Firsts 12 – Wanderers 40

Galwegians’ winning streak came crashing down to earth when they were resoundly beaten by Wanderers in D4 on Saturday.

Both sides came into this contest in joint fourth place in the Energia AIL Division 2b table, and fresh from four straight AIL wins in a row, Wegians were in confident mood but they were dealt an early blow when captain Marty Cummins pulled out in the warm-up. The hosts were playing with the aid of a strong first-half breeze, and they wasted no time in making it count when Niall O’Donoghue crossed for an early try, which was converted for a 7-0 lead.

Wegians tried to get a foothold in the game but with the game just into the second quarter, Wanderers scored again. This time it came from a 5m scrum when a clever decoy move allowed Paddy Mallon to pick and go and get over the line. The conversion was again good and the hosts had doubled their lead. For all that, Wegians were playing some good rugby an they got right back into the game with their opening score before the break. It followed some excellent backline play and prop Ryan Lomas burst over from close range for a well-taken try. This was converted to reduce the gap to 14-7 at the break.

This put Wegians in a seemingly strong position entering the second-half with the elements in their favour. However they got off to a disastrous start when they let their hosts through for an early try, when Brian Vaughan burst through the middle straight from the restart and restored a 14-point lead. This gave the home side added belief, and within five minutes they had secured a bonus point, when a clearance kick was charged down and prop Kieran Stokes touched down. Another conversion had daylight between the sides.

The Blues did give themselves a lifeline when they scored a second try right from the restart, with full-back Will Goddard weaving his way through the defence to score an unconverted try, reducing the gap to 28-12. However it proved a false dawn, as Wanderers scored next through Cathal Martin to put the game beyond any doubt. And they completed a miserable day for Wegians when O’Donoghue had time to run in his second try of the day right at the death to put some added gloss on the final scoreline.

Wegians now go into the Christmas break in sixth place, but only five points off the play-off spots. Their next game is January 11th at home to the same opposition when they entertain Wanderers in the return League fixture at Crowley Park.