Rugby in Tipperary: Kilfeacle’s siege of Mallow tryline brought no rewards

Munster Junior League

MALLOW 10 KILFEACLE & DISTRICT 3

After the Christmas break “The Boys in Blue” were on the road again on Sunday last, facing a Mallow team who sit proudly in second place in the Munster Junior League Division 1.

When you take into consideration Mallow’s sparkling start to the season and home advantage, in comparison to Kilfeacle’s recent form, some key players missing and playing away, you might have been forgiven for thinking that this was a foregone conclusion and a home win. However, nothing in rugby is ever that simple.

This game had already been postponed once so it had to be played, or home advantage for Mallow would have been lost. The game was played in thick, freezing fog and at times it was impossible to make out what was happening on the other side of the pitch. The freezing weather conditions had a huge impact on the quality and style of play on both sides.

In the first half both teams warily probed and searched for openings, like two seasoned heavyweight pugilists getting to know their opponent.

The majority of the first half was played out in the middle of the pitch, with both sides cagily probing the other’s defence but neither being successful. Both teams had some long-distance penalties but they were kicked for touch and inevitably failed to score. The half was blighted with forced and unforced errors  and was a very disjointed, stop-start affair. When the half time whistle came the game was finely poised at 0-0.

The manner in which the Kilfeacle team started the second half seemed to have an unnerving effect on the home side. 
It was Kilfeacle who finally  landed the first blow when after 16 minutes they worked a scoring opportunity after some good phase play and drew a penalty, which their out half Timmy Clarke converted to points on the board.

Anxious moments followed for the home supporters when they feared that this might be a knockout blow and that the Mallow resistance might crumble. Kilfeacle were to go on to dominate the next 10 minutes and laid siege to the Mallow try line, on one occasion knocking the ball on in the act of grounding the ball.

 Unfortunately for the “Boys in Blue” their kicking out of the hand on the day was not up to par with their usual high standards and cost them dearly on a number of occasions.

The Kilfeacle near misses galvanised the Mallow team into a unit as they went in search of a tangible response.
 After 70 minutes came one of the turning points of the game when, after a fine maul and quick hands, Mallow’s Dylan Walsh breached the Kilfeacle defence for the only time and went over for a try under the posts, setting up a relatively easy conversion attempt, which was converted by Jimmy Glynn.

For the first time in the game Mallow led, by 7-3. Mallow’s scrum was now on top and was causing Kilfeacle problems. 
Some positional changes were made and the threat was nullified.

In the 76th minute Mallow were awarded a penalty just outside Kilfeacle’s 22 and because previous scrums and lineouts had failed to yield any scores, they elected for Jimmy Glynn to kick at goal. It was the correct decision and they increased their lead to 10-3.

Kilfeacle needed to respond with a score. What followed can be best described as a siege on the Mallow line for the remainder of the game. To their credit, the manner in which the home side defended has to be acknowledged. 
The final whistle came too soon for the visiting team and with palpable relief the home side celebrated their hard-fought victory.
 
NEWCASTLE WEST UP NEXT IN LEAGUE
Our first team is back in competitive action  on this Sunday, January 14, in the league, at 2:30 pm against Newcastle West RFC. 

The team as ever are proud and humbled by the amount of support they receive and hope that their supporters will continue to come along and support the “Boys in Blue”.

Kilfeacle’s squad against Mallow  consisted of: 1 Brian Barron, 2 Richard Whitney, 3 Simon Barry, 4 Cormac Ryan, 5 Bob Purcell, 6 Brian Barlow, 7 Thomas Fogarty, 8 Kevin Kinane, 9 Gavin Heuston, 10 Timmy Clarke, 11 Dubhan O’Grady, 12 Keith Bourke, 13 Darren Lowry, 14 Killian Noonan, 15 Kevin Doyle, 16 Cian Carroll, 17 Brendan Barron, 18 Diarmuid O’Donnell, 19 Anthony Foley, 20 Adam Crowe, 21 Cathal Hallissey, 22 Fiachra O’Grady.

Underage Training
We are delighted to announce that training for the underage/younger teams continues every Friday. 
If you missed last week’s training do not fear, as the place to be is Morrissey Park, Kilfeacle, every Friday night. If you enjoy team sports in healthy surroundings with experienced coaches, great facilities and loads of fun then Morrissey Park is the place to be on Friday night.