Match Result
- Result: Galwegians Seconds 20 - Carrick on Shannon 17
- Venue: Tuam RFC on Sun Apr 6th 2025
- Competition:
Match Report
Galwegians Men’s Seconds secured a J1C double when they won the Cup in a nail-biting tussle against Carrick-on-Shannon RFC in a sun-drenched Tuam on Sunday.
Carrick started brightly and had Galwegians under pressure in the opening stages. They were dominating the scrums and controlling possession, setting the tone for a tightly contested battle. The game was evenly matched, but after 15 minutes, Galwegians managed to suck in the Carrick defence, spread the ball wide and winger Millar Yule crossed in the corner for the opening try, which was unconverted.
The game was disrupted following a lengthy stoppage for injury to a Carrick player Jordan Haven who left via ambulance, to the well wishes of everyone present. Play resumed on the second pitch and Carrick soon got off the mark with a penalty calmly slotted by Ian McGhee to make it 5–3. However just before the break, Galwegians struck a decisive blow with a break down the flank with centre MJ Duffy scoring a second unconverted try, leaving the score 10–3 at half time.
Carrick came out in the second half with renewed vigour. Strong carries began to open up the midfield and they were soon on level terms when McGhee finished off a break to score under the posts, which he converted to make it 10–10. However there was little between the sides and the Blues regained the lead shortly afterwards when Mark McHugh got on the end of it to score under the posts, with Eoghan Cuddy converting to make it 17-10.
It was tit for tat and within minutes Carrick were on level terms again when Denis McCaffrey crashed over the line to score, McGhee again converting. This set up a dramatic finale and it was down to who wanted it most. With both sides giving their all, Wegians managed to gain possession and work their way into a good position which won a 73rd minute penalty, which was converted by Eoghan Cuddy to make it 20–17. Try as they might, the Leitrim men threw everything at Wegians to try salvage the win, but the Blues dug in and got over the line to hold out for the narrowest of winning margins.
Captain James Deacy was presented the Cup afterwards just one week after receiving the League trophy to cap a memorable season for the Seconds, managed by Mike Walsh.
