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GOREY U17s CONTINUE WINNING STYLE

Gorey U17s travelled to Ross Road on Friday evening to play their neighbours Enniscorthy in their second game of the Leinster League. Gorey had already laid down a marker in their first game a week earlier when recording a 60 â 0 victory over Carlow.

The game started at a blistering pace with Goreyâs backs displaying incredible hand skills and within minutes they had Enniscorthy desperately defending as SeÃ¡n Wafer danced around several defenders to pass the ball to Gorey winger Flynn Donnelly who made ground before popping the ball back to Wafer who crossed the whitewash for the first try.

Enniscorthy didnât have time to recover when just two minutes later Goreyâs other winger Paddy OâHagan made a great run to add another try.

As Enniscorthy kicked-off again, each of Goreyâs backs were keen to get onto the ball and always looking to offload in the tackle. Centre, Mark Boyle picked up the ball in his own half and made a run into Enniscorthy territory and made a clever chip and ran to gather the ball but it was knocked on.

Enniscorthy tried to kick the ball to safety from the back of the scrum, but the kick was blocked and Gorey piled forward but were unable to capitalise, ending up with another scrum in Enniscorthyâs 22. The ball was popped from the scrum to SeÃ¡n Wafer, who made sure of his second try of the game. So, with just 12 minutes gone, Enniscorthy found themselves 0 â 17 down.

Gorey continued to pile on the pressure and minutes later Gorey won a lineout and from the resulting maul, Full Back, OisÃn Fortune, picked up the ball and scored Goreyâs fourth try, which he deftly converted. Enniscorthy 0 - Gorey 24

Goreyâs prop, who was having a great game punching holes on the Enniscorthy defensive line, went off with an ankle injury after 18 minutes, but Goreyâs scrum remained solid and it, along with a great lineout, was giving Gorey a great platform to build from.

On the half-hour mark, Gorey Flanker, Frank Kavanagh burst over the line for another Gorey try. Enniscorthy 0 - Gorey 29

As the first half drew to a close, Goreyâs backs continued to put on a show for the large band of travelling supporters and they strung together ten passes going through the hands of on-form SeÃ¡n Wafer several times, before he finally got over in the corner for his third, and Goreyâs sixth, try of the half, to leave the Half Time score at Enniscorthy 0 - Gorey 34.

No-one could have predicted how the second half would start as a newly invigorated Enniscorthy team came charging out of the blocks putting Gorey under intense pressure and left them desperately defending their line for the opening five minutes of the game. It took a super kick for touch from Gorey to relieve the pressure and leave Enniscorthy with a lineout just inside their own half.

However, Goreyâs Second Row, Tadhg OâNeill dashed any thoughts of an immediate Enniscorthy resurgence, when he not only stole the Enniscorthy lineout, but spotted a gap where theyâd lifted at the front of the line and displayed a great turn of speed to run 40 metres for his try. OisÃn Fortune expertly converted to leave the score at Enniscorthy 0 - Gorey 41.

To Enniscorthyâs credit they kept the pressure on Gorey and once again forced them to defend on their own line. Enniscorthy whipped the ball out wide and looked certain to be through for a well-deserved first try, but an unfortunate slip by their winger at the last minute scuppered their best chance of the game.

Half way through the second half Goreyâs back began to link up once again and they stretched Enniscorthyâs defence to the limit. It was another ten-pass phase, initiated by a great run by replacement hooker Darragh Canavan, that eventually finished in the hands of the omnipotent SeÃ¡n Wafer for his fourth try of the game.

But despite the scoreline, Enniscorthy continued to cause problems for Gorey and it wasnât long before their tenacity was rewarded with a well-deserved try in the corner, which their out-half expertly converted. Enniscorthy 7 - Gorey 46

This second half was proving to be a much more even affair than the opening half, but Goreyâs defence was incredible.

With only minutes remaining, Goreyâs Mark Boyle got over for the last try of the game, which Fortune converted to leave the final score Enniscorthy 7 â Gorey 53.

This was another impressive performance from the gifted and disciplined Gorey squad. Next up for them is an away trip to Naas in two weeksâ time.

Gorey Team

1. Martin OâLoughlin

2. Toby Falconer

3. Jack Ryan

4. Tadhg OâNeill

5. Joe Butler

6. Frank Kavanagh

7. Alex Rothwell

8. James Lawlor

9. Cillian Tomkins

10. Henry Kennedy