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Leinster League

Division 1A

 

Newbridge 17
County Carlow 16

 

FOR the second week in a row Newbridge pulled off a last minute fight back to snatch a single-point victory.

Fearsome tackling and a brave attacking ethos saw the home team get a deserved win and cement their place in the top half of Division 1A.

 

Battered and bloodied prop Cillian O’Shea dominated his opposite number in a confident performance by the Newbridge front five.

Second-row Liam Heavey more than justified his call up to the first XV with a superb performance in the line-out while his second-row partner Terry Donnelly added steel in the dog-fight between the packs.

 

Man-of-the-match belonged to Ben Swindlehurst in the centre along with Denis O’Callaghan in the centre who tortured the County Carlow defence in the first half.

 

Both teams opened the match at a furious pace and playing attacking rugby with Newbridge getting the upper hand.

 

Massey Tuhakraina at scrum half delivered a rapier service to his three-quarters that stretched the Carlow defence.

 

He came close to a try from a quick-tapped penalty but Swindlehurst then slotted over as Carlow were forced into another error.

Carlow’s Chris Bolger missed his opening chance to even the scores but then found the range and made no mistake to make it 3-3 after 11 minutes.

 

From the restart Swindlehurst then produced an arcing run from inside his own half off a lineout to score the only try before the break.

 

Earlier O’Callaghan came close after finding a way through but was brought down close to the posts.

 

The combined effect from the centre pairing was to force Carlow take a more cautious approach in the midfield with Robbie Waters at full-back counter-kicking to good effect.

 

On the half hour Carlow were down to 14 thanks to a sin-binning but Newbridge couldn’t convert their dominance into points with Swindlehurst missing two kicks at goal.

 

County Carlow grabbed the lifeline thrown to them with both hands and started the second half with an intent not previously seen.

 

Fresh prop Sean Hennessey steadied the scrum and Bolger hit two penalties, including one from the halfway line, to bring Newbridge back to 10-9.

 

With prop Mark Southern then yellow-carded and O’Shea temporarily forced off with a blood injury Newbridge looked unsettled.

Carlow took their chance and produced some impressive attacking phases with No 8 James Nolan getting over from a ruck close to the line.

 

A re-arranged Newbridge outfit with Mick Byrne brought into the back row and John Southern moving to No.8 got back to grips with the game.

 

From the kick out Newbridge won a penalty and kicked into the corner for a promising attacking position.

Heavey soared high and delivered the perfect pass to Southern peeling around who charged through the defence but was held up over the line.

 

It was nip and tuck throughout the final quarter but played almost entirely in the County Carlow half.

Both teams turned over possession but Carlow couldn’t break the siege and eventually were forced into a penalty try as the Newbridge scrum marched to the line.

 

Swindlehurst then slotted the winning conversion and the Newbridge pack ran down the clock from the kick-off for the win.

Match report from www.newbridgerugby.com

 

Newbridge RFC: Cillian O'Shea, Gareth O'Reilly, Mark Southern, Terry Donnelly, Liam Heavey, John Southern, Niall Duggan, Jonny Downey, Massey Tuhakaraina, Sean Kelly, Neal Hogan, Ben Swindelhurst (capt), Denis R O'Callaghan, Dave Hogan, Robbie Waters. Subs: Killian O’Hagan, Mick Byrne, Brendan Tiernan, John McNamara, Glen Braithwaite

County Carlow FC: Larry McGrath, Mark Slye, Chris Bynre, Paddy O'Connor, Wes Shirley, John Joe Waddock (capt), Stuart Holland, James Nolan, Dave Barron, Barry Purcell, Stephen Smith, Paddy Barcoe, George Campbell, Ian Pearson, Chris Bolger. Subs: Sean Hennessy, Peter Ryan, Keith Corrigan, Richie White, Cian Moore.

 

Provincial Seconds

 

Newbridge 32
County Carlow 0

 

NEWBRIDGE unleashed a performance they have been threatening for some time with a bonus point win over Carlow.

Across the board Newbridge looked more hungry and forced Carlow into making errors which they exploited to their full advantage.

 

Winger Willie Ryan got over for the first try finishing off some slick handling with outhalf John McNamara adding the conversion and two penalties for a 13-0 halftime lead.

 

In the centre Dave Brannigan and Colm Dunning asked some questions of the Carlow defence but the real punch was provided by the marauding Newbridge pack in the loose.

 

Shane O’Brien, Niall O’Connor and Kevin McCarthy were very effective with ball in hand.

 

However, Rory McCann made a big impact on his return to Newbridge colours with two second half tries that put Newbridge 25-0 ahead and in bonus point territory with ten minutes to go.

 

Newbridge first had to weather the storm of some late Carlow pressure, but a break out came and the home team got deep into Carlow territory.

 

Although they turned over possession Barry McCann dispossessed the scrum half and O’Brien snatched the ball and offloaded to support.

 

It went through two phases and flanker Shane O'Brien drove in from close for the bonus-point try.