U15 Boys 26 – Corinthians 24

Galwegians U15 Boys were crowned Connacht Cup champions on Sunday when they won a pulsating Final against their arch city rivals Corinthians. It was a very tight affair throughout which turned out the be the proverbial see-saw contest with the lead changing hands four times.

Both sides had a lot of attacking flair in their backlines, and it was Corinthians who struck first blood with the opening try inside the first ten minutes. It came following quick ball which was spread wide to right-wing Neven O’Neill, who had a lot of work to do but showed his class with a strong finish for an unconverted try and a 5-0 lead.

The Blues were undaunted and they bounced right back with a try of their own soon afterwards. A nice backline move resulted in centre Mark Allnutt dotting down in the corner. An excellent conversion by Oisin Scanlon would ultimately prove crucial and put the Blues 7-5 ahead. It got better for the Glenina boys when they soon struck a second blow. More quick ball movement from the backs fed winger Dylan McCullagh who got over the line, and a second successful conversion from Scanlon stretched the advantage to 14-5.

 However the Cloonacauneen boys would reduce the deficit just before the break with an excellent score, when a brilliant 20m skip pass from Corinthians centre David Walsh found O’Neill who scored his second try. Out-half Tom McAdam converted this time to reduce the margin to 14-12 for Wegians at the break. Early in the second-half, the lead changed hands again as Corinthians caught Wegians napping, when a run out wide created a mismatch, giving O’Neill the opportunity to claim an impressive hat-trick. McAdam converted once again to make it to 19-14 Corinthians.

Not to be outdone, the Blues rolled up their sleeves and fought their way back into the game. The Wegians pack were putting in a huge defensive effort and winning the physical battle upfront, and following some really strong forward attacking play on the Corinthians line, quick ruck ball saw scrum-half David Casserly feed his outside centre Scanlon who made a strong carry and went in under the sticks. He converted himself and yet again the pendulum had swung, this time Wegians reclaiming the lead 21-19.

The game was on a knife-edge entering the final quarter, and the all-important next score would go the way of Wegians. It was superbly crafted by man of the match Casserly, who put a perfectly timed and weighted grubber kick through, which was gathered by left-winger Harry Glynn who went in at the corner. The conversion was narrowly missed conversion by Scanlon, leaving Wegians seven point clear entering the final five minutes.

Predictably Corinthians threw everything at the Blues, and with two minutes left on the clock, their lethal attack unlocked the Wegians defence once more out wide, when quick ball fed left-wing Cillian Newell who beat the scrambling defence to score near the corner-flag. McAdam was wide with the very difficult conversion, leaving Wegians 26-24 ahead. The Blues circled the wagons and closed the game out successfully, leading to rapturous scenes and ensuring the silverware went back to Glenina on this occasion. This truly was a game for the ages where both sides gave it everything and were a credit to their clubs and the game of rugby.