Tipperary Rugby: Kilfeacle record win over a very good  Sunday’s Well

Kilfeacle and District R.F.C. 38 Sunday’s Well R.F.C. 22

Last week, Kilfeacle and District RFC’s Munster Junior League game against Clanwilliam was postponed because Kilfeacle player Darren Ryan tragically lost his life in a motor accident. Everyone in Kilfeacle and District RFC was shocked and saddened by the sudden loss of Darren Ryan. Our thoughts are with the Ryan family and in particular his parents Ray and Trish and siblings Evan, Gavin and Dawn and his son Raemie. Darren, a back row forward  with the club, was part of the first team squad that won the Munster Junior League. Darren was very well respected within the club and will be sadly missed, R.I.P.

On Sunday the 12th of November at 2.30pm Kilfeacle and District welcomed Sunday’s Well R.F.C. to Morrissey Park. There was a minute's silence in memory of Darren Ryan followed by a very moving long round of applause.  Both teams had started their league campaigns very well and were both unbeaten before today’s game. Sunday’s Well had just been relegated last year from senior rugby and are pushing hard to bounce back up. So the visitors arrived at Morrissey Park wearing a strong favourites tag and hungry for points. Everyone involved in Kilfeacle knew that Sunday’s Well would be very hard to beat. This was definitely one game that could easily slip away. In the last number of months the squad has improved in both quality and quantity, by players who have come up through Kilfeacle and District’s vibrant juvenile system. In essence the vast majority of the squad is homegrown and the future is bright.

 Sunday’s Well won the toss and elected to play with the breeze and bright sun at their back for the first half. The home support urged their side to put their stamp on the game and they subsequently did. From the very start Kilfeacle were winning every battle in the lineout, the scrum, the possession, the territory and the intensity.  In the 6th minute Kilfeacle opened the scoring. After a fantastic team effort  Brian Barlow touched down in the corner. Luke Heuston was very unlucky to miss the conversion attempt, his only miss of the day as for the remainder of the match he gave an exemplary masterclass in place kicking, much to the frustration of Sunday’s Well team and supporters. Kilfeacle led by 5 points to 0. Sunday’s Well are a very big and mobile outfit and are very strong in both forwards and backs. They are a very well drilled unit and went about their task with unnerving efficiency and within 10 minutes had taken the lead with a try scored under the posts and converted. Kilfeacle scored their second try in the 20th minute after a lineout manoeuvre saw them get an excellent rolling maul going which Sunday’s Well had great difficulty stopping. The ball was quickly passed through the hands of the backs and Jacques van Wyngaardt burst through the line and Sunday’s Well were unable to prevent him scoring a try. Luke Heuston duly converted and with 20 minutes gone the home side were 12 points to 7 up. In the 26th minute  a very fortuitous deflection from a  kick for touch eluded the Kilfeacle players and bounced kindly for the onrushing Sunday’s Well players. Three passes later and the ball was in the hands of their winger. He breached Kilfeacle’s defensive line and scored a try in the corner which with the aid of the breeze was converted.  Sunday’s Well were now leading 14 – 12. In the 36th minute ‘the boys in blue’ were back in front after Jacques van Wyngaardt intercepted a Sunday’s Well pass on the halfway line and raced away to score under the posts. Luke Heuston duly added the conversion to bring the score to 19 - 14. During the final minutes of the half Kilfeacle were unlucky not to score again but some very good defending by the visitors kept them at bay. After the last play of the half had been signalled by the referee Sunday’s Well were awarded a penalty just 5 metres outside the Kilfeacle 22. Sunday’s Well’s out half, whose kicking up to this had been very impressive, elected to kick at goal. He used the breeze expertly and watched as his attempt split the posts to bring the half time score to 19 -17 in favour of Kilfeacle and District.

The half time break was short and neither side complained in that brief time both coaches communicated their message to their charges and could be heard doing so.  Kilfeacle, who now had the breeze to aid them, started the second half in the manner in which they finished the first. In the 46th and 49th minutes Luke Heuston kicked two monstrous penalties, one from the halfway line and the other 5 metres further out. This increased Kilfeacle’s lead to 25-17. In the 54th minute after a long period of concerted effort, a well worked lineout and subsequent rolling maul saw Sunday’s Well score their 3rd try. Against the breeze the conversion attempt was missed. Sunday’s Well had taken a sizeable chunk out of the deficit and were now losing by 25-22. From the restart Kilfeacle were straight back on the offensive.  In the 59th minute one of Kilfeacle’s candidates for ‘Man of the Match’, Jacques van Wyngaardt, crashed over to score his 3rd and Kilfeacle’s 4th try. Luke Heuston, another candidate for ‘Man of the Match’ watched as his conversion sailed over and he and his teammates had made it a 10-point game with the score at 32 -22 to Kilfeacle. This try seemed to give the home team heart and now everyone believed that the game was there for the taking. The travelling support had now fallen eerily silent and Sunday’s Well were getting nervous as Kilfeacle had a sizeable lead and a bonus point. The home support had grown even louder as they urged their team to up their game to another level. Impressively this is what happened. Kilfeacle once again laid siege to the Sunday’s Well line. Sunday’s Well were unable to break out of their own half and some last ditch defending on numerous occasions kept Kilfeacle at bay. In the 70th minute after another huge team effort Kilfeacle were awarded a penalty and the decision was to take the 3 points on offer and Luke Heuston duly obliged, the score was now 35 points to 22. There was still 10 minutes left on the clock. Kilfeacle emptied the remainder of their bench and were still in the ascendency when a penalty was awarded. Up stepped Luke Heuston and the result was only a formality, the lead was stretched to 38-22. When the final whistle came the home side celebrated their hard fought but deserved victory by 38 points to 22. The display that the Kilfeacle team gave during this game and the manner in which they played could be measured by the applause they received from both sets of supporters and their opponents as they wearily made their way off the pitch. 

After the game Conor Keyes, first team coach said, “This team showed that they could play today and were very unlucky not to score more.  Sunday’s Well had the capability to win but a very resolute Kilfeacle defence held them out for the entire final 30 minutes in the second half and they deserve praise for this hard-fought win. Our substitutes, who had all been introduced, added a new steel, renewed hunger and a sense of urgency to the proceedings. We are building a very young and promising squad which makes the future look exciting! 

Kilfeacle’s next game is a home Energia All-Ireland Junior Cup Quarter Final encounter against Dromore RFC on Saturday the 19th of November at 2:00pm. 

Kilfeacle’s squad on the day consisted of 1 Simon Barry, 2 Brendan Barron, 3 Brian Barron, 4 Darragh Kennedy, 5 Bob Purcell, 6 Thomas Fogarty, 7 Brian Barlow, 8 Kevin Kinane, 9 Gavin Heuston, 10 Luke Heuston, 11 Dubhan O’Grady, 12 Keith Bourke, 13 Jacques van Wyngaardt, 14 Killian Noonan, 15 Kevin Doyle, 16 Cian Carroll, 17 Gavin McCormack, 18 Cormac Ryan, 19 Richard Whitney, 20 Kyle Morris, 21 Maurice O’Sullivan and 22 Fiachra O’Grady.