Gorey RFC U14 Boys continued their Leinster League journey on Saturday 22nd as they hosted Kilkenny in Clonattin, coming out on top in a cracking contest, 24–17 💚🤍💙
A bright, dry morning greeted the teams, with Gorey almost able to field two full squads while Kilkenny travelled light on numbers. In a great show of spirit, Dave pulled on the black and amber for the day to ensure a full 15-a-side game could go ahead 👏
Gorey started with real intent but the opening 10 minutes were littered with knock-ons and loose passing which spoiled some early chances. Sustained pressure deep in the Kilkenny 22 finally told when the forwards carried hard, the ball was moved wide, and Eoin – lining out at 6 – crashed over for the opening score, with Harry adding the extras for 7–0.
Kilkenny showed they were well up for it in defence and had threats out wide, but midway through the half Paddy and Sam combined brilliantly in the tackle to force a turnover. That opened the door for Noah “Rossi”, on his first game in the pack, to power through heavy traffic before Thomas finished from a fast ruck for 12–0. With five minutes left in the half, Gorey struck again – Ben went close on the right, the ball was flashed back left and Andrew finished well as the extra man, with Thomas converting for 19–0. Kilkenny hit back just before the break, punishing some narrow defending with a well-taken try and a superb touchline conversion to leave it 19–7 at halftime.
The visitors carried that momentum into the second half and, after some missed tackles from Gorey, crossed again to close the gap to 19–12. That seemed to jolt Gorey back into life. The boys lifted the work rate and spent a long spell hammering at the Kilkenny line, with Aldo agonisingly held up. Seven minutes later, more big carries and accurate rucking opened a gap for Andrew to slice through and offload to Ben, who finished brilliantly in the corner for 24–12.
The final quarter was a real battle. Ronan was denied a near-certain try by a superb cover tackle from “traitor” Dave, while Jack came up with a huge defensive hit to stop another Kilkenny attack. The visitors kept playing to the end and were rewarded with a well-deserved late try to leave the final score 24–17 in Gorey’s favour.
Man of the Match went to Alex, who controlled things superbly with strong tackles and smart decision-making throughout 👏 Special mentions to newly-minted prop Rossi, who scrummed strongly and relished the physical exchanges; to Ben on his first start on the wing with big tackles, strong rucking and a try; and to Sam and Thomas who were, as always, everywhere and right in the thick of it.
Next up, a brilliant test awaits as the lads face Blackrock – plenty to build on and plenty to look forward to 💪
#GoreyRFC #GoreyU14 #LeinsterLeague #HonGorey #RugbyFamily 💚🤍💙 #YouthRugby #GoreyVsKilkenny
A bright, dry morning greeted the teams, with Gorey almost able to field two full squads while Kilkenny travelled light on numbers. In a great show of spirit, Dave pulled on the black and amber for the day to ensure a full 15-a-side game could go ahead 👏
Gorey started with real intent but the opening 10 minutes were littered with knock-ons and loose passing which spoiled some early chances. Sustained pressure deep in the Kilkenny 22 finally told when the forwards carried hard, the ball was moved wide, and Eoin – lining out at 6 – crashed over for the opening score, with Harry adding the extras for 7–0.
Kilkenny showed they were well up for it in defence and had threats out wide, but midway through the half Paddy and Sam combined brilliantly in the tackle to force a turnover. That opened the door for Noah “Rossi”, on his first game in the pack, to power through heavy traffic before Thomas finished from a fast ruck for 12–0. With five minutes left in the half, Gorey struck again – Ben went close on the right, the ball was flashed back left and Andrew finished well as the extra man, with Thomas converting for 19–0. Kilkenny hit back just before the break, punishing some narrow defending with a well-taken try and a superb touchline conversion to leave it 19–7 at halftime.
The visitors carried that momentum into the second half and, after some missed tackles from Gorey, crossed again to close the gap to 19–12. That seemed to jolt Gorey back into life. The boys lifted the work rate and spent a long spell hammering at the Kilkenny line, with Aldo agonisingly held up. Seven minutes later, more big carries and accurate rucking opened a gap for Andrew to slice through and offload to Ben, who finished brilliantly in the corner for 24–12.
The final quarter was a real battle. Ronan was denied a near-certain try by a superb cover tackle from “traitor” Dave, while Jack came up with a huge defensive hit to stop another Kilkenny attack. The visitors kept playing to the end and were rewarded with a well-deserved late try to leave the final score 24–17 in Gorey’s favour.
Man of the Match went to Alex, who controlled things superbly with strong tackles and smart decision-making throughout 👏 Special mentions to newly-minted prop Rossi, who scrummed strongly and relished the physical exchanges; to Ben on his first start on the wing with big tackles, strong rucking and a try; and to Sam and Thomas who were, as always, everywhere and right in the thick of it.
Next up, a brilliant test awaits as the lads face Blackrock – plenty to build on and plenty to look forward to 💪
#GoreyRFC #GoreyU14 #LeinsterLeague #HonGorey #RugbyFamily 💚🤍💙 #YouthRugby #GoreyVsKilkenny
