From the start Gorey showed that they were really fired up for this encounter having taken victory over this strong Carlow team on three previous occasions this season. A period of intense early Gorey pressure brought them inside the Carlow 22 with the Gorey forwards working through phase after phase of hotly contested exchanges against a very big and skilful Carlow pack. From the fourth phase Gorey number 8 Lloyd Stephens broke the Carlow cover carrying for 10 metres before releasing Winger Alan Kelly on the left. With work yet to do Kelly handed off two Carlow forwards before crashing through the fullback to score the opening try. From wide on the left touchline Lloyd Stephens hung his conversion attempt high into the breeze to add the points in magnificent fashion. Gorey took the restart and controlled the rucking exchanges winning a scrum on the Carlow 22 in line with the posts. Powerful scrummaging by Dylan Slator, Captain on the day Liam Molloy, Tom Cleary, 2nd rows P.J. Barnes and Cameron Reynolds and flankers Jack Cullen and Shane Stokes saw Gorey drive a maul 10 metres before controlling the resulting ruck. Flanker Shane Stokes picked and carried well before offloading cleanly at pace to support runner Lloyd Stephens taking an excellent line to split the Carlow cover and cross for Goreys second try. 12- 0 to Gorey going into the second quarter.

The Gorey defensive line coped well with strong ball carrying from the Carlow centres and number 8 and rucked well for a five minute period of open high tempo rugby with territory being traded equally from the tactical kicking of both fullbacks. Lineouts were clean and Gorey edged turnover ball on a number of occasions with Lloyd Stephens performing well throughout lineout exchanges. The Gorey backlne with Eoin Buckley solid at out half and centres Mikey Duke and Sean Bardon tackling and handling superbly well allowed winger Joseph Naughton some good opportunities to test the Carlow defence out wide on the right wing. Excellent defensive line speed maintained the Gorey pressure across the entire Carlow line. Gorey were awarded a scrum on 22 minutes with second row P.J. Barnes blowing through the Gorey ruck to win Gorey a scrum inside the Carlow 22. This followed superb ball carrying from centres Eoin Buckley and Mikey Duke. Gorey drove the resulting scrum cleanly before releasing ball carrier Lloyd Stephens into the heart of the Carlow line. Support running at blistering pace by Shane Stokes took the offload and powered through the cover to register Goreys 3rd try and close out the half.

Carlow restarted and settled in to 10 minute period of forward play with possession changing frequently at the breakdown. The physicality of the exchanges showed just how committed both teams were on the day with some fine backline play and kicking from deep, keeping options open for both sides much to the delight of the large group of supporters cheering on the play.

Carlow got their reward on 40 minutes after 3 phases of play on the Gorey 5 metre line. A quick tap and go splitting the excellent Gorey defence on this occasion. 17-5 with the game really flowing into the last quarter. Carlow hit their best form registering a second try five minutes later to bring them within a converted try of levelling the match. Gorey introduced Fionn O’Loughlin at out half, wingers Rory Heffernan at 11, Jack Minogue at 14 and Jack O’Mahony at full back with Tom Higgins and Sean Dunne coming into the pack. Gorey now upped the tempo a notch in attack with excellent link play between pack and backline driving them deep into Carlow territory. Scrum half Charlie McGuckin kicked through the cover for winger Jack Minogue to chase. The Carlow fullback gathered cleanly but was blown out of it by Minogue allowing Lloyd Stephens in support to gather and score in the corner. It’s good to see Minogue getting back to his best after a tough 3 month layoff due to injury. The match referee who was excellent all afternoon brought proceedings to a close soon after, with Gorey securing a Leinster semi final spot with games in hand as a result of their hard work.

Final Score Gorey RFC 22 - 10 Carlow RFC

Well done to the entire Gorey squad on a magnificent display.

Gorey Under 14’s continue their Leinster League campaign away to Boyne next weekend.

Supporters wishing to travel with the squad please contact the coaching team for full travel arrangements.

Many thanks to Carlow RFC, match officials and to all our supporters on the day.

A special thanks to the Gorey clubhouse team for the refreshments enjoyed by all after the match.


Gorey Squad; Eoin Molloy, Dylan Slator, Liam Molloy, Lloyd Stephens, Cameron Reynolds, Tom Cleary, Carl Clarke, Tom Higgins, Jack Minogue, Shane Stokes, Killian Pierce, Joseph Naughton, Sean Bardon, Andy Kinsella, P.J. Barnes, Fionn O’ Loughlin, Michael Duke, Eoin Buckley, Jack Cullen, Sean Dunne, Aaron Donnelly, Charlie McGuckin, Conor O’Toole, Jack O’ Mahony, Cathal O’Reilly, Rory Heffernan, Daragh Brooks,
Alan Kelly.