U15s 15 – Corinthians 10

Galwegians U15’s secured a League and Cup double in the most dramatic of circumstances on Wednesday night, pipping their great rivals Corinthians in an enthralling contest.

This game was replayed following another thrilling game in the Final three weeks ago, which ended in a 14-all draw. That was a game where both sides had their chances to win, but in truth it was probably a fair result, so it was all on the line for the city neighbours to do battle again this week.

Wegians, who already had the League title to their name, made a promising start and looked certain to score in the second minute at the Bohermore end, but they were unable to take advantage when on the opposition try-line. Instead it was Corinthians who drew first blood when they opened the scoring with the game’s first try courtesy of Eoghan Flannery.

Although unconverted, this galvanised the Cloonacauneen men, and it got better when they doubled their lead on 15 minutes. An excellent cross-kick had the Wegians defence exposed, and Max Flynn was on hand to take the scoring pass and touch down near the right-hand corner for a second unconverted try. Corinthians were good value for their lead and continued to dominate the first-half, using their line-breakers to good effect to make yardage. However Wegians had to dig deep and defend resolutely, and they were happy to kick the ball dead and keep the deficit to 10-0 down at half-time.

It was much the same at the start of the second-half with Corinthians looking for what would have probably proved a killer third try, however they met with some desperate last-gasp Wegians defence including some crucial turnovers. Although dominating the line-outs, the Cloonacauneen side were now being regularly penalised at the breakdown, which allowed the Glenina boys a chance to relieve the pressure, with some excellent line-kicking from Tiernan Leen. Their patience and resilience paid off as the Blues finally got off the mark midway through the second half. Following a concerted period of pressure, Jack Lynott eventually sniped over near the posts following a series of pick and drives. Leen converted and at 10-7, it was suddenly game on.

This signalled another onslaught from Corinthians, who again came close to claiming a decisive third try, only for the dogged Blues defence to hold their line. They had to dig deep into the well of reserves and self-belief, but Wegians eventually worked their way right up the field to set up an attacking platform. They were awarded a penalty near the posts with full-time approaching, and in a brave move, a quick tapped penalty gave no. 8 and converted centre Hugh Gavin a half-chance, and he dived over in the left-hand corner for what proved the winning score.

Although the difficult conversion attempt was wide, the Blues played some admirably cool, calm and collected possession rugby from the restart to work their way right back into Corinthians territory. Then with added time up, they won a final penalty on the 22, which Leen converted to put the icing on the cake.

It was very hard on Corinthians who looked the better team for long periods, and contributed enormously to two excellent games to make this an outstanding Final. However it was sheer tenacity, teamwork and discipline which ultimately won the day for Wegians. Captain Callum Brown then collected the trophy from Branch President Mossy Moran amidst jubilant scenes for the Blues team and supporters.