U15s 31 – Buccaneers 19

Galwegians U 15's continued their winning ways with a fine display last Sunday afternoon in Glenina. This was our last League match and we needed a win to secure second place overall in the league.

Our sometimes sluggish start was banished last Sunday. The team began with a lightening strike from our new winger Gabriel Herescu on 3 minutes. 7 minutes later Joe Agbo got over for our second try and Jack Beatty converted a fine kick to bring the score to 12 nil for Galwegians. Galwegians continued to press and work hard all around the pitch with particularly strong showings yet again from our back row of Hugh Duffy (6), Garvin Surlis (7) and George Hill (8). This trio is beginning to show real potency all around the pitch.

Our centers - Luke Kelly (12) and Ben Kelly (13) also had a fine first half coming up hard and tackling everything. Morgan O'Loghlen, continued to show strong form in the second row and scored his first competitive try for Galwegians on 22 minutes which Jack Beatty converted again from a very difficult angle to bring the score to 17:nil.

Our pack continued to work hard with Conor Joyce, Gary Lally competing well in lose play and also carrying ball. Liam Griffin continued to show very strong form with an immense carry into the Buccs 22 from our own half, becoming a trademark now for Liam. Gabriel Herescu scored his second try of the day on 27 minutes  to bring the scoreline to 24:nil Galwegians. Conor Jackson continues to show great awareness on the wing with some lovely footwork to send the opposition down a couple of blind alleys.

At full back this week, MacDara O'Griofa showed real composure under the high ball and made some lovely breaks from the full back position. Darragh Creighton at 9 continues to show a real aptitude for this position and had a very fine half orchestrating play from the back of rucks and scrums with a cool head. We were genuinely unlucky on a number of occasions not to score at least three tries but came undone with unfortunate knock-on's or dropped passes under pressure.

Two occasions to mention were plays between George Hill and Garvin Surlis where little pop passes just did not connect on the day but had real potency in both carrying by George and line running by Garvin. We were held up on Buccs line at least twice and so ended a really productive first half. It was Buccs however that had the final say of this half with a try at the death which they duly converted to bring the score to 24:7 to Galwegians.

The score spurred Buccs on and they held center stage for long periods in this half. They ran short line outs and varied their lines of attack very well. Buccs got their reward to bring them right back into the game with a try on 43 minutes bringing the score to 24:12.

Galwegians introduced a number of substitutions to relieve the tired bodies throughout the second half. Oliver Kelly came into the second row and had a fine half continuing the form he showed v NUIG. Ben Hornibrook was back from a 3 week lay off due to concussion replacing Conor Joyce at 2. Shane Devlin was also introduced and worked very hard as he always does. Tom Kelly resumed duties at 9 and also continued his recent form following a fine match in a recent challenge v Oughterard/Connemara. Alan Whyte was introduced at prop and as usual showed his smart rugby brain in the loose while Marcin Drozdz was also introduced and continues to improve week on week as a new player to the game. Robbie Olatokunbo played his very first competitive game on the wing and showed real potential as a potent runner and ball carrier.

We managed to hold out from the Buccaneers onslaught and eventually broke their line to see Joe Agbo get over for a fine try on 56 minutes to relieve the pressure. Jack  Beatty converted his 3rd of the day to bring the scoreline to 31:7 for Galwegians. Buccaneers had the final say in this game with a try on 60 minutes to bring the final score to 31:19 for a fine victory for Galwegians U 15's.