01.03.2014 J5 XV v Emerald Warriors (H)
| 01/03/2014 | 3:00pm | Metro Div 10 | St. Marys J5 XV | 14 – 6 | Emerald Warriors | Home |
St Mary’s College RFC J5s V Emerald Warriors J5s.
14 6
J5 Metro League 10
Templeville Road
Saturday 1st March 2014.
St. Marys secured a vital victory in their bid to stave off relegation in a tense encounter against the Emerald Warriors at Templeville Road. St. Mary’s knew that a win was essential in the penultimate league game of the season to avoid the drop. This was to be no easy task as the Emerald Warriors were also in the mix in the relegation dogfight and had secured a comfortable victory over St. Marys in the reverse fixture in Sutton.
The game began with St. Marys in the ascendancy with the forward pack making big gains with the ball in hand and spent the sustained periods camped on the Warriors 22. Continued pressure from the team eventually paid off with James Bourke kicking over two difficult penalties to give St. Marys a 6-0 advantage. However St. Marys failed to make the most of this spell of dominance and Emerald Warriors came back into the game in the first half and Mary’s began losing discipline at the breakdown leading to a Warriors penalty which was well taken on the right wing leaving the score 6-3 at half time.
Mary’s started slowly in the second half and allowed Warriors to build momentum and they levelled the score at 6-6 after a penalty. This seemed to set the team in motion again with them reverting to a familiar style and making big gains in carrying the ball from the forwards and backs alike and we retook the lead after a James Bourke penalty to bring it to 9-6. It was a lead that St. Mary’s never lost and soon after they increased it with a well worked move off the back of a Mary’s scrum saw Tony Flynn and Ryan Barnes draw in the Warriors defence who then played out a pass to Lee Kelly on the wing to go in for a try bringing the score to 14-6. With still plenty of time on the clock the Mary’s defence were under constant pressure with the Warriors desperately looking to get at least a bonus point for their efforts. Mary’s were excellent in defence, putting in some big tackles and stealing lineouts at crucial times when it looked Warriors were odds on to score. Mary’s defence held firm and kept the Warriors attack at bay preventing the bonus point which may prove crucial come end of the season.
The final league game of the season is due to be played on 13th March away to Monkstown who are also in the mix for relegation so this will be another must win game for the lads.
David Browne