Tuesday March 20 2012

Gorey miss out on U15 Leinster league decider

Kilkenny 12 Gorey 5

Gorey Under-15s missed a real chance to make the Leinster league final when going down to Kilkenny 12-5 in a closely-fought semi-final in Carlow recently. Gorey should have got points on the board early in the game when their forwards were dominant and paid the price in the end.

On a super day for rugby with sunshine and perfect conditions, the semi-final at the neutral venue was billed as a tight encounter. Indeed, Gorey were unusually favoured due to two close wins against the same opposition early in the season.

Gorey started well, actually winning the ball from the kick-off and establishing their intent for the match. Gorey continued to play well and established a foothold in the Kilkenny '22 for the first 15 minutes. The Gorey forwards were dominant and, try as they might, they were unable to pierce the Kilkenny line due to some fine tackling. Eventually Kilkenny managed to clear their lines and this seemed to have a crucial impact on the Gorey lads.

Kilkenny managed a try and conversion towards the end of the first-half against the run of play and one felt Gorey would react strongly and rectify the situation and get a score in reply. However, the Kilkenny defence was resolute and held out until half-time without being breached.

The second-half began and, as the cliché goes, the next score was always going to be crucial. Unfortunately for the Gorey lads, it came from the Kilkenny team and now Gorey ware facing a mountain of a 120 scoreline.

To their credit the Gorey lads got going and finally sparkled into life and made a contest of the game. They were rewarded by a fine try from who else but Paul Boyle from the back of a five-metre scrum This set the match up for a nail-biting finish with Gorey within a score and conversion to level the match.

Try as they might, with fine breaks from John Roche and Sam Kennedy, Gorey failed to pierce the fierce Kilkenny defending and went down battling on a 12-5 scoreline to a good Kilkenny team. The failure to put points on the board early on in the game when Gorey dominated was a tough lesson in knockout rugby for the Gorey lads.

The squad included Achille Kinsella, Jack Byrne, Dan Keogh, Darragh Bellanova, Ross Doyle, Declan Wilde, Stanley Hadden, Paul Boyle, Ross Doyle, Conor Butler, Kevin Harrington, Joe Gardiner, John Roche, Nicholas Kearns, Sam Kennedy, Ian Maguire. Subs. - Jack O'hagen, Lee Farrell-mccabe, Cathal Murphy, Ryan Mccarthy.