| 01/11/2008 | 2.30pm | League | St. Marys J5 XV | 10 – 22 | Blackrock College | Home |
St. Mary’s College J5 Blackrock College J4
10 22
Templeville Road
The going was heavy underfoot, with perfect weather conditions on Saturday afternoon for this clash against our old rivals.
Mary’s were hit by late withdrawals from Delo at scrum-half and prop Stephen Dromey as the Halloween revelry took its toll, as well as losing Ross who progressed to the J4s, during the week.
With B-Foot and Colm O’Keefe highly motivated against their former club the opening half was tight with Terence and Caolan probing the corners and Anto leading the line with a strong defensive effort.
Mary’s were kicking themselves when they conceded a soft try mid way through the first half when they were caught ball watching – Blackrock turning down the chance to kick a penalty to the corner instead launched a surprise cross field kick to their winger who touched down uncontested.
However Mary’s regrouped well from this sucker punch and their astute kicking was rewarded with a superb kick and chase from Walsh who fed to Terence before Ado converted.
Despite a long spell of strong defence up to half time, the Blackrock number 8 crashed over from a 5 metre scrum when Mossy got caught behind the ref (who was otherwise excellent) on the blindside and missed the tackle.
Turning around at 10-7 Mary’s dominated the second half for long periods in terms of both possession and territory and had several clear cut chances to cross the paint. However the best return came from the boot of Terence who levelled at 10 a piece.
With bodies dropping everywhere in the last quarter the road pitch resembled a scene from Platoon. Mossy, Terence, Simone, Colm, Ross, Al Kibble, and Ronan Foley all played to, and in some cases through, the pain barrier.
Following one of these long breaks in play, a lapse in concentration meant Mary’s were again sucker punched in a repeat of the soft first half try when ‘Rock again cleverly deployed the cross field kick to touchdown unopposed. The addition of the extra points meant Mary’s were under real pressure to score and strong ‘Rock defence in their 22 led to a turnover and breakout try at the end.
This was a vast improvement from the J5s, and credit to all the lads for getting up following Halloween, getting their subs paid in time, and especially the replacements who have been training patiently twice a week and got their chance on Saturday.
Mary’s can take confidence from this match where they were far more competitive and in reality should have won. Fair play to ‘Rock and the Ref too for a great game.
15 Caolan Reid, 14 Adrian Malone, 13 Simone Maraschi, 12 Walsh, 11 Stephen Wisely, 10 Terence Liston, 9 Ronan Foley, 8 Anthony O’Hanlon, 7 James Hynes, 6 Mossy Davin, 5 Colum O’Keefe, 4 Eamonn Walsh, 3 Ross Martin, 2 Alan Kibble, 1 Alan Germaine.
Ian Murray