Seconds 25 – Corinthians 7

A very youthful Galwegians 2nd team, with 6 of the backline and 5 of the pack from the U20s, produced a mature display of controlled, and for the most part, disciplined rugby in defeating local city rivals Corinthians in the Heineken Junior Cup in Crowley Park on Sunday.

The Wegians pack were on top in the early stages, especially in the scrum, but they spurned early penalties as they tried to grab tries instead of taking the points on offer. The visitors defense was up to the task and they cleared their lines.

Having survived a foray by Corinthians into their half, the home team got back on the front foot and forced a couple of penalties within range of the boot of outhalf Darragh Leader, who duly converted the 2nd one. 3-0

Wegians continued their domination in the scrum, even after prop Martin Fox had to retire injured, as replacement Ger Fahy powered into the match.

With "old boys" Dave O'Hara (2nd row) and Jason East (No. 8 ) creating mayhem in the loose, Wegians kept the pressure on their city rivals leading to another penalty which was once again converted by Leader. 6-0.

Corinthians were doing everything they could to subdue the exuberance of the home team but right on half-time they conceded a penalty in front of the posts as captain Marty Connolly tried to dart over the line. The penalty was converted and Corinthians lost a man to the sin-bin. 9-0

Wegians continued their dominance of possession and territory in the 2nd half but were unable to cross the whitewash. Leader kept the scoreboard ticking over with another penalty. 12-0

A second yellow card for the visitors for persistent fouling ensured that Wegians control of the match continued as Leader converted yet another penalty. 15-0

Corinthians then sprung into life and forced a couple of penalties as they worked their way down field. A harsh yellow card for Wegians flanker Aidan O'Sullivan gave the visitors the momentum they needed to march up field and score a try under the posts. 15-7

Down the 14 men it looked like there could be a sting in the tail of this match but the young Sky Blues just upped the tempo and produced their best rugby of the match to setup a try for hooker Calum O'Connell in what is now becoming "Calum's Corner" (it is his 3rd try in as many games in that corner - probably to ensure that resident Wegians photographer could get a good action shot). Leader struck a tremendous conversion from the touchline. 22-7

With O'Sullivan back on the field Wegians finished out the game on the attack and Leader converted a straight-forward penalty to finish the scoring. 25-6.