In the southeast east league, Gorey U13s, captained this week by Oisin, faced New Ross with their semifinal spot already secured. This gave us the freedom to experiment with a few positional and personnel changes.
Gorey started strong with a good turnover from Finn and an impressive attack sequence from touchline to touchline, finishing with a try by Jack Robins. From the restart, Gorey continued to utilize the pitch effectively, leading to a try by Andrew, converted by Harry. Following another successful restart and direct running from Zach and Sam, Andrew crossed the line for his second try, again converted by Harry. Just before halftime, Finn found himself in space on the wing and scored, with Oisin converting, leaving the halftime score at 26-0.
The second half began just as strongly for Gorey, with Harry executing a superb clearance kick, which he chased, chipped again, regathered, and scored, also adding the conversion. However, a noticeable change in refereeing led to a shift in fortunes, with New Ross scoring three tries and converting one. Despite this, the boys adapted and regained control, with David finishing off a nice piece of work and Oisin adding the conversion. The official full-time score was 40-17.
The extra 20 minutes allowed the remaining squad members to take to the pitch, resulting in three more scores from Andrew, Hugh, and a particularly nice one from Conn. Well done, boys—it's fantastic to see such numbers traveling and putting pressure on everyone for a jersey.
The harsh calls by the referee were a great learning experience for the team, and overall, they responded well.
**Special Mentions:**
- Man of the Match: Noah for his usual excellent play and great leadership in calling moves and making huge tackles.
- Thomas for his tremendous work rate.
- Andrew, Owen, and Hugh for their hard carrying.
- Sam for his relentless rucking and tackling.
Well done again, boys—a great result with plenty to work on and room for improvement, especially for those taking their chances to impress when they get them.
