CLUB CALL
ST. JOSEPH’S A.C.
The second day of the Leinster cross-country championships saw athletes from throughout the province head to Adamstown on Sunday where a tough, muddy course awaited them.
The day started with a non-championship race for Under-9 athletes, and St. Joseph’s were represented by Mia Barry, Aisleann Mullally and Kyle Bolger. All ran really well in the biggest race of their lives with Aisleann, in particular, having a great run to finish in eleventh position.
Huge fields in excess of 150 athletes were a feature of the Under-11 and Under-13 races. The boys’ Under-11 race over 1,500 metres saw St. Joseph’s claim an individual medal when Joss O’Connor, taking on the older athletes at Leinster level for the first time, finished in a fine twelfth position.
Next home for St. Joseph’s was James Cummins in 53rd position, followed by Conor Lanigan (109th), Ciarán Cummins (111th), and Niall Cummins (129th).
A fantastic turn-out of seven club athletes stood on the start line of the girls’ Under-11 race over 1,500 metres. Eabha Mullally finished powerfully in 37th place and seventh on the county team which won gold.
Lily Ryan, running out of age, crossed the line in an excellent 67th place and, with Eabha, qualified on the county team for the upcoming All-Irelands.
Keelin Byrne was next home in 107th, followed closely by Kadhla Croke (109th), Caoimhe Barry (110th), Lily Doyle (123rd), bravely finishing with an injured ankle, and Megan Doyle (129th).
In the Under-13 race over a tough 2,500 metres, Grace Glennon ran the race of her life to finish in a superb 15th position and was fourth scorer on the Kilkenny county team which finished second. Not far behind in a crowded finish was Maeve Bookle in an excellent 41st position, with both girls running out of age.
Maeve finished ninth on the Kilkenny county team and thus qualified with Grace to run the All-Irelands in a month’s time. Great battling performances from Áine Purcell and Rachel Foley saw them finish 64th and 103rd respectively, with the club team a creditable seventh.
Danielle Griffin and Jamie O’Connor kept the club flag flying at Under-15 level over a huge 3,500 metre distance. Both were rewarded for fine performances by qualifying for the All-Irelands on successful county teams. Danielle finished 23rd and Jamie was 48th in large fields of runners.
The previous Sunday saw many St. Joseph’s athletes head to Gowran for the county ‘B’ cross-country championships. Individual medals were won by James Cummins, Maeve Bookle, Jamie O’Connor and Katie Bookle. Also wearing the green and white singlet proudly were Kai Chan, Saorlait Mullally, Dervla Ryan, Mia Barry, Ciarán Cummins, Niall Cummins, Kyle Bolger, Barry Furlong, Caoimhe Barry and Eabha Mullally. Stephen O’Connor finished in ninth position in a hardfought county Novice men’s race.
Two weeks after the Dublin marathon, Anita Barry and Tom McDonald took on the Wicklow Hospice marathon in Avondale last weekend. Anita crossed the line in 3:57:30 with Tom not far behind in 4:10:00.
NEW ROSS RUGBY
New Ross 24, Newbridge 3: Sunday was cold but bright in Southknock for the visit of Newbridge who were one place above New Ross at the beginning of this round of Leinster League fixtures.
The visitors got off to the better start, converting a penalty with barely four minutes on the clock. Two minutes later, Newbridge had an opportunity to double their lead but were well wide from the tee before having a third penalty awarded another three minutes later, but this time they elected to kick for touch.
These kicks might have changed the direction of what ultimately transpired as Newbridge flashed the ball around the backs for the next 15 minutes but were unable to make any meaningful inroads through the confident Ross defence.
Indeed, the remainder of the firsthalf was devoid of any significant developments until the 38th minute when good work by the Ross forwards delivered the quick ball the backs were craving, and Eanna Burke sliced back against the grain to go over unopposed under the posts.
Barry Walsh added the additional points, leaving the score at the break 7-3 to the Barrowsiders.
The second-half resumed with Rory Browne scoring his first-ever first team try in the 44th minute after a good line-out take from Tim Coughlan and a solid driving maul involving the entire pack, with Barry Walsh again adding the conversion.
With Ross now getting stronger, dominating the scrum and more confident about moving the ball around, the next period was characterised by big carries from James Ryan and Kyle Roche, with Mick Malone and David Crowdle putting huge pressure on the centre of the Newbridge defence.
In the 57th minute, Ross scored a Barbarians-type try after a great lineout steal on the Newbridge ten-metre line, with smart passing from Barry Walsh to Kevin Burke who sucked the Newbridge defence infield before placing a chip ahead
This popped up beautifully to his brother, Eanna, who pop passed for the onrushing Dean Prendergast to dot down in the left corner.
At this stage, Ross could see opportunities to secure the try bonus point and went seriously in search of it. Several openings were created until Kevin Burke demonstrated great vision and skill to place a crossfield kick just in behind the Newbridge full-back who butchered the take and dropped the ball behind his own line for Seán Crowdle to secure the bonus point and a final scoreline of 24-3.
This was an extremely solid display by the men in red, with no signs of the missed tackles of the previous week. Defence was absolutely unbreachable, being led by massive tackles from David Crowdle, Mick Malone, Shane Roche and Kyle Roche.
The carrying ability of James Ryan and Kyle Roche punched huge holes as they managed to get well over the gain line on every occasion, while Tim Coughlan was imperious at lineout, adding a couple of steals to his own one hundred per cent record on the day.
With so many man of the match contenders and great performances all round, the choice was especially difficult but the decision has gone to Kyle Roche.
GOREY RUGBY
Gorey 76, Barnhall 12: The Gorey Senior ladies travelled to M.U. Barnhall for their Leinster League Division 2 fixture on Sunday.
Gorey got off to the best possible start with two tries in the opening ten minutes from Triona Murray and Lauren Farrell, with Murray also making both conversions.
Barnhall, determined to fight back after Gorey’s strong start, launched an attack but the visitors managed to stand firm in defence and launch a counter-attack which resulted in Róisín Murphy crossing over for her first try which was converted by Triona Murray.
Murray crossed the line for her second try before Barnhall got on the scoresheet. From the re-start Barnhall applied pressure to the Gorey defensive line and, following a strong maul and some strong carries, Aine Dooley got a well-deserved try.
Gorey then went back on the attack and, after some strong carries from the forwards and good hands, Noreen Nethercott crossed over for a try which was converted by Róisín Murphy.
From the re-start Gorey gathered and the ball went wide to Orla Molloy who went on a strong run, beating several defenders and crossing over for the try which was converted by Róisín Murphy.
Barnhall then went on the attack which resulted in a try being scored out wide by Claire Murphy which she also converted.
Before half-time Gorey managed to cross over the try line once more as a result of strong support play. Caoimhe Molloy got the try which was converted by Róisín Murphy.
At the start of the second-half Gorey picked up where they left off in the first, with Georgina Hearn crossing over for a try and Róisín Murphy adding her third try which she also converted.
The rest of the second-half ebbed and flowed, with Barnhall attempting to get on the scoreboard again. However, the Gorey defence held strong and when attacking managed to score two more tries from Denise Deering and Molly Byrne. This brought the final score to 76-12.
Gorey take to the road again next week for a top of the table clash again Garda/Westmanstown. If you want to give rugby a go, training takes place Tuesday and Friday from 7.30 to 9 p.m. at Gorey Rugby Club.
E’CORTHY RUGBY
Enniscorthy 33, Naas 12: The Enniscorthy Under-13s continued their winning ways on Saturday at Ross Road with a 33-12 result versus Naas in their first Leinster League Division 1 match.
The wet ball led to a lot of handling errors and the first six minutes witnessed a lot of knock-ons by Enniscorthy, but to their credit also a lot of turnovers to regain possession and keep pressure on Naas.
This eventually resulted in the blindside flanker, Pádraig Waters, gathering the ball off the back of a ruck and he proved way too strong for the defenders who couldn’t hold him as he scored under the posts about seven minutes into the game. Rhyan Whelan converted to leave the home side 7-0 up.
Naas continued to put pressure on Enniscorthy with some strong kicking, and their ability to move the ball out quickly to the wings led to their first try in the left-hand corner after a good run from the ten-metre line.
Four minutes later Enniscorthy’s Joe Doyle - who had an exceptional game at outside centre - received the ball and despite the attentions of two defenders he scored their second try under the posts.
Just before half-time, Enniscorthy hooker, Jack Whelan, gained possession and mauled over in a great show of strength only to be held up in the corner. From the five-metre scrum Enniscorthy knocked on.
Naas played the advantage and kicked well downfield where the fullback fielded and kicked back upfield where Joe Doyle gathered expertly. From the resulting ruck, second-row Cody Denton made no mistake to score under the posts, leaving Enniscorthy 21-5 up at the break.
After the re-start there were a lot of handling errors from both sides with the greasy ball getting the better of them at times. Jack Kavanagh at flyhalf continued to manage the game well however and, twelve minutes into the second-half, Enniscorthy had the ball up on the Naas ‘22 when openside flanker Cian Dobbs-Doyle received it and handed off several defenders to race into the corner and score the first of two tries.
The second came nine minutes later when full-back Jack Hennessy caught a relieving kick from Naas, rounded several defenders and off-loaded to Cian Dobbs-Doyle who brushed aside the last defender to score right under the posts.
With Rhyan Whelan kicking very well and getting five conversions, Enniscorthy went into the last minute of the game 33-5 up.
Just on the 50 minutes Naas capitalised on some handling errors to run in a good try which was converted by Edward Choiseul to leave Enniscorthy winning their first game of the Leinster League 33-12.
For the winners, Rory Lynch, Cian Dobbs-Doyle and Jack Whelan were very strong in the forwards, while Joe Doyle had a great game at outside centre.
Enniscorthy: Jack Hennessy, Rhyan Whelan (Seán Doyle, 45), Joe Doyle (David Nolan, 45), Robert Chapman (Dylan Purcell, 45), Connell Kelly (Luke Wheelock, 40), Jack Kavanagh (Jason Sheridan, 40), Tommi Cahill (Adam Power, HT), Lee Quigley (Cillian Hanrahan, 35), Jack Whelan (Gavin O’Connor, 45), Eoin Sheridan-Pope (Brian Lett, HT), Cody Denton, Rory Lynch, Pádraig Waters, Cian DobbsDoyle, Dylan Butler.
Enniscorthy 31, Portlaoise 24: This was an enthralling Leinster Under-14 league battle between two evenly-matched teams, with the home boys shading it at the end thanks mainly to their disciplined defensive display.
Enniscorthy got off to the best possible start when, from the opening drop-off, centre Arron Quigley grabbed the ball and ripped the Portlaoise defence apart to score under the posts. James Kalyta added the conversion for a 7-0 lead.
Five minutes later a marvellous break from Kalyta set full-back Darragh Kehoe free down the right wing, and from the halfway line he skinned the visitors’ defence to touch down in the corner.
Portlaoise bounced back, however, to score a brace of tries themselves. Number 8 Marco Byrne picked from the back of a scrum and Arron Quigley was on his shoulder to score the third try, with Kalyta adding the conversion for a 19-14 lead at the break.
Enniscorthy continued to take the game to the visitors and they scored two further tries through Arron Quigley and a brilliant Darragh Kehoe run. James Kalyta added the conversion.
As the clock wound down the home team had to withstand a Portlaoise barrage, as the visitors managed to score two tries to put the result in the melting pot. Enniscorthy, however, defended brilliantly with Conor Walsh, Levi Rozsa, Ian Rigley and Ciarán Doyle to the fore.
The Enniscorthy boys sit proudly on top of section A on points difference ahead of Navan.
Team: Lawrence Power, Aidan Whelan, Conor Walsh, Ian Rigley, Ciarán Doyle, Levante Rozsa, Sam Geraghty, Jude Green, James Kinsella, Liam Byrne, Arron Quigley, James Kalyta, Brian Cronin, Darragh Kehoe. Subs. (all used) - Mark Aspley, Cathal Kennedy, Lee Moore, Mervyn Rogan, James De Lacey, Nathan Murphy.
Wexford Wanderers 27, Enniscorthy 22: Enniscorthy produced a thrilling second-half comeback against Wexford Wanderers at Park Lane on Saturday in the Under-17 league after being 17-10 down at half-time.
Their two try scorers in the opening half were out-half Ben Kidd who made a fine break outside the home team’s ’22, and number 8 Temi Lasisi who picked from the back of a scrum to touch down, but both conversions were missed.
They played some outstanding rugby in the second period, adding two further tries from flying centre Conor Byrne and second row Jake Freeman who touched down the fourth five-pointer, with Kidd adding the conversion to put Enniscorthy 22-17 in front.
Alas, the home team were not to be outdone and they scored two late tries, with the winning one deep in injury time to secure a super win.
Team: Ben Bailey, Jack Saunders, Tom Mannion, Neil Kidd, Jake Freeman, Jim Doyle, Conor Blyth, Temi Lasisi, Con Maher, Ben Kidd, Tadhg Maher, Mickey Nolan, Conor Byrne, Miguel Byrne, Conor Kavanagh-Morris. Subs. used - Gavin Redmond, Odhran French, Jack Kehoe.
Enniscorthy/Wexford 21, Longford 14: The long journey for Enniscorthy/Wexford’s Under-18s to face Longford proved to be a fruitful experience when they came away with a seven-point win.
The win was all the more rewarding as they were 14 points down after 20 minutes before they got their act together. They scored their opening try after a superb break from Cian Wickham was illegally tackled on the line and the referee awarded a penalty try. Mark Power kicked the conversion.
Early in the second-half E/W restored parity when Barry Ryan touched down in the corner and Power kicked a fine conversion.
They really got on top and in the final ten minutes the winning score came from Michael McGinty, with Mark Power adding the conversion for a fine win.
Team: David Afton, Barry Ryan, Steven Hickey, J.P. Farrell, Stephen Hadley, Ryan Hodge, Brian Deeny, Chris Glover, Diarmuid McDonald, Mark Power, Michael McGinty, Danny Ryan, Sebastian Pim, Cameron O’Leary, Cian Wickham.