A show of strength
Enniscorthy blow Ashbourne away
ENNISCORTHY PRODUCED their best performance of the season on Sunday in Cill Dara Rugby Club when they qualified for the Bank of Ireland Provincial Towns Cup final with a comprehensive 36-5 win over Ashbourne.
They breezed past the Division 1 league winners, scoring five tries in a performance of power, precision and pace.
Playing with a strong wind in the opening half, they took the game to Ashbourne right from the kickoff. Out-half and captain Ivan Poole had early penalty opportunities which both drifted wide.
Both sides had a player sinbinned, with lock forward Seán Kent getting an early yellow on ten minutes, followed two minutes later by Angelo Todisco who went off his feet in a ruck.
Enniscorthy started to dominate up front and were rewarded when, after several pick and drives, Tom Ryan crossed the line for the first touchdown, with Poole adding the conversion for a 7-0 lead.
Although enjoying most of the possession, they were over-anxious at times with the ball in hand which resulted in a few stray passes.
The vital second try came just on the half-time whistle when they were awarded a penalty try when Ashbourne collapsed the scrum once too often for referee Colm Roche, and this score sent them to the dressing-room with a 14-point lead.
Midway through that first-half they replaced Hughie O’Neill with Killian Lett and also brought Joe Bulmer in for John Daly.
They now faced the elements in the second-half but that did not deter them as they continued to move the ball through the hands.
Ashbourne’s defence strayed offside to hand Poole an easy penalty kick in front of the posts to extend the lead to 17 points after just five minutes on the resumption.
Ashbourne did eventually put some pressure inside Enniscorthy’s ’22 but Timmy Morrissey turned over the ball for Ivan Poole to find touch and relieve the pressure.
Enniscorthy almost scored again after some superb handling when full-back Richard Dunne broke through the cover and was stopped just short of the line.
With 60 minutes on the clock a loose clearance from Joey Szpara handed Enniscorthy a line-out just outside the ’22.
Hooker Davy Murphy found his jumper, Nick Doyle, who won the line-out and he fed Timmy Morrissey who broke through the cover. He moved the ball at pace out to right wing Ivan Jacob who skinned his opposite marker to score the third try. Poole shaved the post with the conversion attempt.
It was all Enniscorthy now as Ashbourne visibly tired following their excursions in the A.I.L. round robin the previous week. To be fair to them they were not prepared to lie down and they camped inside Enniscorthy’s ’22 for the next five minutes but the Cathedral town side’s defence was superb.
In the 73rd minute Tomás Stamp made a break and recycled the ball to Killian Lett who freed Daniel Pim. His well-timed pass put left wing David O’Dwyer in for the fourth try to wipe out any doubt regarding the result. Pool added the conversion for a 29-0 lead.
Ashbourne did force themselves over the line for a consolation try through Simon Deevy, but Enniscorthy had the last say when they broke from halfway for Killian Lett to send Ivan Jacob at pace in under the posts, with Lett adding the conversion for the superb victory.
Enniscorthy will play Tullow in the final in Wicklow on April 29 at 3.30 p.m. Tullow beat Wicklow in the preceding semi-final 14-5 after Wicklow failed to score with the wind in the second-half. Enniscorthy and Tullow last met in the final in 2013 and that day the ’Scorthy side came out on top.
Team: Angelo Todisco, Davy Murphy (Tom Farrar, 73), Paddy Waters (Tony White, 65), Tomás Stamp, John Daly (Joe Bulmer, 25), Timmy Morrissey, Nick Doyle, Tom Ryan (John Daly, 73), Arthur Dunne, Ivan Poole (Ross Barbour, 73), David O’Dwyer (Hughie O’Neill, 70), Hughie O’Neill (Killian Lett, 25), Daniel Pim, Ivan Jacob, Richard Dunne.