Wicklow RFC march on to meet Skerries in Towns Cup
Win over North Kildare earns another shot at Skerries
NORTH KILDARE 12 WICKLOW RFC 31
WICKLOW RFC’s first team travelled to Kilcock to take on a powerful North Kildare side in a tricky away tie in the second round of the Bank of Ireland Provincial Towns Cup on Sunday last.
North Kildare had caused the biggest upset in the first round when they went to Dundalk RFC and turned over the Louthmen in a narrow victory.
Wicklow knew they would have to pull out all the stops to come away with the win and a coveted place in the quarter-finals.
The game was played on a bitterly cold day with a strong wind which was at Wicklow’s backs in the first half.
Wicklow started well and with the aid of the wind pinned North Kildare deep in their 22 for the opening minutes. A very kickable penalty was spurned by scrum half Billy Ngawini who tapped and went for the line. A series of pick and drives from an ensuing lineout saw the Wicklow pack almost over in the corner. Ngawini saw his chance and drove over to score Wicklow’s first try. A brilliant conversion from Brian Keegan put Wicklow in front by 0–7 after 12 minutes.
On the 20-minute mark some slick handling by the Wicklow backs put Dean Leonard clear and the flying winger out paced the cover to score in the corner. The conversion was missed but Wicklow led by 0-12 .
North Kildare came back strongly and forced their way into the Wicklow 22. Their ball retention was good and they inched slowly towards the Wicklow line.
Wicklow’s mean defence was in no mood to concede and eventually the ball was spilled forward and the siege was lifted.
On the stoke of half-time, a North Kildare scrum on the halfway line was turned over by a powerful Wicklow drive. The ball was moved wide and Stephen Duffy backed himself to outstrip his opposite number and touchdown in the corner. Another superb curling effort from Keegan put Wicklow 0–19 up at the break. This was a huge psychological blow for Wicklow and a crucial time to score a try.
Wicklow smartly disappeared into the dressing rooms at halftime as a blizzard hit and North Kildare were left to ponder their next move in the icy winds.
Wicklows goal was to soak it up in the early stages of the second half. A strategy that worked well initially but began to unravel as injuries took their toll. First scrum half Billy Ngawini left the field. He was soon followed by Wicklow captain, John Jenkinson, who was carried off with a nasty looking knee injury that delayed play for some minutes.
North Kildare hit Wicklow immediately on the resumption of play with a good try in the corner. The conversion was over and the Kildare-men were back in the game at 7–19 with 25 minutes remaining.
Wicklow needed cool heads at this stage but soon showed that they were in no mood to sit back and wait for the expected North Kildare come back. They worked their way up field before a scything break by Ben Porter off a Wicklow scrum saw the big centre go in under the posts. Keegan’s conversion was good and Wicklow were 7–26 ahead with 20 minutes left.
Ten minutes later, Wicklow were out of sight when some quick thinking by Stephen Duffy put Dean Leonard clear. The speedy winger did well to get over in the corner. This conversion was missed but Wicklow led 7– 31 with twelve minutes left.
North Kildare responded with a second try but Wicklow closed out the game comfortably enough in the end.
This was a fine performance by Wicklow. They went away from home and beat a good team on their home patch in the towns cup.
The loss of club captain John Jenkinson is a real blow as the big second row was in a rich vein of form.
The draw took place for the quarter finals in the club house afterwards and Wicklow were drawn at home against Skerries RFC.
The game will take place in Ashtown Lane on Sunday, March 18. Skerries beat Wicklow in the semi-final stages of the competition last year before losing to a strong Tullow side in the decider.
This weekend the Leinster League resumes as the firsts and seconds play Dundalk RFC in Wicklow.
This is an absolutely crunch fixture for Wicklow as they look to pull away from the danger zone in the bottom half of the table.
The club needs as much support as possible when the two teams take the field at home on Saturday next. Firsts kick off at 3pm. Seconds kick off at 1.30pm.
Wicklow: Eanna Killeen, Jack McKenna, Neil Dickenson, John Jenkinson, George Naoupu, Liam Gaffney, Wes Wojnar, Eoin O’Sullivan, Billy Ngawini, Brian Keegan, Dean Leonard, Ben Porter, Shane Farrar, Simon Breen, Stephen Duffy, Subs Jason Byrne, Stephen Swan, Ben Armstrong, Alex Porter, Jonathan Hopkins.