Gorey u14s Cup win away in Tullamore. Sunday March 9th.
It was a lovely warm dry spring day and the U14s made the trip to Tullamore in search of a Leinster Cup semi final spot.
It was a ferocious start from both sides with Gorey committed to dominant hard tackling from the get go and throughout the match.
After 4 mins, Michael had a brilliant ruck turnover which led to a Morgan pick-and-go, with the captain getting the ball out to Sam who does what he does so well, he made a burst for the try line and touched down under the posts. Olly converted easily.
The game continued in its ferocity and after 12 mins having soaked up load of pressure in defence, Gorey were awarded a Penalty. Great hands from the lads got the ball wide again and Sam went over for his 2nd try under posts. Olly converted again. 14 - 0
After 22mins and a Tullamore penalty, which was quickly taken, Gorey were judged not to have retreated the required 10 and Hugh saw a yellow card and sat out the end of the first half.
Tullamore scored and converted off the penalty. 14-7
With only seconds left of the 2nd half, some incidents off the ball distracted Gorey and Tullamore went into the corner for another converted try .
Halftime 14-14.
Great pressure by Gorey led to a nice chip through by Adam which was just marginally too long. 10 mins into the second half more good passing led to Donnachadh sidestepping a number of defenders and cross the line for a try out wide. The angle left an awkward conversion just out of Olly’s reach.
Gorey held strong under a period of sustained pressure in their own 22 until after 18 mins Tullamore scored an unconverted try. 19-19
5 mins later Finn claimed a tricky high ball and with the help of good, strong carries from both Tyler and Charlie put Gorey on the front foot again.
Some fresh legs off the bench added some more momentum into the squad with Hugo putting his shoulder injury in the rearview and a very brave Zach returning for his first match since shattering his leg on the last visit to Tullamore back in 2023.
22 mins into the second half and deep in Tullamore 22, the boys were playing a stormer with that many phases that almost all 15 handled the ball, Michael was just short of the line when he was tackled and from the base of the ruck Tyler came over the top to score a great try. Olly convert. 26-19
After an issue of mistaken identity where a Gorey player was deemed to have held on on the ground, Zack saw a yellow card.
The last few mins were nail biting stuff with some heroic defence needed inside the Gorey 22 to hold out a last push for the line by the hosts. The pressure was released by a tackle from Sam followed by great jackling from Donnachadh that led to a Gorey penalty for holding on and an opportunity to counter.
A quick reset, and even quicker handling saw Sam set loose from deep inside his own 22 and set off on a blistering run, unfortunately he lost the ball forward just as he crossed the try line.
With only 1 score in it, the boys had minutes left and fought hard to keep inside the Tullamore 22.
After winning a penalty inside the Tullamore 22, Olly kicked a cool 3 points to go 10 points clear and from the restart, Tyler gathered the ball and kicked to touch to close out a frenetic 50 minutes of rugby.
Full time score was 29-19; a hard fought, nerve wracking and well deserved win.
It was a lovely warm dry spring day and the U14s made the trip to Tullamore in search of a Leinster Cup semi final spot.
It was a ferocious start from both sides with Gorey committed to dominant hard tackling from the get go and throughout the match.
After 4 mins, Michael had a brilliant ruck turnover which led to a Morgan pick-and-go, with the captain getting the ball out to Sam who does what he does so well, he made a burst for the try line and touched down under the posts. Olly converted easily.
The game continued in its ferocity and after 12 mins having soaked up load of pressure in defence, Gorey were awarded a Penalty. Great hands from the lads got the ball wide again and Sam went over for his 2nd try under posts. Olly converted again. 14 - 0
After 22mins and a Tullamore penalty, which was quickly taken, Gorey were judged not to have retreated the required 10 and Hugh saw a yellow card and sat out the end of the first half.
Tullamore scored and converted off the penalty. 14-7
With only seconds left of the 2nd half, some incidents off the ball distracted Gorey and Tullamore went into the corner for another converted try .
Halftime 14-14.
Great pressure by Gorey led to a nice chip through by Adam which was just marginally too long. 10 mins into the second half more good passing led to Donnachadh sidestepping a number of defenders and cross the line for a try out wide. The angle left an awkward conversion just out of Olly’s reach.
Gorey held strong under a period of sustained pressure in their own 22 until after 18 mins Tullamore scored an unconverted try. 19-19
5 mins later Finn claimed a tricky high ball and with the help of good, strong carries from both Tyler and Charlie put Gorey on the front foot again.
Some fresh legs off the bench added some more momentum into the squad with Hugo putting his shoulder injury in the rearview and a very brave Zach returning for his first match since shattering his leg on the last visit to Tullamore back in 2023.
22 mins into the second half and deep in Tullamore 22, the boys were playing a stormer with that many phases that almost all 15 handled the ball, Michael was just short of the line when he was tackled and from the base of the ruck Tyler came over the top to score a great try. Olly convert. 26-19
After an issue of mistaken identity where a Gorey player was deemed to have held on on the ground, Zack saw a yellow card.
The last few mins were nail biting stuff with some heroic defence needed inside the Gorey 22 to hold out a last push for the line by the hosts. The pressure was released by a tackle from Sam followed by great jackling from Donnachadh that led to a Gorey penalty for holding on and an opportunity to counter.
A quick reset, and even quicker handling saw Sam set loose from deep inside his own 22 and set off on a blistering run, unfortunately he lost the ball forward just as he crossed the try line.
With only 1 score in it, the boys had minutes left and fought hard to keep inside the Tullamore 22.
After winning a penalty inside the Tullamore 22, Olly kicked a cool 3 points to go 10 points clear and from the restart, Tyler gathered the ball and kicked to touch to close out a frenetic 50 minutes of rugby.
Full time score was 29-19; a hard fought, nerve wracking and well deserved win.
