Wanderers win at home
WANDERERS 37 ATHBOY 19
WEXFORD WANDERERS firsts hosted Athboy at Park Lane on Sunday in Division 2B of the Leinster League.
Wanderers’ last outing was two weeks previously away against a strong Athy side where, after a difficult opening period and trailing 17-0 at the interval, they rallied aggressively to narrowly lose 22-19.
As is becoming the custom at Wanderers home games, the Under-8s and Under-9s entertained the crowd before the game and cheered the teams on to the pitch.
Sadly, the game was tragically foreshadowed by the breaking news that Munster head coach and former Ireland and Munster No. 8, Anthony ‘Axel’ Foley, had died suddenly. Players and spectators alike showed their solidarity and sympathy by observing a moment’s silence before the game commenced.
Both sides contested hard from the start and such was the intensity of the performance that it took 15 minutes for the first score to come through centre Colm O Corcora who broke through the Athboy midfield to score under the posts for his easiest conversion of the day.
Five minutes later hooker Graham Grant crashed over in the corner to increase the Wexford lead. Another five minutes passed before Wanderers exploited space out wide to allow winger Robbie Kenny score his first.
And he added a second just before the interval to give Wanderers a 22-0 lead and the four-try bonus point.
In the second period Athboy started to fight back and managed to score two converted tries to reduce the lead as the discipline in the game deteriorated and the visitors’ frustration boiled over.
However, during this period Wanderers managed to keep the scoreline rising with a penalty from O Corcora before Kenny secured his hat-trick and a man of the match performance in the 65th minute.
O Corcora managed to repeat his opening try performance and danced through the Athboy defence for a score under the posts to allow himself the simplest of conversions. The game at this stage was secure and the most Athboy could hope for was a losing bonus point.
However, despite scoring a third try, this eluded them and the game finished 37-19 to Wexford. The Wexford side will certainly take more than the win out of this performance.
The discipline under pressure coupled with good decision-making and communication made this a great game to watch. Next week Wanderers are on the road again and this time the trip to Balbriggan will be a much tougher prospect than last Sunday’s encounter.
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Team: Aidan Stewart (capt.), Graham Grant, Dave Martin, Chris Walsh, John Turner, Tom Brennan, Luke Roche, Darragh Kehoe, Kevin Roche, Eoin Roche, Robbie Kenny, Corey Carty, Colm O Corcora, Liam Barry, Paul Gannon. Subs. - Kevin Birney, James Byrne, Nick Jones, Shea Boggan, Cartaigh Geogeghan.
The Wexford Wanderers second XV hosted Kilkenny on Saturday at Park Lane in their first home league game of the season.
Wanderers’ last outing was the opening round two weeks earlier where they were narrowly beaten by Athy in injury time by two points, and the offered an opportunity to exorcise the memory of that defeat.
Early in the game Wexford were offered a penalty to open the scoring but unfortunately the opportunity slipped wide. Kilkenny got off the mark on ten minutes with a penalty.
The Kilkenny side started to show signs of weariness midway through the first period which Wanderers exploited by sucking in the defenders to the middle of the pitch. Quick handling from the Wexford backs allowed James Bolger to skip into the corner for the opening try.
Ten minutes later Wanderers doubled the score through debutant Callum Murphy who broke through the Kilkenny midfield to score to the right of the posts.
By this stage the weather had started to interfere with proceedings, with torrential rain making conditions impossible for the kickers and any sort of expansive running game. This meant the score at the break was 10-3 in Wexford’s favour.
In the second period Kilkenny tried to push for parity but the home team defended relentlessly. Such was the defensive strength of Wexford that Kilkenny tried to kick their way through the gain line.
The reliable Owen Cardiff on the wing read the situation brilliantly and gathered the kick and immediately counter-attacked. Centre Murphy was on his shoulder and perfectly positioned for the offload which he gathered to score under the posts to give Hudson the easiest conversion of the game.
Kilkenny had one final counter-attack in them and managed to score a try in the corner just before the whistle for a final score of 17-8 to a deserving and dedicated Wexford side.
The result leaves Wexford in a good position in advance of the derby clash with Gorey next Saturday at 7 p.m. at Park Lane. Anyone interested in playing rugby in the Wexford area is welcome to join the club for training on Wednesdays and Fridays at 7.30 p.m.
Team: Bob O’Leary, Seán Redmond, Jason Guerrine, Helmut Burger Smit, Rory O’Connor, Michael McGuire, Nick Jones, Steve Roche, Tom Barry, Tom Hudson, Owen Cardiff, Noel Richards, Callum Murphy, James Bolger, John Gannon. Subs. - Chris Walsh, John Rowe, Reece Moore, Trevor Devereux, Chris Vickery, James Byrne, Kevin Redmond, Craig Hore, Mark Whelan, Dave Kelleher, Dermot Graham.