turner converting both.
Again Scotland fought back, this try from skipper Connor Blackmore that Wilians improved.
Trigg-Turner got a try of his own with Williams following him, Trigg-Turner adding a further goal to give Wales a 20-point lead.
But Scotland fought back and were just 32-30 down at the break thanks to tries from Calum Davidson, Willans and Dave Hill, all converted by Willans.
It took 23 seconds for Alex Powell to get the first try of the second half for Wales, with captain Jodie Boyd-Ward adding the next and Trigg-Turner converting both for a three-score cushion.
A half-the-length sprint from Davidson, along with a Willans goal, put Scotland back in the game again, but Powell’s hat-trick try and Trigg-Turner’s seventh goal addressed the balance.
Trigg-Turner got the next two tries and goals to put Wales into a 62-36 lead with 15 minutes remaining.
Scotland kept going but just fell short at the end. A Blackmore try got them back into the game, Sarah Devlin grounded for a try on her debut, then came a try from a penalty by Dave Hill as Willans converted all three.
After that encounter, Scotland went into game two facing a fresh Ireland side who dominated from the start with Joe Calcott giving them the lead in the third minute.
By half-time it was 60-0, but Scotland were first over in the second half with Blackmore grounding and Willans converting.
They did manage another three tries, through Fulton, Blackmore and debutant Mark Robertson, with one Davidson goal, but Ireland ruled most of the game.
Calcott ended up with a hat-trick of tries and three goals with Pete Johnston adding to his healthy Celtic Cup haul with three tries and seven goals.
Cian Horgan managed a fantastic five tries, Toby Burton-Carter went over for three, with James McCarthy and Tom Martin each managing a brace.
Ireland showed no signs of fatigue against Wales. Calcott scored their first two tries, scoring in the seventh and 14th minutes, converting the second himself.
Wales hit back a few minutes later when Stuart Williams reached out well for a try that Scott Trigg-Turner improved.
But Ireland increased their lead with unconverted tries from Oran Spain and Mel Griffith to go into an 18-6 lead.
Griffith sailed over again soon after her first, with Johnston adding the goal, before a further Calcott try put the score onto 28-6 at the break.
Burton-Carter increased Ireland’s lead with an early second half try with Johnston converting before adding a try of his own.
And despite a few limited periods, Wales couldn’t get back into the game, as the Irish completely took control.
Skipper Calcott added a further three tries – taking his tally to six in the game and nine for the day – and another goal, whilst Horgan got a second-half brace.
But the final word went to Wales with a Mark Williams try.
WALES 62 SCOTLAND 54
WALES
7 Stuart Williams (North Wales Crusaders)
10 Mark Williams (Torfaen Tigers/Wigan Warriors)
2 Scott Trigg-Turner (Torfaen Tigers/Wigan Warriors)
9 Alex Powell (Torfaen Tigers/Hereford Harriers)
5 Jodie Boyd-Ward (Leeds Rhinos) (C)
Subs
3 Lee Sargent (Cardiff Blue Dragons/Hereford Harriers)
4 Jess Booth (North Wales Crusaders) (not used)
8 Brogan Evans (North Wales Crusaders/Salford Red Devils)
Tries: S Williams (1, 12, 28), Boyd-Ward (4, 47), Powell (14, 41, 51), Trigg-Turner (19, 58, 64)
Goals: Trigg-Turner 9/11
SCOTLAND
11 John Willans (Edinburgh Giants)
1 Calum Davidson (Edinburgh Giants)
22 Connor Blackmore (Edinburgh Giants) (C)
4 Dave Hill (Edinburgh Giants)
7 Sarah Devlin (Edinburgh Giants)
Subs (all used)
14 Hamish Douglas (Edinburgh Giants)
12 Olivia Fulton (Edinburgh Giants)
6 Calum Japes (Castleford Tigers)
Tries: Willans (7, 38), Blackmore (16, 67), Davidson (33, 49), Hill (40, 72), Devlin (69)
Goals: Willans 9/9
Half-time: 32-30
Referees: Adam Rigby, Jake Brook (both England)
SCOTLAND 20 IRELAND 92
SCOTLAND
11 John Willans (Edinburgh Giants)
1 Calum Davidson (Edinburgh Giants)
22 Connor Blackmore (Edinburgh Giants) (C)
12 Olivia Fulton (Edinburgh Giants)
6 Calum Japes (Castleford Tigers)
Subs (all used)
3 Martin Dougan (Rochdale Hornets)
4 Dave Hill (Edinburgh Giants)
10 Mark Robertson (Edinburgh Giants)
Tries: Blackmore (42, 68), Fulton (51), Robertson (73)
Goals: Willans 1/2, Davidson 1/2
IRELAND
6 Toby Burton-Carter (Leinster/Wigan Warriors)
14 Peter Johnston (Argonauts)
5 Mel Griffith (Leinster/Wigan Warriors)
9 Joe Calcott (Connacht/Halifax Panthers) (C)
11 James McCarthy (Munster)
Subs (all used)
4 Tom Martin (Ulster/Halifax Panthers)
3 Jack Shannon Cole (Leinster)
2 Cian Horgan (Munster)
Tries: Calcott (3, 22, 28), Burton-Carter (5, 11, 17), McCarthy (15, 79), Johnston (19, 57, 71), Martin (31, 78), Horgan (34, 37, 40, 45, 62)
Goals: Johnston 7/13, Calcott 3/5
Half-time: 60-0
Referees: Matt Ball (England), Harry Jones (Wales)
WALES 10 IRELAND 66
WALES
7 Stuart Williams (North Wales Crusaders)
10 Mark Williams (Torfaen Tigers/Wigan Warriors)
2 Scott Trigg-Turner (Torfaen Tigers/Wigan Warriors)
9 Alex Powell (Torfaen Tigers/Hereford Harriers)
5 Jodie Boyd-Ward (Leeds Rhinos) (C)
Subs (all used)
3 Lee Sargent (Cardiff Blue Dragons/Hereford Harriers)
11 Jonathan Gill (North Wales Crusaders)
1 Jakub Wasieczko (North Wales Crusaders)
Tries: S Williams (17), M Williams (77)
Goals: Scott Trigg-Turner 1/2
IRELAND
6 Toby Burton-Carter (Leinster/Wigan Warriors
5 Mel Griffith (Leinster/Wigan Warriors)
1 Oran Spain (Leinster)
4 Tom Martin (Ulster/Halifax Panthers)
9 Joe Calcott (Connacht/Halifax Panthers) (C)
Subs (all used)
2 Cian Horgan (Munster)
7 Phil Roberts (Connacht/Wigan Warriors)
14 Peter Johnston (Argonauts)
Tries: Calcott (7, 14, 38, 57, 63, 69), Spain (22), Griffith (27, 31), Burton-Carter (41), Johnston (47), Horgan (65, 71)
Goals: Calcott 2/6, Johnston 5/7
Half-time: 6-28
Referees: Jake Brook, Matt Ball (both England)
