Firsts 5 – Seapoint 0

Galwegians won their ninth successive Ulster Bank League game with a hard-fought win away to Seapoint in Dublin on Saturday, putting further daylight between themselves and the chasing pack at the top of Division 2a.

While many League fixtures of Gameweek 10 fell victim to the dreadful weekend weather, the south county Dublin side’s ground at Kilbogget Park stood up to the heavy rain and was passed playable on Saturday morning. However the incessant driving rain and high winds continued to sweep down from the Dublin mountains in unrelenting fashion all afternoon. So while Wegians may have come into this game as clear favourites, conditions made the game almost unplayable at times, effectively guaranteeing a tight low-scoring affair. However there are times when even form teams have to dig deep and ground out an ugly victory, and this was most definitely the case for Wegians on Saturday.

The strong wind was a cross-breeze which did not particularly favour either side in the first-half. Scoring opportunities were understandably limited, but the stronger Wegians pack began to assert themselves as the game progressed. With half-time approaching, the Blues forced a series of 5-metre scrums, and a powerful shunt towards the line by his pack afforded scrum-half Barry Lee the chance to dive over and ground the ball for what proved the decisive score. While full-back Darragh Leader had no chance with the conversion into the howling gale, Wegians would have been quite happy to take a 5-point lead into the break.

However credit the hosts who started well in the second-half, and with the wind seemingly changing direction in their favour, they went on to dominate the third quarter. On two occasions they laid siege to the Wegians line, but some magnificent trademark defence by the Blues kept them at bay. Eventually the siege was lifted, with Leader making some good use of his prodigious boot. Although they were unable to add a second score to put the game out of Seapoint’s reach, Wegians were content to close the game out deep in opposition territory to deny their hosts any opportunity of getting on the scoresheet.

Eventually referee Paul Haycock put everyone out of their misery and called time, and while the hosts gained a valuable losing bonus point in their fight for survival, this was Wegians’ third shutout in competition this season. Weekend defeats to their nearest challengers Queens University and City of Derry meant that the Blues stretched their lead at the top of the table to eight points with just five games remaining. Next up for the Blues is a home League fixture against another struggling Leinster club Naas on Saturday Feb. 15^th.

Galwegians XV:

15. Darragh Leader; 14. John Cleary, 13. Jerome Harrimate, 12. Brian Murphy, 11. Colin Conroy; 10. Ross Shaughnessy, 9. Barry Lee; 1. Ja Naughton, 2. Conor Muldoon, 3. Jason East; 4. Dan McCabe, 5. Brian McClearn (capt.); 6. Ross Fitzgerald, 7. Eddie Earle, 8. Eoin Rooney.

Subs

16. Caolin Blade, 17. Ciaran Gaffney, 18. Jack Dinneen, 19. Matt Towey, 20. Paul Griffin