Firsts 17 – St Marys 38

Galwegians were brought back down to earth somewhat on Saturday when they were comprehensively beaten by a highly impressive St. Mary’s at Templeville Road. Having easily dispatched Dublin opposition last week in the shape  of UCD, this time the tables were turned as the West Dublin outfit underlined  their status as play-off contenders with a stunning display of running rugby, notching six tries in the process.

The home team served notice of their intentions early on when they clearly dominated the opening 40 minutes, and by half–time they had the game effectively won. Mary’s ran in three tries with backs Conor Donohoe, Paddy Brophy, Shaun McCarthy all getting in for scores, with out-half Barry Lynn adding two conversions. Wegians’ only response came through a penalty from full-back Rob O’Beirn to leave the margin 19-3 at the break.

Any remote prospect of a Wegians’ recovery was soon dashed as Mary’s didn’t have to wait too long after the resumption to seal their bonus point. It came from a stunning solo effort by hooker Richie Sweeney who galloped fully 60 metres to cross for the fourth try. To their credit Wegians refused to capitulate and they managed to put some respectability on the scoreboard. Back-row forwards Liam Casserly and Liam Scahill both got in for tries which O’Beirn converted. 

However Mary’s weren’t to be outdone, and they even found time to run in two more tries with sub back Mark Sexton and ex-Munster and current Leinster back-row Stephen Keogh getting in on the act to maintain their realistic hopes of a play-off spot at top of the table.