12.02.2011 J5 XV v Bective (H)
| 12/02/2011 | 11:00am | League | St. Marys J5 XV | 29 – 3 | Bective Rangers | Home |
St Mary’s RFC J5’s 29-3 Bective Rangers
On Saturday St Mary’s welcomed Bective Rangers to Templeville Road for a game that had the makings of a potential banana skin given Mary’s impressive win over second placed Tallaght the week previous and the perceived weakness of the opposition. Although the conditions underfoot were not exactly conducive to expansive running rugby, Mary’s put the visitors under pressure from the off with a balance of strong forward play and some creative back moves.
This initial pressure was rewarded with an early try for the home side, with scrum-half Kieran Morrissey taking advantage of a gap in the Bective defence to finish an excellent team move with a score under the posts. The conversion was successful marking it 7-0 Mary’s.
The early score seemed to spark Bective into life; they claimed the ball from the restart and drove into Mary’s territory applying the first real test to the Mary’s defence. This mini revival turned into points when Mary’s conceded a soft penalty for not rolling away affording the Bective standout an easy kick to cut the lead to 7-3.
This would be the visitor’s only score of the game; Mary’s reasserted their control immediately and would have lengthened their lead quicker if not for some poor finishing. The pressure was getting to Bective and midway through the first half their number 13 was yellow carded for becoming a bit too friendly with Traver’s scrum cap. Mary’s made quick use of their numerical advantage, pinning Bective back into their own 22. Winning a lineout on the right sideline, Mary’s bulldozed their way to line with an overpowering rolling maul that resulted in a try for lock Darragh Coffey. Fitz’s conversion kick sailed closer to the corner flag than the uprights leaving the score at 12-3.
There was one change at the half with Michael Daly being introduced for David Sheedy at first centre. Unlike the first encounter between the two teams at Donnybrook where Mary’s let a 22point halftime lead be cut to a single point by the end of play, Mary’s stayed focused and ever let the opposition back into the game.
The first really incisive attacking back play of the day stretched the Bective defence from sideline to sideline with the move culminating in a try for centre Shane Hourigan in the right hand corner.
The introduction of fresh legs midway through the second half ensured Mary’s maintained their tempo with Daniel Hegarty, Caolan Smith and Ian Smith replacing Darragh Coffey, Lorcan Byrne and Marco Pietri respectively.
An excellently taken incept try by Andy Fitzpatrick and resultant conversion put the game beyond any doubt at 24-3. The scoring was then complete with industrious scrum half Kieran Morrissey grabbing his second try of the match.
Overall an excellent performance by Mary’s, next up is tricky away game at Wanderers next Saturday.
D. McEvoy
Scorers:
Tries – Kieran Morrissey (2), Darragh Coffey, Shane Hourigan & Andrew Fitzpatrick.
Conv – Morrissey (1) & Fitzpatrick (1)
15 Caolan Reid
14 David Millard
13 David Sheedy
12 Shane Hourigan
11 Marco Pietri
10 Andy Fitzpatrick
9 Kieran Morrissey
8 Paul Travers
7 James Hynes
6 Jody Brooks
5 Anthony O’Hanlon (Captain)
4 Darragh Coffey
3 David Browne
2 Maurice Davin
1 Lorcan Byrne
Subs:
16 Stephen Cushen, 17 Daniel Hegarty, 18 Caolan Smith, 19 Ian Smith, 20 Michael Daly.