College beat Corrib in riverside rugby semi-final; Curley Cup Match Report
Uni of Galway Men’s
Corrib RFC
22 (4 Tries)
17 (2 Tries)
14’ Try Lelievre (5-0)
29’ Try Cawley (12-0)
30’ Yellow Card McDonnell
60’ Try Murphy (17-7)
69’ Try Magliocco (22-14)
72’ Yellow Card Bent
35’ Try O’Reilly (12-7)
65’ Try O’Reilly (17-14)
72’ Penalty Kick Gibbons (22-17)
The Curley Cup returned to Dangan last Sunday, with University of Galway Men’s Rugby Club beating Corrib RFC 22-14 in a hotly contested semi-final between the two riverside clubs.
College advanced to the semi-final with home advantage following a thrilling last-minute win versus Castlebar on the 20th September, where the boys in maroon showed great determination to make up a 12-point deficit in the last 15 minutes of the fixture to win out 21-19. Corrib’s road to the semi-final saw them dispatch Ballinasloe’s Seconds with a wider margin of 14-27. The college’s coaching team of Alan Bane and Sean Lelievre had their side reinforced with winger Cillian Cawley (returning after a try-scoring performance versus Tuam in a preseason friendly) and the late addition of Conor Leahy to the squad. The University Women’s Team started the afternoon off with their own tantalising win versus Sligo RFC (with their own match report pending) and set the stage for the men to follow their success on a drizzly and windy half-two kick-off at the Dangan Sportsfield.
Under the watchful gaze of Menlo Castle, Corrib set the tone of a highly physical match with a high-tackle from kick-off on College’s Mike O’Meara. College applied pressure in the early stages off of kicks from flyhalf Dan Bent, capped off by a quality chase by outside-centre Faelan Stuart three minutes in. College’s pressure paid off when a Corrib kick went out on the full and brought College their first lineout of the day on the Corrib 30m. Small mistakes by College in the lineout and a ruck infringement gave Corrib their own lineout on the halfway-line, which was promptly skied by their scrumhalf Jack Reilly over the heads of a waiting pod. However, in an early moment of open field intensity, Corrib’s 13 Finn O’Loughlin launched a chip-and-chase effort from beyond halfway that was ultimately smothered in the College in-goal area for a dropout.
A nervy start then gave way to attacking threats by both teams. College showed their ability to march Corrib’s physicality coming into the ten-minute mark, with scrumhalf Sean Crowley landing a big hit on an even bigger man to secure a College scrum. A well-placed kick from Bent gave College an attacking lineout by the Corrib 22; a slight overthrow in the end then resulted in the miraculous image of Corrib’s tail-gunner prop kicking a 50:22 deep into College’s territory (in a somewhat more successful tribute to Larry Jones’ clearance attempt versus Castlebar). Corrib coughed up a cheap infringement off of their lineout and were promptly punished by College’s backs. A 30m line break by John “Senior” Kennedy at inside centre following a dummy pass off College’s lineout put two Corrib men flat on the floor and left College in a prime position to attack with their other backs, with winger Eoghan Cullen being forced into touch at the Corrib 5m. A flurry of Corrib jerseys went up for their own lineout, but it was the mighty frame of College’s second-row Jules Lelievre who connected with the ball and crossed the white-wash for the opening score at the 14 minute mark. In windy conditions, Bent’s effort at the post went to the right leaving the score line at 5-0.
College’s captain and inside flanker Peter Magliocco met the Corrib restart with quality post-contact metres, while his fullback Alex Hermitage was unlucky to have knocked-on the ball following a close chase on a box-kick. College were able to rely on a rocksteady scrum all afternoon, headed off by a front-row of Larry Jones, Oscar Soden and Gavin Lawlor. Jones and Soden proved that two hookers were better than one, with Jones moving from loosehead to hooker as the game wore on, while Lawlor brought much needed fire to the fixture in the first twenty minutes as he got to know his opposite number in the opposition pack. Great link off play from scrums between College’s No. 8 Mike O’Meara and Crowley at 9 resulted in a thundering run from the Kerry scrumhalf at the twenty minute mark. Temporary setbacks in the form of a forward pass off of a College tap-and-go were quickly rectified by a monstrous scrum turnover and penalty which elicited a single command from Corrib’s managerial team; “Lose the niceness.”
It only took a mater of minutes for College to drive home their advantage, with the return of Cillian Cawley lightning feet being felt throughout the last fifteen minutes of the first half. Cawley’s first major run down the right side of the pitch was cut short by an offside penalty, with the resulting kick from Corrib landing in ground boggy enough to trip over a matchday reporter as he attempted to recover the ball (to answer Colm: I still don’t know what I tripped on). College were more successful in the air than I was on the ground however, and the deployment of two pods in the air by College proved to be too much flak for Corrib hooker Christy Reilly to throw through. Reilly’s crooked throw resulted in a solid College scrum from which a beautiful attacking move between Kennedy and Bent gained enough space for Cillian Cawley to be unleashed. Cawley had only one man to beat on his 50m run, with the support line of Eoghan Cullen keeping the Corrib fullback planted. Cawley dotted down the ball under the posts, which enabled a simple conversion from Bent to put College 12-0 up with nearly 30 minutes gone.
The last 10 minutes before halftime became a messy affair; in College’s quarter-final versus Castlebar, the men in maroon had conceded a try just before 40 minutes and a similar occurrence happened this time around. A strong carry off of the restart by College’s J.J. Day resulted in a box-kick by Crowley; all of the College players who pursued the kick were deemed to be offside and in the ensuing rush to get back to the point that the penalty was given, an attempt to slow down the ball by College’s outside flanker, Shane McDonnell, was deemed cynical enough to merit a yellow card by the referee. Nevertheless, Corrib was unable to make hay in their subsequent lineout, with the ball dropping straight to the bottom of their prospective maul on the College 10m. Continued messy ball was met with resilience from College, with Louth-man Larry Jones leaping to intercept the ball at the 33rd minute mark to deny Corrib possession at the College 5m line. Numerous offside penalties mounted up until Corrib’s hooker Christy Reilly was able to dive over the ruck following a tap-and-go and score Corrib’s opening score of the afternoon, which was duly converted to make it 12-7. College kept firing until the 40 minute mark, with Cawley leaving two Corrib men holding air on the left wing once again just before halftime. When Corrib received a penalty with the clock in red, the Headford men decided to go to halftime rather than launch another attack.
Cawley laid down the law at the beginning of the second half, tackling the receiver of the restart before recovering the ball. Five minutes into the second half, a combination of good vision and balanced kicking from Dan Bent left Corrib on their own 10m, with Jules Lelievre stealing the subsequent lineout. Shane McDonnell’s return from the sinbin was felt when he stopped a speculative line break by the Corrib scrumhalf at the 46th minute. Mike O’Meara continued an industrious match in the air at lineout time, while J.J. Day was rewarded with a penalty at 48th minute mark for a push off the ball. Corrib were punished for their off the ball play when Larry Jones connected with his jumper at the fifty-minute mark and unleashed the substitute Jack O’Halloran in the middle of the field. Jimmy Maunsel’s appearance on the scene at prop continued a streak of good fortune in the scrum, with the only nervy moment in the backfield during a scrum being mopped up by McDonnell for a goal-line dropout. With almost 25 minutes left to play, Larry Jones made another well timed run to intercept another pass, which enabled O’Meara to link up with the imperious Kennedy at 12 to drive down the field and ultimately into touch.
Just before 60 minutes, Lelievre and McDonnell were subbed off for College and replaced with Leo Layden and Conor Leahy in the second and back row respectively. The new additions to College’s lineout contributed to an indecisive Corrib lineout that resulted in College winning possession thanks to a dummy throw at hooker. The appearance of College veteran Jayden Murphy was also immediately felt on the right wing as the Galwayman brought his signature pace and impact down the tramlines. A quality link-up play between Kennedy and his skipper Magliocco (which yielded a try for Magliocco against Castlebar) opened up 20m of open country for the flanker to burst into at the cusp of 60 minutes. A quality clear-out by Layden was followed by a ruck infringement by Corrib, leaving Crowley as the kingmaker in a tap-and-go move on the Corrib 5m. Perfectly timed passes out the back opened up enough space for Jayden Murphy to score in the rightmost corner, bringing the game to 17-7 following a missed conversion.
Corrib, feeling the heat, failed to cross 10 metres in their restart and resulted in a series of three scrums and restarts that took some of the pace out of the game in the last twenty minutes. On the third attempt, College’s fresh pack preserved and won possession of the ball on the halfway line. Even when Corrib won a lineout in their own half, great positioning from Leo Layden facilitated a steal in a very dangerous position which was capitalised on by Magliocco once again. While his teammates commented on a number of three-on-ones that appeared to his left at times, the skipper’s post-contact metres were never in doubt and provided quality cuts against the grain throughout the match. Unfortunately, Corrib also specialised in acting against the grain and found themselves on the College 5m when the men in maroon were pinged for side entry at a maul. Corrib would crash over in their own maul moments later, with Christy Reilly of Corrib going over again behind the cover of two of his forwards who had detached from the maul. Reilly would ultimately injure himself during his try scoring effort and was promptly replaced before the restart. Another conversion by Corrib flyhalf Ross Gibbons left the score at 17-14 with just over 14 minutes to play.
Much like their Castlebar fixture, an impressive level of fitness and mental determination carried College into the last ten with a drive to maintain their lead, best exemplified by substitute prop Jack O’Halloran laying down a massive hit straight from the restart earning his side a penalty in the ensuing ruck. College capped off a good day in the scrum with a massive scrum penalty on a Corrib put-in around the 68 minute mark. A big touch-finder from Dan Bent put College 35 metres out from Corrib try-line again, with il Capitano Magliocco once again finding space off in the space behind the lineout. Nothing could keep college down, with a 69th minute scrum yielding another penalty advantage and a free play that John Kennedy capitalised on to let loose a decisive play to his left. Amid cries of “choose a line,” Peter Magliocco drove for the line and got his reward moments later 10 metres out from the corner flag. Dan Bent had a tumultuous two minutes as the clock passed 70 minutes, with the flyhalf narrowly missing his conversion to keep the score at 22-17 before a ruck infringement and the apparent kicking of the ball away from the penalty mark yielded a yellow card for College’s number 10. With 8 minutes to go and 8 points in it, Corrib’s flyhalf knocked over a penalty kick to bring the game back within a try.
Loose play followed, with good carries by J.J. Day and Conor Leahy settling the men in maroon again as they entered the final stages of the game. A penalty for Corrib on the 76th minute gave them some relief in their own half, but relief was hard to be found for the Headford men as Eoghan Cullen marshalled a speculative kick into the back field with great composure and brought College back onto steadier ground. As the wind and rain continued to spit across the field, a narrow penalty against College for rolling too many times post contact kept the dozens of College supporters on their toes heading into the last two minutes of the game. A wet and scrappy day ended in a knock-on by the Corrib pack as they attempted to barrel past the College 22. The end of a double header for the College brought success for both the men’s and women’s teams, with mighty men in maroon heading into another Curley Cup final in Ballyhaunis next Sunday. A balanced display was enabled by the entire College XV and subs performing well; the most impactful duo were yet again Kennedy and Magliocco, with their synergy resulting in metres and a try yet again, cementing Magliocco’s position as College’s top try-scorer this season with three tries. Meanwhile, the return of Cillian Cawley defined the first half and brought an element of speed Corrib couldn’t match. Mike O’Meara had a well-tuned performance in the air and on the ground also.
In a Titanic battle, the oldest rugby club in Connacht marched on as the victors in a physical riverside derby where there were never behind but fought ‘till the final whistle with intensity nevertheless.