Third time lucky as Gorey edge it
Leinster U-18 title secured
GOREY TOOK on Tullow in the Leinster Under-18 Division 1 final in Donnybrook recently.
The two teams had met each other twice already this season, with Tullow winning both times by less than seven points.
Both were tough games with little margins for error. The Gorey team knew the size of the task going into this game and started with a real ferocity.
Michael Wafer and Tom Jameson set the tone with some great tackles early on, and Michael Duke followed this up with an equally impressive tackle on the Tullow number 8 to stop him in his tracks.
The Gorey pack dominated Tullow in the opening stages but the Carlow side still struck first through a penalty.
Tom Jameson then cut a great line from the back of the ruck after Robbie Brooks made a break from midfield to cross for Gorey’s first points which Mick Molloy converted, giving the team a 7-3 lead.
Shane Stokes, Liam Molloy and Robbie Brooks were excellent in attack for Gorey and made yards every time they got the ball, with Seamus Tomkins providing great service from scrum-half.
Gorey’s Joe Naughton got the next try after some great play by Dylan Slator, Michael Duke and Tom Cleary.
At half-time Gorey led 12-3 but knew Tullow would come at them hard in the second-half which they did.
Tullow dominated possession in the second-half but great defence from P.J. Barnes, Barry Doyle, Seán Bardon and Killian Pierce kept Tullow from crossing the line.
Tullow went wide on phase after phase but Tom Cleary and Joe Naughton marshalled the outside defence all day.
Gorey made a lot of hard yards in the second-half which was epitomised by Andy Kinsella who latched on to numerous players and drove them through the gain line.
Tullow kicked a penalty early in the second-half but when they infringed with a ferocious tackle on Liam Molloy, his namesake, Mick, stepped up to kick a vital penalty from the ten-metre line.
With three minutes left Tullow overturned a Gorey line-out and went wide to score a try in the corner which left them trailing by four with only two minutes left.
From the kick-off Joe Naughton appeared to have sealed it for Gorey with an intercept try, only to be brought back for offside.
From the resulting penalty Gorey’s excellent defence again came to the fore, resulting in the ball being held up and to the joy of all the final whistle sounded.
It was a real team performance reinforced by the new energy brought in by Eoin Buckley, Lukas McDonagh, Seán Dunne and Seán Bardon as Gorey managed to hold on and win 15-11.
We must also mention Jack Minogue and Manuel Rodriguez who played big parts in getting us to the final.
This core of this Gorey team had been to five Leinster finals before without winning one but showed real determination this year to succeed.
Coaches Paul Wafer, Jonny Reynolds, Eoin Sheriff and Josh Thomas were very proud of the effort put in by all of them.
Team: Barry Doyle, Andy Kinsella, Dylan Slator, P.J. Barnes, Tom Jameson, Michael Wafer, Liam Molloy, Shane Stokes, Seamus Tomkins, Michael Duke, Michael Molloy, Tom Cleary, Joseph Naughton, Killian Peirce, Robbie Brooks, Jack Minogue, Eoin Buckley, Lukas McDonagh, Seán Bardon, Seán Dunne, Manuel Rodriguez.