Wicklow lose out in Towns Cup semi-final
Wicklow come up short against Kilkenny RFC
KILKENNY RFC WICKLOW RFC 12 7
A WONDERFUL last 15 minutes of battling rugby from Wicklow RFC on Sunday in Tullow was just not enough to claw a victory from the jaws of defeat to Kilkenny but, by god, did Wicklow do themselves proud.
The Garden County men enjoyed good spells of possession at the start of both halves but they consistently lacked that one piece of spark that could penetrate the Kilkenny line and, more often than not, they emerged from breakdowns as a frustrated outfit.
In Jason Byrne though, in the front row, Wicklow have a warrior that does not know the meaning of defeat. With Wicklow knocking Tullow out of the historic Towns Cup in the last round and with Kilkenny knocking out Newbridge it was really going to be anybody's game but there was one man on the field who stood head and shoulders and on the day in question he was torso, waist and legs above them too, Kilkenny's Joey Manuel was simply sensational at full back for the winners.
Every time he took ball in hand you felt something was going to happen, whether it was a jinking line break or good kick to touch or even the odd hand off, it was all a joy to behold.
Niall Earls at out half for Wicklow gave as good an organisational display as he could possibly muster and his conversion late in the game was right out of the top drawer but, ultimately, Kilkenny had done enough and, in the cold light of day, deserved to go through to the Towns Cup final.
Manuel had made two blistering line breaks inside the first 10 minutes right after Wicklow had camped in the Kilkenny half and with Manuel's colleague, Willie Wright, missing a penalty it looked like Kilkenny were going to be over reliant on their full back.
For 20 minutes it was all Kilkenny and only for the tigerish ripping of Niall Smullen and physicality of Michael Doyle Wicklow could have fallen behind earlier than they did.
There was no keeping Kilkenny out though and in the 34th minute Joey Manuel spotted a gap in the Wicklow defence and went for it. A super offload and releasing of Philly Walsh saw the centre go over in the corner but the missed conversion meant that Kilkenny would lead 5-0 at half time.
Wicklow returned for the second half with their supporters right on their side and again they camped in the Kilkenny half for five minutes but they never ignited an attack and Kilkenny relieved the pressure by winning a penalty which Wright missed.
Wicklow made a triple substitution in an effort to swing the balance at the 55 minute mark but it's immediate effect was detrimental to their cause because within five minutes Kilkenny were in for a converted try from Robbie Walsh and Willie Wright but with that score and the game seemingly over, back came Wicklow with a fantastic work ethic and they had Kilkenny out on their feet in the closing stages.
Ben Mangan and Ken Copeland were relentless in their ploy to upset Kilkenny and eventually the Wicklow side were rewarded when Mangan went over after a fantastic spread by Earls once the ball had been recycled having been taken into contact by Jason Byrne just one metre shy of the line.
A stunning conversion by Earls right on the sideline meant that if Wicklow could keep the momentum in the dying seconds they could force Kilkenny to concede through tiredness and up they came pushing for the line.
With time up and possession belonging to Wicklow their fate was primarily in their hands but Kilkenny just held out and with a penalty going their way time was up sending them to a Towns Cup final.
Wicklow: Paddy Jameson, Jay Byrne, Shaun O’Brien, Niall Smullen, Ronan Monahan, Michael Doyle, Liam Gaffney, Eoin O’Sullivan, Mark Higgins, Niall Earls, Ben Porter , Ken Copeland, Fran Cooney, Simon Breen, Stephen Duffy Subs, Stephen Roberts, Colm Lalor, Simon Norton, John Jenkinson, Ben Mangan, Ben Armstrong.
Kilkenny: Wayne Kavanagh, Martin Leahy, Darren Bawle; Wes Carter, Victor Ryan; Darragh Farragher, John Phelan; David O'Connor; Robbie Walsh, Willie Wright; Podge Mahon, Philly Walsh, Sean Moran; Killian Everard. Subs: Ray Pembroke for Phelan.
Referee: Colm Dawson