J1 side lose to St. Mary’s

ENNISCORTHY TRAVELLED to Templeville Road on Sunday to kick-off 2020 with an away J1 game against St. Mary’s.

In the first leg of this fixture last November, St. Mary’s scored a last-minute try to win the game by two points, and as a result Enniscorthy had good reason to believe they could turn the tables.

Right from the off, St. Mary’s looked to spread it wide and some good hands saw them cross in the corner.

Following the first try, Enniscorthy were caught again on their own re-start when some sloppy defending was punished by Mary’s to make it 10-0 after ten minutes.

Enniscorthy knuckled down and started to play some nice rugby. They got a penalty and Michael Farrell kicked the points.

With their tails up, Enniscorthy were right back in this game. A great inter-play by Jack Kelly and Michael Farrell saw the latter go in under the posts.

Scores went back and forth then, with Luke Cummins adding Enniscorthy’s second try, again coverted by Michael Farrell. The half-time score was 24-17 to St. Mary’s.

Buoyed by this, Enniscorthy came out with great endeavour in the second period, but they just could not match the way St. Mary’s threw the ball around, and the home side scored a further two tries.

Michael Farrell scored a try with ten minutes to go, and this gave Enniscorthy a chance to get a losing bonus point.

However, try as they did, they couldn’t get over the line again. This team has plenty to offer, and with a slight improvement in tackling and defence, they will give any team a good game.

They will go again this Saturday in Alcast Park at 2.30 p.m.

Enniscorthy: John Nolan, Jamie Barron, Pat Doyle, Joe Carley, Ryan Cahill, Harry McCafferty, Lee Treacy (capt.), Luke Cummins, Conn Kavanagh-Morris, Jack Kelly, Evan Kelly, Michael Farrell, David Shore, Cian Wickham, Adam Gethings, Gavin Redmond, James Manning, Oisín Cullen, Bradley Collier, Jack Freeman.