Men’s Firsts 31 – Clogher Valley 12

Galwegians Senior Men's XV maintained their perfect start to this season's Energia AIL division 2B campaign when they gained a first-ever win against their newest rivals Clogher Valley at the Cran in Co. Tyrone on Saturday.

The Blues made the perfect start when they opened the scoring on three minutes. It came from some good expansive play which saw the ball switched from right to left, and when hooker Ryan Smith took a great line to cut through a gap, he found fullback Cian Brady in support who fed lock Dave Walsh who scored his first try for Wegians. Out-half and debutant Conor O'Shaughnessy added the extras to make it 7-0.

The hosts recovered well from the early setback, and within a few minutes they opened their own account. They did well to keep the ball in play out left before Michael Bothwell took a scoring pass to dot down in the corner for an unconverted try.

Wegians stuck to their task and they went about their business in very impressive fashion, scoring two more tries to gain control in the second quarter. On 22 minutes, hooker Smith got on the end of a line out maul to score their second try which was converted by O'Shaughnessy. Barely five minutes later and it was deja vu when a near identical move saw Smith cross again to score his second try, with the flawless O'Shaughnessy stretching his side's lead to 21-5.

This is how it stayed at the break, and in the second half the Ulstermen predictably came out of the traps and threw everything at their opponents in the opening 10 minutes to try to make a dent in the scoreboard. However they met a disciplined and resolute Galwegians defence who could not be breached.

Having absorbed constant pressure, the Blues then went on the attack and just before the hour mark they put the game beyond doubt. It came from some excellent play by centre Rob Deacy and winger Darragh Kennedy which took play up to the 5 metre line. The damage was done as fullback Brady took crash ball off the ruck to barge over for the crucial bonus fourth try. Another O'Shaughnessy conversion made it a four score game.

However, Clogher are nothing if not resilient, and they responded almost immediately when a quick tap penalty fed captain and number 8 Callum Smyton, who went on a solo burst from halfway before beating his marker to score at the sticks, giving David Maxwell a simple conversion.

Wegians managed the game well in the final quarter to deny their hosts any opportunity of a late comeback. As the clock wound down, the final act of the game saw Wegians win a penalty on the Clogher 10 metre line. O'Shaughnessy landed a penalty to complete a perfect day for him with the boot and a perfect day for Galwegians.

This result was a serious statement to the rest of the League as Wegians have continued as they started by topping the table with maximum points after three game rounds.

While it's early days, they already look seriously strong contenders for this year's division 2B title. Their next game is at home to another Ulster team in Malone on October 25th at Crowley Park. The Belfast side are also unbeaten with three wins from three, so this match up could prove telling.