04.10.2014 J4 XV v Naas (H)
| 04/10/2014 | 3:00pm | Metro Div 6 | St. Marys J4 XV | 17 – 14 | Naas | Home |
St Mary’s College RFC J4s V Naas RFC J4s.
17 14
J4 Metro League 6
Templeville Road
Saturday 4th October 2014.
St. Mary’s came out on top in a very challenging game against Naas at home. The pressure was on the team after last week’s disappointing defeat to Monkstown and knew this was a must win game to keep in contention for the league.
The team set out at a blistering pace with Mary’s looking to dominate from the outset. The backline was firing very well with Muller and Hendo making big carries and breaking tackles. Mary’s early ongot the first try with Hendo evading the Naas defence on the wing to go in for Mary’s opening try with James Bourke adding the 2 points. Mary’s dominated the majority of the half with Matt and Byrne constantly gaining yards but found it hard to turn their possession into points with Naas working hardin defence. As the half drew to a close the team scored an excellent try off a scrum with Pyner putting in a great pass to Mick Daly who sped for the line breaking through the Naas defence to put Mary’s 14-0 up at the break.
The team looked to push on in the second half but Naas really put it up to the team. There were tackles being put in all over the park and with a few players getting injured and Naas starting to grow in confidence the team found themselves on the back foot. The team battled hard in the breakdown with Shane Fanning, James McHugh and Padraig Nestor turning over Naas possession at crucial times to slow down the Naas attack. However Naas dideventually break the Mary’s defence slipping a tackle to go in under the posts.The team responded quickly from the kick off and immediate pressure on Naas at the breakdown Mary’s won a penalty which proved to be crucial with James Bourke easily scoring a kick from a tight angle. The team still were unable to restore the control over the game they had in the first half and Naas got in for asecond try to make it 17-14 with 15 minutes remaining. The team ground out the result with some strong defending from all 15 players as Naas desperately sought a winning score after missing a kick with a few minutes remaining. They kept out one final attack off a lineout from Naas at the last play putting insome big tackles and eventually turning over possession for Padraig Nestor to kick to touch to secure the win. It was a ferocious contest against an experienced Naas side and puts the team in a good position as they face Clontarf in 2 weeks.