Tullamore win again on the road

Tullamore saw off a well drilled Bruff side last weekend to move back to 2nd place in the table. The midlanders have one more game in the regular season, and will host league leaders Instonians.

All-Ireland Rugby League Division 2C

Tullamore 24

Bruff 17

Bruff started the stronger and scored a converted try in the opening exchanges. Tullamore were aided in the first half with a big wind. The half back pairing of Sam Burns and Karl Dunne pinned the home side back with every opportunity. This gave Tullamore a foothold in the game and eventually crossed the whitewash through Conor Dunne. Tullamore were awarded a penalty on the 22 metre line, Conor spotted a disjointed defence and capitalised. He weaved and jinked around several defenders to score a converted try.

He added another penalty just before the half time mark to lead by 3.

The visitors found their feet in the second half, and took control of the game. Barry Bracken, Shayne Fleming, Christopher Whittle and Cathal Behan were introduced after the break. Their impact was immediate, and Tullamore began to rattle through the phases to test Bruff's resolve. Cathal Farrell received the ball on the 22 metre line, he slipped inside the defensive cover and proceeded to fend his opposite man, dummy the defending full back and glided under the posts. Conor Dunne converted to stretch the lead to 10 points.

The Limerick men restarted and Gavin Kelly stormed through a gap to make a 40 metre break. The ball was then whipped the Karl Dunne, who stepped back inside and dummied a pass to break the line. He showed a clean pair of heels from the 22 metre line to close out the game. Bruff to their credit showed great resolve to score a try and a penalty to leave the score at 24-17.

Shayne Fleming, Gavin Kelly and Barry Bracken all had fine games in the pack, while Cathal Farrell and Karl Dunne excelled for the backs. Conor Dunne won the man of the match performance for his excellent attack and key scores. 

TULLAMORE: 1. Mark Kennedy, 2. Cathal Feighery, 3. Matthew Murphy, 4. Alan Douglas, 5. Gavin Kelly, 6. Jack Delahunt, 7. Scott Milne, 8. Leon Fox, 9. Sam Burns, 10. Karl Dunne (C), 11. Sean McCabe, 12. Lance Batten, 13. Cathal Farrell, 14. Liam Farrell, 15. Conor Dunne.