Wicklow win thriller
Visitors march on as a late Tullow fightback falls short
WICKLOW RFC senior men travelled to one of Leinster Rugby’s toughest venues and came away with a well deserved win.
The Black Gates in Tullow is a notoriously difficult place to get a result. Wicklow have only played twice in 2019 and probably felt a little undercooked going into the game despite having trained well in recent weeks.
The match was played on a cold, dry afternoon with a strong diagonal breeze that favoured the home side in the first half.
Wicklow started well and tore into Tullow from the outset. They drove into the Tullow 22 in the opening minutes and after a series of powerful carries by the pack, Luke Gersekowski zipped over in the corner for the opening try. The near impossible conversion was missed, but crucially, Wicklow had struck the first blow, silenced the big Tullow crowd and led 0-5 after five minutes.
Tullow hit back almost immediately. Two penalties in quick succession from the boot of Willie Canavan put home side in front by 6-5 after twelve minutes.
Wicklow were competing well, but they were getting penalised over and over again which allowed Tullow to use the wind to pin Wicklow deep in their own half.
As the penalty count continued to rack up against Wicklow, the scores continued to come.
Two more penalties from the accurate boot of Canavan put the home side 12-5 up after twenty five minutes. Wicklow had also lost Charlie Butterworth to injury on the 25 minute mark.
They were fortunate to have a player of the calibre of former club captain Wes Wojnar to come off the bench. Wojnar stepped into the breach and had a fine game.
Wicklow badly needed a score to stop the home side’s momentum. They worked their way into Tullow territory again, knowing a turnover would see them 70 metres back down the pitch.
They retained possession through the phases and hammered the Tullow line. Phase after phase was battered back as Tullow clung on.
Eventually the pressure told and the ball moved wide to Shane Farrar. The powerful centre broke through to score a fine team try. Earls’ conversion attempt shaved the post but was wide. Wicklow were right back in it at 12-10, on the half hour mark.
Wicklow weren’t content to rest on their laurels and attacked again.
As half-time approached another multi-phase attack released full back Ben Porter who did brilliantly to evade a last ditch tackler to score in the right corner. The conversion was wide but Wicklow led 12-15 at the break.
With the wind at their backs Wicklow began to pin Tullow in their 22.
Wicklow were dominating possession now and Tullow looked vulnerable. A kickable shot at goal was spurned for a kick to the corner.
From the resultant lineout the Wicklow pack powered over the Tullow line. Eanna Killeen looked to have grounded the ball, but the referee was unsighted and a five metre scrum was called.
Wicklow attacked off the next scrum and after a series of carries by the pack, the ball went wide to Alex Porter, who dived over in the corner. The big Wicklow crowd erupted with this crucial score. Niall Earls’ men led by 12-20 with twenty minutes to go and Tullow were on the ropes
Seven minutes later it seemed like the game was up for the Carlow men as Wicklow began to turn the screw.
A brilliant Earls drop goal in the 67th minute extended the lead to eleven points at 12-23.
Wicklow were well in control as Tullow struggled to break out of their own half. Their big men ran at Wicklow all day, but almost without exception they were chopped down time after time.
The Wicklow back row were exceptional and led a ferocious Wicklow defence that blunted Tullows incessant battering ram attacks.
Tullow to their credit, never let their heads drop and a series of penalties allowed them to work their way back into Wicklow territory.
With five minutes left, a penalty kick to the corner and a slick lineout move, caught Wicklow napping and saw the Tullow talisman, number eight Stephen Smith power over for a good try. The conversion was good and suddenly it was 19-23 with five minutes remaining.
Wicklow didn’t panic and attacked again. Another powerful surge had Tullow in trouble and they conceded a penalty, for a deliberate knock on, as the game ran into injury time. Niall Earls made no mistake and the lead was back up to seven points at 19-26.
The referee indicated that there was time left to kick off. The huge Tullow crowed roared on the home side. Wicklow defended well but were penalised on several occasions which allowed the home side to slowly but surely, work their way up the field.
Eleven minutes into injury time Tullow drove over in the corner to score the latest of tries. The crowd erupted, but the conversion to send the game into extra time was a difficult kick and sailed well wide. Wicklow had won a thrilling cup match in the most difficult of venues.
Overall Wicklow will be very happy with the result. They played very well at times in what was a bruising cup tie.
Wicklow never took a backward step and played some great rugby despite being relatively ring rusty. If they can cut down on the penalty count and stay relatively injury free this squad has the talent to go a long way in the competition.
Wicklow have a tough draw at home in Ashtown Lane in the quarter-finals to Dundalk RFC. Wicklow have played Dundalk twice this season. The Louth men hammered Wicklow in September, before Wicklow won the return fixture, in a tight game in January.
The game will be played at 3pm on Sunday, March 17, St Patrick’s Day and is likely to be potentially another epic encounter.
Next Saturday sees both firsts and seconds take on Ashbourne for the next round of the Leinster League. Kick-off is at 1.30pm and 3pm.
WICKLOW 1ST XV: Eanna Killeen, Jack McKenna, Neil Dickenson, Liam Gaffney, George Naoupu, Mark Nicholson, Luke Gersekowski, Charlie Butterworth, Dennis Higgins, Shane Farrar, Simon Breen, Billy Ngawini, Adam Cullen, Ben Porter. Subs Alex Porter, Eddie Downes, Wes Wojnar, Pablo Castello Vinolo, John Jenkinson.