On Sunday 12th of October our under 13’s played away to Wicklow RFC. The weather conditions were good for a well contested game of rugby.

The game ebbed and flowed from the start, with both teams showing a great display of rugby. In the 10th minute Wicklow crossed the line for the first try of the game to make it 5-0. During the game there was a lot of ferocity in the scrums. There were some great ball handling by our forwards, a special mention to Ciaran Dowling who made some fantastic carries in the first half. In the 21st minute a clever pass out of a ruck from our scrum half Josh Allen saw our fly half Ronán run past three Wicklow players to place the ball between the posts for Gorey’s first try. Converted by Ronán to make it 5-7 to Gorey. Our forwards played with aggression against a relentless Wicklow side. Joe Ashmore Butler, Matthew O’Brien, Ciarán Dowling, James Dunne, Jack Kearon, Mark Byrne Devitt, Aaron O’ Sullivan and Robert Ireton all showed strength and determination. (Half time 5-7)

The second half we brought some fresh legs onto the pitch. After 5 minutes a scrum to Wicklow saw the ball being turned over by Gorey to the back of the scrum, where Fiachra Kearney gathered it up and powered his way through the Wicklow defence to score Gorey’s second try (5-12). Three minutes later Fiachra was in the right place again as Gorey’s scrum overturned another ball to see Fiachra cross the line with three Wicklow players hanging off him. Converted by Ronán McManus to make it 5-19. 

Wicklow battled throughout but our players showed great resilience and power in there play. On his debut, Daniel Kennedy (inside centre) showed great confidence with his strong runs and passing, gaining a lot of territory throughout the game. Robert and Fintan Hempenstall made countless tackles in this physical contest. In the 23rd minute of the second half William Langrell made a powerful run and then offloaded to  Daniel Kennedy to put him into space, he then made an outstanding run through the centre of the Wicklow defence and from a combination of passes between Marlon, Tristan, and Fiachra, finally reaching William Langrell  and offering himself again to finish the job for Gorey’s 4th try (5-24).

Wicklow came back in the dying minutes with a consolation try and converted to finish the game 12-24 to Gorey. It was an all-round team performance in which the lads should be very proud of with each player contributing to a good win. Special thanks to the coaches, the referee Niall Callery, the host club Wicklow, and our Sponsors. Up next, we play Enniscorthy at home on Monday 20th October.