GOREY RUGBY
Gorey 28, Ashbourne 25: Gorey continued their good start to the season when they welcomed the 2018 All-Ireland Cup and Leinster League winners, Ashbourne, to Clonattin on Saturday week.
On a murky day, Gorey just about scraped home with a James Nolan penalty edging the home team in front to the sound of the final whistle and loud cheers from the local support.
It was a close game all through, and Gorey opened the scoring when Ethan Badham touched down after some good play by the pack.
Ten minutes later, Ashbourne drew level with a try, and both conversion attempts were missed.
Within minutes Stephen Duke restored Gorey’s lead when he split the Ashbourne defence to go in under the posts. Stephen Horan added the conversion.
Ashbourne responded well and drew level after Gorey were reduced to 14 men. A kick to the corner saw them maul over for a good try, and Crotty added the conversion, so 12-12 was how it was at half-time.
The opening minutes of the second-half saw Gorey up their game and Stephen Horan restored the lead for the home team.
Ashbourne were not going away and to be fair Gorey made it easy for them with a number of needless penalties proving costly. Over the next eight minutes, two Crotty penalties put Ashbourne in the lead for the first time.
A further yellow card saw Gorey again reduced to 14 and Ashbourne now had their tails up and were applying serious pressure on the home line.
In a concerted attack, Ashbourne moved the ball through the hands, but the ever-alert Stephen Duke stepped up for the intercept and from inside his own ’22 ran the length of the pitch to go in under the posts. James Nolan added the conversion.
The game was in one of those moments and Ashbourne’s response was again swift.
A number of missed tackles proved costly for Gorey, and Ashbourne’s outstanding number 6, Simon Deevy, weaved his way through some wouldbe tacklers to score a fine individual try. Crotty added the conversion to leave the score at 25-22 to Ashbourne.
With ten minutes left, Gorey somehow turned the game on its head as they held their composure to force two crucial penalties deep in Ashbourne’s territory. The first penalty drew them level.
Back Gorey came again with both backs and forwards carrying well as they worked their way into the ‘22. Another penalty saw James Nolan’s final kick of the game restore their lead to 28-25.
Jordan Ahern, Stephen Gardiner and Eoin Walsh were the pick of the forwards, with Stephen Duke, Robert Harrington and man of the match Stephen Horan showing well in the backs.
Gorey: K. Browne, E. Batham, D. Bellanova, S. Gardiner (capt.), T. Jamison, K. Breen, E. Horan, J. Ahern, S. Horan, S. Duke, J. Naughton, J. Nolan, J. Rothwell, C. Power, R. Harrington, E. Walsh, S. Hadden, L. Molloy.
Gorey 13, Ashbourne 7: Gorey J2s’ first home game of the season saw them entertain Ashbourne at Clonattin on Saturday week.
After their loss away to Dundalk the previous week, they were determined to get their season back on track.
Gorey started brightly and some good play took them into the visitors’ ‘22, but Ashbourne defended well and relieved the danger with some good kicks.
In the 20th minute Gorey were awarded a penalty, and Cian Hadden kicked to the corner.
From the resulting line-out, Gorey set and mauled over for Liam Molloy to touch down for his first try at Senior level. Hadden added the conversion.
Minutes later Hadden extended Gorey’s lead when he added a penalty.
In the 35th minute Ashbourne worked their way into the Gorey ‘22 with some strong running by their backs. They moved the ball wide and when Cathal Scannal touched down it was no more than they deserved as they were threatening for long periods of the opening half. Ben Mahon added the conversion, and 10-7 was how it was at the break.
The second-half saw Gorey up their effort and for long periods they kept Ashbourne deep in their half, unfortunately without adding further points.
In the 63th minute, after sustained pressure, Gorey finally extended their lead when Cian Hadden landed a penalty after Ashbourne were penalised.
Gorey continued to press hard but Ashbourne proved difficult to break down, and 13-7 was how it finished after an entertaining game between two well-matched teams.
Gorey had some big performances, with Liam Molloy, Stanley Hadden, Eoin Walsh and captain Will Rothwell showing well in the forwards. Robbie Brooks, Cian Hadden and Arron Davies were the pick of the backs.
Gorey: W. Rothwell (capt.), L. Molloy, R. Deering, C. Reynolds, K. Rothwell, E. Walsh, N. Cousins, S. Hadden, A. O’Brien, C. Hadden, C. O’Keeffe, P. O’Connor, J. Willoughby, T. Martin, R. Brooks, D. Sawyer, A. Davies, L. Kinsella, D. Brohan.
Gorey 36, Carlow 26: The much-anticipated debut of the Gorey Under-18 team took place as a depleted team took to the field against Carlow in the South East League.
Much was expected of this talented panel, but with a number of players unavailable they started with just two substitutes for this opening game.
Gorey kicked off into the wind and the game started at a fast pace. It didn’t take long for Gorey to open their account, as scrum-half Cillian Tomkins kicked cleverly ahead to secure a lineout just inside the Carlow half.
From the line-out the ball was passed out to hooker Cormac Walsh who made a great solo run, beating several Carlow defenders for a fine individual try under the posts.
Full-back Oisín Fortune added the two points to put Gorey 7-0 ahead after five minutes.
Carlow fought back and it needed some big tackles from Gorey’s defence to keep them at bay.
Seán Wafer and Joe Butler made some crucial tackles to thwart Carlow’s progress, but it was only a matter of time, after some stout defending, until Carlow breached the defence for a try (7-5).
A turnover ball by prop Jack Ryan on the half-hour mark released Seán Wafer, who had to escape the attention of two Carlow defenders before touching down for Gorey’s second try (12-5).
Gorey’s penalty count cost them once again, as they were reduced to 14 men when a yellow card sent Mark Boyle to the bin just before half-time.
Rather than simply try to contain Carlow on the re-start, they took the game to them and in a replica of the beginning of the first-half, Cormac Walsh broke free for another fine individual try, leaving defenders floundering in his wake (17-5).
Moments later, Boyle returned to the fray to bring Gorey back to full strength.
Of a fine scrum, Carlow released their outside centre who evaded sev- eral tackles to score a well-deserved try (17-12).
In the 50th minute, Gorey were awarded a penalty within kicking distance of the Carlow posts, but rather than taking the points on offer to extend their lead, they opted to run the ball, and quick hands and a storming run by Mark Boyle got him over for a try. The conversion was narrowly missed, as the wind took the ball away (22-12).
The never-say-die attitude of Carlow had to be applauded as they came straight back at Gorey, pinning them on their own line.
Two penalties to Gorey gave them ample opportunity to clear their lines, but they failed to do so and Carlow capitalised with another try to reduce the lead to a tenuous three points (22-19).
Debutant Joe Burke, in his first-ever rugby game, made a mesmerising run down the left wing, dancing past several Carlow defenders and looking like scoring a certain try, before a lastditch tackle stopped him just short of the line.
The ball was recycled by Gorey and made its way out to Oran Fitzpatrick, playing in an unfamiliar role as flanker, who burst through to score a great try (29-19).
Carlow dug deep to add yet another try to their tally and once again leave just three points separating the sides (29-26).
In one last piece of excellence, with a penalty not too far from the Carlow posts, Gorey again decided to run the ball.
A quick tip by Mark Boyle was followed by an exquisite pass out the back door to Cillian Tomkins, who stepped a Carlow defender before deftly releasing the ball to Seán Wafer for his second and Gorey’s sixth try to leave the final score 36-26.
Gorey: Jack Ryan, Cormac Walsh, Niall Kenny, Joe Butler, Tadhg O’Neill (capt.), Martin O’Loughlin, Oran Fitzpatrick, Mark Boyle, Cillian Tomkins, Gonzalo Sanchez, Andrew Cushen, Seán Wafer, Brian O’Leary, Joe Burke, Oisín Fortune. Subs. - Cian Sullivan, Rhys Slater.