The great rugby escape
Enniscorthy strike late to stun Dundalk in cup
ENNISCORTHY PRODUCED a dramatic late, late show to make it to the Bank of Ireland Provincial Towns Cup rugby final with a thrilling 27-22 win over keenest rivals Dundalk in Naas on April 5, 2015.
The league champions from Louth were in cruise control for the opening half and led 15-0 at the interval, with their struggling rivals lucky not to be even further behind.
Ivan Jacob kicked a penalty three minutes into the second period, and Enniscorthy started to see the benefit of some shrewd switches.
Player-coach Damien McCabe made an impact off the bench, with Paul Bolger going to scrum-half and Ivan Poole moving to out-half, swapping with Killian Lett who took up residence in the centre.
However, the task didn’t get any easier when a converted Dundalk try extended their advantage to a commanding 22-3.
A Jacob try in the right corner kick-started the revival, with the leaders losing their loose head to a yellow card before replacement Hughie O’Neill got on the end of a superb Lett break through the middle to reduce the gap to 2215 after the conversion with five minutes remaining.
The pressure mounted on Dundalk when their hooker also collected a yellow card with two minutes left, and they were desperately trying to hold out.
Ivan Poole scored a brilliant try in the corner but missed the conversion, and now it was 22-20 with the game already in additional time.
Enniscorthy went for the jugular, and Ivan Jacob made a superb break from his own ’22 to unbelievably put them in front three minutes into injury time.
Man of the match Ivan Poole then made sure of success by slotting the conversion, leaving the Ross Roaders with an all south-east final to look forward to against Kilkenny.
It was a fantastic game of cup rugby, with the victors producing some real magic at the end when it was needed most.
Their line-out was superb, with Declan O’Brien, Tomás Stamp and Timmy Morrissey to the fore, aided by the superb throwing of hooker Davy Murphy.
‘Our lads never gave up, and a lot more of our passes and line breaks really were top drawer in the second 40 minutes,’ coach Damien McCabe said.
‘It is a great feeling, and the old saying, “victory from the jaws of defeat”, is very apt.
‘I am so proud to be involved with this bunch, and we are delighted to be there [in the final].’
Enniscorthy: James Doyle, Davy Murphy, Paddy Waters, Declan O’Brien, Tomás Stamp, Seán Wall, Alan Jacob, Timmy Morrissey, Evan Lett, Killian Lett, Ivan Jacob, Danny Pim, Ivan Poole, Paul Bolger, Ross Barbour. Replacements used – Damien McCabe, Hughie O’Neill, Robbie O’Connor, Tom Ryan.