Tipperary Rugby: Bonus point league win for Kilfeacle over Skibbereen

Munster Junior Rugby League Division 1

Kilfeacle & District 22 Skibbereen 7

On Sunday last Kilfeacle and District RFC welcomed Skibbereen to Morrissey Park in the Munster Junior League Division 1. The opening 20 minutes saw Kilfeacle having the better of the exchanges but they were unable to convert this to scores. In the 20th minute Kilfeacle managed to put together several controlled phases of play, which culminated in them having a lineout ball five metres from the Skibbereen try line. A move straight from the Kilfeacle training ground saw Brian Barron provide a millimetre-perfect throw-in to team captain, Kevin Kinnane. Before he started to descend Kinnane had passed the ball to Bob Purcell, who drew two tackles before offloading to Keith Bourke, who scored in the corner. Luke Heuston was unlucky with the conversion attempt. It was to be the only score in the first half, which ended 5-0.

Kilfeacle started the second half the better and immediately pinned Skib’ back into their own 22. In the 47th minute Kilfeacle and District’s forwards worked as a unit and after ten phases of play provided the opportunity for Kevin Kinnane to burst in unopposed under the posts for a try. Luke Heuston duly added the conversion and Kilfeacle led 12-0.
An uncharacteristic mistake in defence at the restart saw Skibbereen awarded a scrum deep in Kilfeacle’s 22. It was the only time in the entire game that they had an attacking platform in the opposition 22, but they used it to maximum effect. One scrum and two passes later, they had scored under the posts. Their conversion brought the score to 12-7.

The Kilfeacle players, to a man, had a determined look on their faces as they restarted. The game fell back into the same pattern, with Kilfeacle dominant in most facets of the game but being held by a very resolute Skibbereen defence. Ten minutes later and Kilfeacle were once again camped inside the Skibbereen 22, battering away at the defence. In the 60th minute Luke Heuston saw a gap and caught Skib’ napping to dive over in the corner. He was unable to convert his own try but now Kilfeacle led by 17- 7 and were only one try away from scoring a bonus point. The next 10 minutes was completely one-way traffic, with Kilfeacle relentless in their pursuit of a bonus point win. In the 70th minute, after a mammoth attacking effort by the whole of the Kilfeacle team lasting 17 phases of play, Luke Heuston touched down in the corner for the second time. His conversion attempt went the wrong side of the post and Kilfeacle’s lead was now 22-7.

With the bonus point in the bag, Kilfeacle emptied their bench to try and add impetus to the game and give valuable game time to their subs. Kilfeacle finished the game the better but Skibbereen’s defence held strong. Kilfeacle had earned a well-deserved win by 22-7.

CLANWILLIAM ARE UP NEXT
Kilfeacle’s next outing is an away League 1 game with Clanwilliam FC on Sunday, November 5 at 2.30pm.

Kilfeacle squad: 1 Simon Barry, 2 Brendan Barron, 3 Brian Barron, 4 Darragh Kennedy, 5 Bob Purcell, 6 Thomas Fogarty, 7 Brian Barlow, 8 Kevin Kinnane, 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 Adam Crowe, 20 Kyle Morris, 21 Anthony Foley and 22 Fiachra O’Grady.