Boyne beaten out the Gate
BOYNE’S visit to the Garden County last Saturday proved no bed of roses as they suffered a heavy defeat to Wicklow at Ashton Gate.
The Drogheda side were making a return trip to the South East following their morale-boosting win over Kilkenny two weeks earlier, but this time they faced an ambitious home side who are making progress this season following promotion to the top flight of the Leinster League.
Matters opened impressively enough for the visitors when in the seventh minute Wicklow were penalised and Karl Keogh knocked over the resulting penalty, but that was as good as it got for Boyne who once again introduced more young players into their side for this game.
It was another eight minutes before Wicklow registered their first score , one that was initiated by their Kiwi centre with a searing line break which split the Boyne defence. He found his winger in support to give the scoring pass and with the conversion successful Wicklow led 7-3.
Ten minutes later Boyne were again left floundering in midfield when the same player made another telling break and excellent handling saw Wicklow cross for their second try. Boyne did have a chance in the concluding stages of the half to close the gap, but Keogh was wide with his penalty attempt and another Wicklow penalty increase the home side’s lead to 15-3 at the break.
Wicklow didn’t take too long to continue their scoring mood on the resumption as they forced a lineout on the Boyne 22’. From the throw-in they scored a try off a firstphase drive in the 42nd minute. They failed with the conversion, but with three tries now registered and a healthy 20-3 lead they now looked good for a bonus-point win.
In the 50th minute Wicklow elected to go for goal with a penalty, which they missed, but as the game wore on their scrum applied serious pressure on the Boyne eight. They forced a succession of penalties at the scrum and their dominance was once more rewarded when they penetrated the Boyne midfield through their sub centre who side-stepped his way to a try under the posts.
Wicklow now led 27-3 and had a bonus point in the bag, with 20 minutes still remaining.
Boyne, to their credit, continued to try to bring the game to their opponents and a nice chip through by Joe Sweeney forced Wicklow to carry over their own line. From the resultant scrum number 8 Keogh picked from the base, but a knock on led to a Wicklow clearance.
The Drogheda men forced another five-metre scum in the 70th minute, but once again the home side’s defence stood resolute to prevent a score.
Boyne did continue to press for a deserved score, but it was Wicklow who had the last say with another converted score from virtually the last play of the game.
Next up for Boyne is the visit of league leaders Gorey to Shamrock Lodge this coming Saturday afternoon.
BOYNE: Robbie Vallecco; Evan McGinn, Joe Sweeney, Rory Hennessy, David De Loughry; Michael Briscoe, Kevin McCleery; Patrick Shuttleworth, Patrick Mongey, Sean Callaghan; Conor Walsh, Paul Kelly; Ciaran Smith, Kevin Prendergast, Karl Keogh. Replacements: Tadgh O’Reilly, Ben Dunphy, Conor Callaghan, Caoilte Hickey, John Heeney.