Firsts 55 – Corinthians 0

Galwegians overcame local rivals Corinthians by running out convincing winners in this Connacht Senior League clash at Crowley Park on Saturday August 29th. Needing a victory after suffering a mauling the previous week at Buccaneers, Wegians were in charge of this game right from the get-go and were never threatened by a very understrength Cloonacauneen outfit.

The Blues opened the scoring after 10 minutes when the fit-again prop Jason East barged over following a tap and go penalty. A few minutes later another charge from the Sligo native was finished off by lock Marty Cummins, with out-half Aidan Moynihan converting for a 12-0 lead.
The second quarter continued in much the same vein, and flanker Matt Towey finished off some good work by Dave Symes for a third try, with Moynihan adding the extras.

The visitors finally gained a small foothold in Wegians territory, but it was short-lived and the hosts put the game out of reach in the final five minutes of the half. Full-back Cormac Brennan grabbed a deserved brace of tries, the first when he finished impressively near the left corner following a slick backline move, and the second following a sweet reverse pass from Moynihan to slice through the cover. Then in stoppage time a breakout from their own 22 saw winger Colin Conroy finish well, with Moynihan adding another conversion for a 40-0 half-time lead.

There seemed to be no respite for Corinthians in the second-half, as their hosts racked up a half-ton within five minutes of the restart, a Moynihan penalty followed by a second try from East off a lineout move, which the young out-half again converted. The rest of the game understandably petered out as both coaches rang the changes. The visitors steadied the ship somewhat, but were unable to make any impression on the scoreboard. Then in the final minute, substitute flanker Josh Pimm crossed for try number 8 to leave the final score at 55-0.