Match Result
- Result: Galwegians Firsts 61 - Skerries 0
- Venue: Crowley Park on Sat Dec 13th 2025
- Competition: AIL Division 2B
Match Report
Galwegians delivered a statement performance at Crowley Park on Saturday, running in nine tries to emphatically defeat Skerries and complete a flawless first half of the season.
The Blues arrived with a perfect record of bonus-point victories and showed why, despite playing into a stiff gale in the opening half. Early handling errors were quickly forgotten as Wegians asserted their dominance up front, with the scrum and breakdown work setting the tone. Skerries’ only real opportunity came inside the opening ten minutes following an interception, but Galwegians’ defence dealt with the threat comfortably.
The breakthrough arrived on 15 minutes when centre Rob Deacy produced an excellent poach, creating space for Stevie Mannion, who powered over to the right of the posts before converting for a 7–0 lead. From there, the floodgates opened. Outstanding work from Oisín McKey turned defence into attack to send Finn Treacy in for the second try, again improved by Mannion.
Galwegians were firmly in control, and Deacy crossed twice more before the break — first with a trademark burst through the middle to score under the posts, and then finishing a fine move started by Tiarnan Neville. With Mannion adding the conversions, Wegians went into the interval with a commanding 28–0 advantage.
The game was already up for Skerries but any hopes of a shock comeback were quickly extinguished after the restart. Changes from the bench, including Dave Walsh and Conor O’Shaughnessy, only strengthened the home side, and McKey crossed within a minute finishing another flowing backline move for try number five. Treacy added his second following a clever kick chase from substitute Paul Sharkey as the pressure continued to mount.
Skerries simply had no answer to the hosts' utter dominance all over the pitch. Further scores followed in the final quarter, with captain Dylan Keane finishing a well-worked lineout maul. The outstanding McKey completed his brace out wide, and Sharkey deservedly rounding off the scoring late on when he latched onto a cross-kick from McKey.
O’Shaughnessy added the final four conversions from all angles to cap a superb afternoon.
This emphatic win leaves Galwegians 14 points clear at the top of the table at the halfway stage of the season, and in this form, Brendan Guilfoyle’s side will take some stopping in their push for automatic promotion.
