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Gorey U17s begin their Leinster League Campaign

Gorey U17s welcomed Carlow to Clonattin as they kicked-off their much anticipated Leinster League campaign.

New coach Philip Doyle had experimented with various line-ups and tried a number of players in new positions in the run up to this competition from the large pool that makes up this talented panel.

Conditions were ideal with a bright sunny day greeting both teams.

Gorey immediately put the visitors under pressure as they pressed hard and pinned Carlow in their own 22. After just four minutes of play Carlow were penalised for holding on, which gave OisÃn Fortune the opportunity to open the scoring with a well taken penalty.

Gorey 3 Carlow 0

Carlow tried to wrestle back control and were awarded a scrum after Gorey knocked-on. Despite having a much larger pack, Carlow were overturned by a strong tight Gorey scrum and Goreyâs outhalf Henry Kennedy kicked ahead to give Carlow a lineout just outside their 22. Having just been turned over in the first scrum of the game, the omens didnât look good, as Tadhg OâNeill stole their lineout to feed the ball to scrum half Cillian Tomkins who went over for the first try of the game.

Gorey 8 Carlow 0

Carlow had a better spell after this but Goreyâs defence was rock solid and they tackled hard to prevent Carlow making any real progress.

Twenty minutes into the half, Carlow were penalised again for holding on and this time Gorey chose to run it. Good hands spread the ball out across the field, eventually finding No. 8 James Lawlor who went over in the corner, to leave a tricky conversion for OisÃn Fortune, but he slotted it over in great style.

Gorey 15 Carlow 0

Carlow had a lot of ball in the next phases, but they just couldnât get out of their half, as each and every Gorey player defended like their life depended on it.

Goreyâs scrum continued to prove too strong for Carlow and it was from another of these that flanker Robert Murphy gathered and made a strong run to offload to Martin OâLoughlin who then released the ball to Henry Kennedy for Goreyâs third try.

Gorey 22 Carlow 0

However, as the players ran to celebrate it became clear that Murphyâs efforts had resulted in a cut to his forehead, which ruled him out of the rest of the game. The strength in depth of this squad is such that Robert was replaced with a player of Alex Rothwellâs ability. A player that any team would be glad to have in their starting line-up.

On the half hour mark SeÃ¡n Wafer made a great run to pass out to winger Paddy OâHagan who held off several Carlow defenders and add his name to the list of try scorers.

Gorey 27 Carlow 0

---- HALF TIME ----

The second half began with Carlow having the benefit of the wind at their backs and they began the half well, pushing Gorey back into their own half and forcing them to defend.

However, a knock-on 10 minutes into the half forced a scrum and Goreyâs pack remained as solid as they had been throughout the first half and No. 8 James Lawlor picked the ball from the back of the scrum and made a great run before releasing the ball to Paddy OâHagan for his second try of the game.

The resultant conversion kick was a thing of beauty, as OisÃn Fortune continued his fine form with his boot.

Gorey 34 Carlow 0

Carlow continued to fight had, but they couldnât break down Goreyâs defence.

Philip Doyle emptied the bench with every player getting a run and each performing well.

Ten minutes later SeÃ¡n Wafer put in a grubber kick which he chased alongside a Carlow defender and it was anyoneâs guess who would touch the ball down first, but an unexpected bobble allowed James Lawlor, who to his credit had followed up with a run, to gather the ball and touch down.

Gorey 39 Carlow 0

Carlowâs large pack continued to keep Gorey on their toes as they tried to punch holes in the defensive line. But the diminutive Darragh Canavan ripped a ball from one of the large Carlow props and made great ground.

On the half hour mark, replacement winger Flynn Donnelly displayed his blistering pace as he tore down his wing, leaving defenders in his wake, to score under the posts.

Gorey 46 Carlow 0

Just a few minutes later, Donnelly again picked up the ball, this time deep in his own half, to run the length of the pitch to score his second try again placing the ball under the posts.

Gorey 53 Carlow 0

The resulting kick-off was gathered by James Lawlor who ran the pitch handing off several defenders for a great individual try.

The full time whistle sounded as the conversion dropped over the bar.

Final Score - Gorey 60 Carlow 0

The final score probably doesnât do justice to Carlowâs efforts in this game, but Gorey were just too strong on this occasion and their defence impenetrable.

This was a great start to their Leinster campaign, but Gorey know there are tougher days ahead.

GOREY

1. Martin OâLoughlin

2. Toby Falconer

3. Niall Kenny

4. Tadhg OâNeill

5. Joseph Butler

6. Frank Kavanagh

7. Robert Murphy

8. James Lawlor

9. Cillian Tomkins

10. Henry Kennedy