12.10.2010 J5 B XV v UMeurR (H)
| 12/11/2010 | 8:00pm | F | St. Marys J5 B XV | 20 – 10 | UMeuR | Home |
St Mary’s J5 B’s 20-10 UMeur, Toulouse
November is a time for teams from sunnier climes to visit Ireland, roll around in mudbaths and enjoy some “hospitality” after the match. Usually they are here to play in Lansdowne Road but not always. On Friday night, it was the J5 (killer) B’s who played host to the French touring team, UMeuR.
Last Easter, the J5’s toured in Toulouse and it was with great pleasure that we welcomed our good friends from Toulouse over to Dublin. The French team included a former Marys player in their ranks but they are all honorary Marys men now. The Marys team was comprised of J5 players with a healthy helping of U-21 players providing some fitness to balance out the “experience” of some of the J5 players. Two halves of 35 minutes were played with personnel from each side reffing a half each.
The game didn’t start well for Marys as the French lads showed typical French flair in racing over for a try from outside our 22. However, Marys hit back with some impressive ball carrying and furious rucking, which brought them right back into contention. A well worked move saw Dave Millard supply the scoring pass to Matt Boland who dived over for the score despite the attentions of two defenders. Ian McCarthy’s direct ball carrying was especially effective on what was not an ideal night for adventurous rugby. A period of sustained French pressure was relieved when Shane Levins intercepted a pass and ran the length of the field to put us in the lead. The lead was doubled when Colin Burkley gathered up an overthrown lineout near the line. The ball was offloaded in the tackle (some unkind souls say popped loose) into the arms of Dave Millard who raced for the line to score the try.
The second half saw the Marys team tiring and faced prolonged pressure from the efficient lineout/maul tactics of the strong French pack. Last ditch & desperate defense kept them to one score but it was clear that kicking for territory was only giving the ball back to a very strong pack, well capable of mauling it back into the Marys 22. A change of tactics was needed and our U-21 players’ fitness & pace came to the fore when our continuous rucking saw a breakthrough move making it all the way to the line. An eager David Sheedy unfortunately knocked the ball on with the line at his mercy. Earlier, Sheedy got the biggest cheer of the night when he decided to introduce the French pack to counter-rucking, Munster-style and bowled over two props with his eagerness to claim the ball. Shortly after, the ref blew the final whistle and both teams retired to the bar to enjoy some well-earned pints.
Many thanks to the players from U-21 and J4 who helped out with numbers on the night and also to Mossy Davin and Jim Nolan for helping out off the field.
Colin Burkley
15 Eoin Mulcahy
14 Tony Flynn
13 Shane Levins
12 Steve Daly
11 Matt Boland
10 Caolan Reid
9 Conor Smith
8 Ian McCarthy
7 Ruadhan O’Ciarain
6 Colin Burkley (Captain)
5 David Millard
4 Joe Reville
3 David Browne
2 Stephen Cushen
1 Jody Brooks
Subs:
Brendan Kelly, Conor O’Beirne, Radu Verdes, Niall Dilworth, David Crowley & David Sheedy.