Weekend Report January 29th, 2017

  • January 30, 2017
Another weekend with just our seniors in action due to other games being called off due to bad weather and pitch conditions. The only KRFC game of the weekend was a very exciting affair. Please enjoy the match report below.
Seniors
Tralee RFC welcomed Killorglin to their grounds on Sunday for the semi final of the McElligott Cup, conditions were perfect for a great game of rugby and the players did not disappoint.
Killorglin kicked off to Tralee to start the game, the game started with an exchange of scrums. Tralee looked like they might draw first blood but quick thinking and good tackle from Fionn O’Shea and Fionan O’Sullivan stopped the Tralee dash for the line. That woke Killorglin up, some great carries by George Evans and Liam Foley helped Killorglin to gain ground. Then the ball was spread to the opposite wing and found a clever Timmy Lynch who found space on the short side and it looked like he might make it over the line, but Tralee’s defense held strong. Shortly after Killorglin earned a penalty and kicked for touch and from the resulting line out the ball traveled through many hands before it found John Michael Cronin O’Reilly who drove over the line with great force and touched down. The conversion was struck well but was narrowly missed by Seamus Doyle to put the score at 5-0 to Killorglin. From a ruck in the middle of the pitch came Killorglin’s next try. Liam Foley called for the ball on the wing, Fionn O’Shea saw the gap Liam was looking to exploit and he got the ball out of the ruck quickly to Dave Hayden, who fed it to Timmy Lynch who put the ball perfectly into Foley’s path, Foley turned on the jets to get through the gap. A great last ditch effort from the Tralee fullback nearly foiled Foley from getting over but with great strength he managed to touch down 10-0 to Killorglin. Killorglin looked for their 3rd try but Tralee had plans of their own. Through Killorglin indiscipline Tralee marched up the pitch through a series of penalties and well placed kicks. Tralee found themselves 8 meters out with a line out. With effective use of the maul they drove over the Killorglin line. The conversion was very well taken and the scoreline now read 10-7 for Killorglin…. game on.
The second half showed some excellent play through both teams. Killorglin started to concede more penalties and Tralee were looking for another try. After a few failed attempts to get over the Killorglin line Tralee chose to go for the posts and they leveled the scoreline at 10 a piece.
The final 20 minutes of this game saw all kinds of action. Killorglin looked to be on the back foot when great vision from fullback Ben Bradley and Killorglin’s number 8 Andrew O’Reilly got Killorglin back on the scoreboard. A great call from Bradley and a cheeky no look pop of the ball from O’Reilly saw Bradley take a great line through the Tralee defense, with only one man back to beat Bradley backed himself, and with a quick step and great speed he got over for Killorglin’s 3rd try. Luke O’Shea stepped up to convert and the ball sailed between the posts.
This game was far from over, Killorglin went down to 14 men with a yellow card being shown to Dave Hayden for repeated team infringements however it didn’t slow Killorglin down too much. A brilliant kick by Seamus Doyle and an even better chase of his own kick saw Tralee knock on the ball and Doyle was quick to collect it and take off for the line. A great effort by the Tralee defense spoiled what would of been one of the best tries of the season if Seamus had managed to get through.
As the clock ticked down Tralee were in need of a try, soon no time left of the clock and Tralee were 10 meters from the Killorglin line. The Tralee outhalf kicked the ball very well over the Killorglin defense past the try line, all Killorglin had to do was clear out the ball, all Tralee had to do was touch it down. The bounce of the ball worked in Tralee’s favour as their chasers got to the ball first and touched down their 2nd try. The score now read 17-15 to Killorglin, with no time left, Tralee had to convert the try to stay in the game. The ball was struck as nearly the entire Killorglin side rushed off their line and a huge sigh of relief went up from the men from Puck as they saw the kick go wide.
An excellent game from both sides, Killorglin now go on to face Castleisland in the McElligott cup final.
Our Seniors next outing is this Sunday v Killarney in the rematch of the Martin O’Sullivan Cup semi final. This time the two teams meet in the league, it promises to be a great match. KO is at 2:30pm at Killarney’s grounds in Aghadoe.