Ladies European Cup Winners Cup Winners 2001

European Glory
Writen by Aoife McCarthy

Well, May finally arrived and brought the Harlequins Ladies Senior Team to Cork Airport, kitted out in matching blue T-shirts, in case there was to be a media frenzy. Apart from the minor glich of several sticks disappearing en route, we arrived safely to the Holiday Inn in Vienna, which was to be the scene of much room-swapping, beer glass-thievery and drunken singing...of course not until after the business of conquering Europe was achieved!! A strictly enforced policy of curfews combined with a daily ration of sunlight (15 minutes!!!) was surely the key to our success.

- Victory is ours! -

Sweden didn't know what hit them, and Gibraltar were a slightly tougher task but were dealt with, bringing us into a final against the leaders from the opposite group, Wales.

Wales proved to be strong opposition, but with our posse of red-wearing supporters (who braved the after-effects of Austrian Beer and Jenga on a daily basis), and nine months of Bernie's sessions, shuttles and bleep tests behind us, a 5-0 victory was achieved, giving us the title of European Champions.

The day was certainly ours, and the Player of the Tournament (Rachel Kohler), Top Goal-Scorers of the Tournement (Karen O'Brien and Marisa Aherne) and unofficially we undoubtably had the Management Team (Bernie Heffernan, Alan O'Driscoll, Tricia Lane, and Barry Lane) and Captain (Karen O'Sullivan) of the Tournament.

Champagne popped, cameras flashed, tears flowed and blasts of 'The Mighty Quin' resonated throughout the glorious day. With only a day to nurse some very very tender bodies and revel in our new-found freedom, we shopped, swam, and got sun-burned before being led, by the Man from Del Monte, back to Harlequins where an evening of burgers, beer, and bar-songs awaited.

Click here to view the Vienna Photo Gallery