1st XV 23-0 Tullow
Yet another day of destiny awaited Coolmine’s 1st fifteen as they took on Tullow in Ashbrook on Sunday in a bid to secure their second league title in a row. While nearest rivals Newbridge faced Garda up the road in Westmanstown Coolmine knew securing the championship was in their own hands and a win would bring silverware back to the club for the first time this season. In their previous encounter in November Tullow beat Coolmine by three points so nobody was taking this match for granted. Playing conditions were poor that day and Coolmine were unable to play the wide expansive game that suits them but there could be no excuses made on Sunday, a bright spring day greeted the players as they ran onto the pitch and the stage was set for another gripping encounter. Coolmines first attacking opportunity came after 5 minutes with Conor Hayes stepping into the line and gaining vital ground down the left wing. Six minutes later and an exchange of penalties from both sides failed to meet their target leaving the game scoreless for the first quarter. Eoin Mullen had to leave the field early due to a nasty cut to his head and was replaced by Johnny Lee. 20 minutes into the game and Coolmine were beginning to dominate but the scoreboard remained frustratingly blank. Two Coolmine penalties were kicked for touch and when the third successive penalty was awarded in front of the posts Coolmine duly took their three points thanks to the boot of Donal Crotty. The visitors replied with a penalty attempt of their own but it went wide of the far post. Coolmine managed to secure another 3 points before half time with the second of two penalty attempts just scraping over after first hitting the post then the crossbar. A six point lead was little reward for all the possession Coolmine had enjoyed, and while they were spreading the ball around comfortably their last touch was letting them down. Were nerves creeping in? Would a six point lead be enough? News from Westmanstown put Newbridge ahead comfortably with 3 trys already secured so a lose was not an option.
A big crowd turned up to cheer the lads on and they made plenty of noise as the teams took to the pitch for the second period. Coolmine again piled on the pressure. Another missed penalty after 9 minutes failed to give them any breathing space but a yellow card for Tullow several minutes later gave the home side a numerical advantage for 10 minutes. And Coolmine took full advantage. After an initial surge winger David Stone managed to cross the whitewash but was held up. The ensuing 5 metre scrum was dominated by the Coolmine pack and when number 8 Liam McGrath ‘picked and went’ from the rear he somehow managed to squeeze into the corner to touch down. Pleas from the opposition for a foot in touch were dismissed by the ref and Crottys conversion attempt again hit the upright but this time failed to go over. With a bit of breathing space now between the sides Coolmine seemed to relax and passes began to ‘stick’. Quick hands across the back line led to Coolmine’s second try and Niall O Donoghue’s off -load to David Stone gave the winger space to barge over for the second time in the game the conversion left the score at 18-0 to the home side with seven minutes left and everyone could relax at last. An interception by Donal Crotty in his own 22 saw him running the length of the pitch only to be called back by the ref for an earlier transgression. The minutes were ticking away and the game was nearly over when David Barry managed to snatch a loose bouncing ball on the half way line and won the foot race to the line despite losing one of his boots along the way to the delight of the cheering crowd. Donal managed to hit the upright for the 3rd time but nobody cared as the crowd had already began celebrating the historic victory. IRFU president John Callaghan was on hand to present the winning trophy to Captain Ollie Prunty. Its Div 1A for Coolmine next season but meanwhile they will be turning their attentions to the Spencer Cup in the coming weeks. Many thanks to our sponsors Fetherstone Group & Brasserie 15.
Meanwhile our 2nd XV finished off their league campaign in style with a 50-0 win over Tullow’s 2nd XV and they finish a very credible 3rd place in their league. They face Seapoint next Friday away in the Byrne Cup final. Kickoff is 7:30. All support welcome. A 13-10 defeat away to Terenure for our 3rds on Saturday leaves them sitting in 3 place with 1 match remaining.
1 R PATTERSON
2 E MULLEN
3 M HAYES
4 M KENNA
5 C MCINTYRE
6 O PRUNTY (CAPTAIN)
7 H MURRAY
8 L MCGRATH
9 A COUSINS
10 D CROTTY
11 D STONE
12 C HAYES
13 D STACEY
14 D BARRY
15 N O DONOGHUE
SUBS: J LEE, A WOOD, S BUCK, D GERATHY, R FARRELL
REPORT: JOE HUNT
