Under-18s march on with cup victory
THE GOREY Under-18s took to the field on Saturday for their second round game in the Leinster D’Arcy Cup after a three-week lay-off. Their opponents were the combined team from Carlow and Tullow.
A bright, dry day greeted both teams with a strong south-easterly wind. Gorey had beaten Carlow earlier in the season in their SouthEast League clash, but now facing the combination of the best of two clubs, no one really knew what to expect.
Carlow/Tullow started the strongest with a bruising try in the opening minutes, and Gorey were showing their ring-rustiness from the last few weeks.
They resorted to their trusted line-out, and Cathal Stokes sent a long ball into the ‘22 which bounced out for touch. From the line-out, the ball was delivered out to Gorey’s strong number 8, Mark Boyle, who went over for a try to even things up a minute later.
Carlow/Tullow came right back at Gorey and only resolute defence, and a few handling errors for the visitors, prevented them from adding to their tally.
The game turned into a real arm-wrestle as the visitors pounded their way up the centre, whilst brave Gorey players threw their bodies on the line in last-ditch defence.
The deadlock was broken 15 minutes later when the Gorey hooker, Cormac Walsh, made a storming run, sitting down several players on his way, before passing out to stand-in scrum-half, Oran Fitzpatrick, who made great ground to place the ball under the posts (14-7).
That’s how the half finished, with Gorey counting themselves lucky to be going in with a lead after a sometimes lethargic performance.
Carlow/Tullow continued as they left off, pummelling their way up the middle of the park, with their large forwards taking the ball into contact for phase after phase. But Gorey now seemed most rejuvenated after the break, as they began to impose themselves and match the visitors for brute strength.
Recently returned flanker, Robert Murphy, made some great breaks, showing the eagerness that a long injury-forced absence had instilled. Now it was Carlow/Tullow’s forwards who found themselves being driven back on their heels.
The visitors were pinned on their own line desperately defending, as Gorey patiently went through phase after phase - twice being held-up over the line.
But it was only a matter of time before Martin O’Loughlin topped off a stellar performance by getting over for the third try (21-7).
Carlow/Tullow were reduced to 14 men when their hooker was red-carded, and Gorey took advantage soon afterwards. A good line-out just outside the ‘22 allowed Gorey to roll a strong maul all the way over to the try line for the captain, Tadhg O’Neill, to put the ball down for their fourth try on the hour mark (26-7).
Gorey were cruising now and began to put together some lovely flowing play that had been absent for most of this game.
Oran Fitzpatrick made a perfectly-timed pass out to Adam Byrne who made some good ground before delivering to Oisín Fortune, and he ran half the pitch past three would-be defenders before placing the ball directly under the posts to make his own conversion a little easier (33-7).
As the clocked ticked toward full-time, Carlow/Tullow to their credit kept Gorey honest and continued to press forward. They were rewarded with a try on the stroke of full-time to leave a final score of 33-14.
There were some outstanding performances, notably from Cathal Stokes who tackled relentlessly as well as kicking cleverly, and the two returning injured players, Martin O’Loughlin and Robert Murphy.
Staunch defence came from the ever-reliable Joe Butler, but for his all-round team-lifting performance, the man of the match goes to Mark Boyle, who led from the front and put in some try-saving tackles at crucial moments.
Gorey will meet Naas on March 9, but next week will resume their Leinster League campaign when they travel to Portlaoise.
Gorey: Niall Kenny, Cormac Walsh, Jack Ryan, Joe Butler, Tadhg O’Neill (capt.), Frank Kavanagh, Martin O’Loughlin, Mark Boyle, Oran Fitzpatrick, Cathal Stokes, Cian Kenny, Adam Byrne, Brian O’Leary, Eoin Canavan, Oisín Fortune. Subs. - Rhys Slator, Carl Johnston, Cian Sullivan, Robert Murphy.