22 January 2012

Leinster League, Division 1A
Tullamore 12 Newbridge 5

NEWBRIDGE’s snatched losers’ bonus that was entirely deserved after being forced to defend their line for long periods against a rampant Tullamore pack. Living on scraps of possession Newbridge did well to stem the onslaught and even had their chances to score which would have delivered an unlikely win.

The first quarter saw Tullamore cross over the try line twice only to be judged held up on both occasions. Second row forward Ian Burns made some telling interventions as did hooker Gareth O’Reilly in what was a battle of wills as Tullamore stuck to the Route One plan. While Newbridge were also let off the hook by Tullamore’s handling errors, giving away six penalties in that period didn’t help the cause.

On 20 minutes, a turnover and then long kick up field by Ronan Skehan put winger Padraig Mahon and centre Sean Kelly in a race for the touchdown to which they were barely beaten by the Tullamore cover. Newbridge took their chance to keep pressure on and won back possession from the 22 drop-out to attack the line. Awarded a penalty close to the line, scrum half Ryan Jones took a quick tap and Kelly was on hand to dot down for a 5-0 lead.

But Tullamore showed they were also capable of attacking from deep, breaking from a scrum in their own 22 that forced Newbridge scramble back to stop a certain try. Tullamore missed a very kickable penalty just before half to leave Newbridge 5-0 ahead at the break despite being under the cosh for most of the game.

The second half started in the same vein with Tullamore immediately back on the Newbridge line after a penalty put them into the corner. The Newbridge defence were still able to stay in control but a second penalty left them facing another close-range lineout. This time Tullamore got over the line on the third phase to make it 5-5 as the right winger found the gap in the Newbridge defence. Five minutes later Newbridge failed to deal with a kick deep into their territory giving the homeside another attacking platform. Another patient attack by the Tullamore pack yielded a second try which was converted for a 12-5 lead with 30 minutes left to play.

Newbridge had their chances to get back on even terms. A telling break in the centre by Ben Swindlehurst could have a yielded a score but a final pass was knocked on the opportunity was gone. Then winger Dave Hogan, fresh from the subs bench, looked to have broken through only for a desperate fingertip tackle to slow him long enough for the defenders to catch up. Newbridge can have no complaints and props Eddie Southern and Grant Wattleworth proved well up to the formidable challenge in the scrums. While the line-out battle was shaded by Tullamore, Newbridge always looked more dangerous in broken play but were starved of enough possession to make it count.

Next week it’s Towns Cup with Rathdrum travelling Rosetown for the opening round clash.

Newbridge: Karl Darragh, Stephen Cooke, Ben Swindlehurst (capt), Sean Kelly, Padraig Mahon, Ronan Skehan, Ryan Jones, Jonny Downey, Austin Cella, Niall Duggan, Terry Donnelly, Ian Burns, Eddie Southern, Gareth O’Reilly, Grant Wattleworth.