Portlaoise 34 Naas 30
U-16 Rugby North Midlands League
The North Midlands League title was at stake when Portlaoise and Naas met in Cill Dara last Sunday morning.
The midday sun was breaking through as the sides took to the field and it kept shining on Portlaoise as they came out on top in a very entertaining encounter.
Portlaoise kicked off and got a foothold in the Naas half which eventually led to the game’s opening score after five minutes.
Tenacious tackling from Cormac Drea and Fionn Mullen forced Naas to turn over possession and fine line breaks by Bill Rigney and Paul Byrne secured a scrum in a central position on the Naas 22.
Eanna Moynihan picked off the base and moved the ball through the hands for Cullen Kirwan to finish in style in the right corner. Matt Cunningham added the extras with a fine kick from the touch line for a 7-0 lead.
It didn’t take Naas long to respond with Matthew Costigan nailing a fine penalty from just outside the 10 metre line after Portlaoise were penalised at the breakdown.
Cunningham and Costigan then exchanged penalties from just outside the 22 to leave the score 10-6 to Portlaoise after 10 minutes.
The Portlaoise front row of Shane Foley, Conor Deegan, and Mark Ging were starting to dominate the exchanges and a great ‘jackal’ by Drea just inside the Naas half forced a penalty that created the opportunity for Portlaoise to get in for their second try after 20 minutes.
Cunningham found touch inside the 22 and Portlaoise went to the maul after a great take by Rigney at the lineout.
The ball was recycled after a strong carry by Aaron Fitzpatrick, and a line break and off-load by Cunningham put Eoghan Kennedy in to the left of the posts. The extras were added as Portlaoise extended their lead to 17-6.
Naas had the final say of the half as Costigan added another penalty from just outside the 22 to leave it 17-9 to Portlaoise at the break.
Naas hit the ground running at the start of the second half and reduced the lead to the bare minimum after just two minutes.
They secured possession from the re-start and a cross-field kick stretched the Portlaoise defence to allow Cillian McHugh cross the white wash for a converted try to the left of the posts.
Credit to Portlaoise, they responded in style with the midfield pairing of Donnchadh Carroll and Daniel Whelan really coming to the fore in a dominant period for Portlaoise.
A great steal by Mullen on halfway put Portlaoise on the attack and Kennedy and Byrne combined to send Whelan on a road trip through the Naas defence to touch down in the right corner.
Five minutes later, Kirwan made great ground up the right wing before a sweeping move through the backline saw Byrne dive over the line out on the left for a fine team try to make it 27-16 to Portlaoise.
Naas rallied and pushed hard into the Portlaoise half but great work by Stephen Conroy and Darragh Maher halted their gallop and Cunningham kicked deep into their 22 to send Portlaoise in search if another score which duly arrived on the back of a fine set play.
Kyle Moore got the backline moving and, with the Naas defence at full stretch, Carroll calmly stepped back inside to score to the left of the posts.
Cunningham converted to put Portlaoise firmly in the driving seat at 34-16 with little more than 5 minutes remaining.
Naas didn’t read the script, however, and finished strongly with two converted tries. Both scores were similar in nature with their forwards making the hard yards up the right before the ball was moved to midfield where Oisin Brien finished in style on the double.
The final conversion brought the final whistle and silverware to Portlaoise on a score line of 34-30.
PORTLAOISE: Eoghan Kennedy, Aaron Fitzpatrick, Daniel Whelan, Donnchadh Carroll, Cullen Kirwan, Matt Cunningham, Paul Byrne, Shane Foley, Conor Deegan, Mark Ging, Bill Rigney, Stephen Conroy, Cormac Drea, Fionn Mullen, Eanna Moynihan (c).
Replacements: David Allely, Dan Murrell, Ricky Lyons, Darragh Maher, Jamie Shiel, Kyle Moore.
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