Kilfeacle claim solid win over Old Christians

Kilfeacle and District R.F.C. 21

Old Christians R.F.C. 10

Kilfeacle and District RFC welcomed Old Christians RFC to Morrissey Park last Sunday for their meeting in the Munster Division 1 League encounter, with the home side recording a solid victory.
The weather was far from conducive for rugby with a heavy wind blowing down the pitch, with some torrential downpours and conditions underfoot extremely wet and heavy.

The home side started playing with the strong wind and rain at their backs and with the home support urging them on and the expectations of a home win weighing on their shoulders. Kilfeacle started with a sense of urgency and had the better of the earlier exchanges and managed to put some good phases of play together however they were meeting a well marshalled defence.

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The first ten minutes were riddled with many forced and unforced errors on both sides and this trend was to blight the game and make it a very stop-start affair.
Lineouts on both sides really became a lottery and scrums became the most stable platform for either team to build on and Kilfeacle were to prove the far superior team for this facet of play.

After ten minutes of concerted effort a Kilfeacle rolling maul was brought down illegally just short of the Old Christian tryline. The referee had no hesitation in awarding Kilfeacle and District a penalty try to open the scoring 7-0. Nine minutes later Kevin Kinnane raced clear from the halfway line, broke through three tackles and raced in to score a try. Gavin Heuston was able to convert with the help of the elements to bring the score to 14-0 for the home side.

The next 10 minutes were spent with Kilfeacle and District relinquishing hard earned territory through handling errors mainly due to the weather conditions. Old Christians, to their credit, never gave up. Three penalties in quick succession in the 30th minute saw them break into Kilfeacle’s 22 for the first and only time in the half.

A very clever lineout manoeuvre and an unfortunate untimely slip in the Kilfeacle defence saw Old Christians score a try in the corner. The conversion attempt against the strong wind and rain fell short, which meant after 30 minutes Kilfeacle were leading 14-5. After this score Kilfeacle didn’t panic and stuck to their game plan.

Their next score arrived after some fierce tackling by Kilfeacle’s forwards, as they built the platform for a scrum on the Old Christians 22. Cormac Ryan picked the ball from the base of a ruck, broke the Old Christians defensive line and sprinted 20 metres before he touched down for a try which Gavin Heuston duly converted, in the 36th minute.
The next four minutes were played in the middle of the pitch with no more scoring chances so the halftime score was 21-5 in favour of Kilfeacle.

The conditions worsened at halftime so Old Christians started the half with good territorial possession but were unable to breach a well marshalled Kilfeacle defence. Old Christians were hampered by the conditions and plagued with handling errors, As the second half progressed Kilfeacle and District started to come into the game more and began to look menacing with some sustained possession and good phases of play.

Kilfeacle were now having the better of the exchanges as they went in search of a fourth try and a bonus point win that would be vital in their hopes of a top 4 finish. However, the game became an endurance test as the conditions made it very difficult to play rugby.

The Kilfeacle bench was emptied but the pattern of the game remained the same with Old Christians pinned into their own 22. Old Christians didn’t get where they are today by giving up. Even when trapped in their own 22, their defense was very impressive. With only minutes left on the clock a long clearance kick from the Old Christian 22 into touch just metres short of the Kilfeacle tryline.

Old Christians tried phase after phase to score and eventually after some sterling play which saw them push over in the corner. They were unlucky with the conversion attempt to leave the final score reading 21 points to 10 in favour of the home side.
Kilfeacle were happy with the performance and the result, in a game played in very difficult conditions.

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