Carrick storm to Connacht U16 title
CARRICK-ON-SHANNON RFC 28-10 CONNEMARA OUGHTERARD
In a thrilling contest Carrick on Shannon RFC claimed the Connacht Rugby U16 Division 2 League title when they handed undefeated Connemara Oughterard their first loss of the season to take the title.
In perfect conditions, both sides served up a thrilling game of rugby which ebbed and flowed throughout the encounter as Carrick started brightly and on seven minutes, Carrick won a penalty which Peter Moran converted. Ten minutes in, after some brilliant carries by Jayden Bosomtwe and Eoin O’Reilly, Carrick won a penalty under the posts. It was quickly taken by Andrew Deegan but great defending saw him agonisingly held up.
Then on 12 minutes some excellent back play saw Connemara Oughterard score in the corner, conversion missed. Carrick continued to play to their strengths by moving the ball wide with the outstanding Tristan Hoey dominating the midfield battle with his centre partner Maxime Germer.
Carrick added three points from the boot of Moran who was having an excellent outing at fullback for the Shannonsiders. On 27 minutes after some great interplay between Niall Stenson and Oisin Molloy Carrick secured a penalty under the posts with Captain Bobby Hanrahan electing to take the points which Moran duly applied.
However on the stroke of halftime Connemara Oughterard scored in the corner to leave the Carrick boys behind by 10 points to 9.
Carrick returned to action in the second half full of energy and vigour and the disappointment of conceding at the end of half time quickly evaporated when Moran released the flying Cathal Enright to score under the post to restore Carrick’s lead.
With half backs Luke Creighton and Ben O’Connor having a major influence on the game the introduction of Rian Costello added real bite to the Carrick boys attacking threat.
On 48 minutes while Carrick were absorbing some significant pressure, a turnover by the excellent Alex Newcombe allowed Creighton to connect with Hoey who from inside his own half evaded a number of would be tacklers to run the length of the field to score in the corner to the delight of the large Carrick support to leave 11 points between the sides.
The final seven minutes saw Carrick playing inside the Connemara Oughterard boys half and as the clock counted down, captain Hanrahan intercepted on the halfway line to race under the post with Ben O’Connor adding the extras to give the Carrick side a memorable victory.
SENIORS
Carrick Senior team finished third in the league and progressed to reach the J1C league semi final next weekend, a great achievement by the team and management.
They beat Claremorris Colts on a score line of 48-7. A superb display by the home team. It was great to see every player who togged out get substantial game time which bodes well as we continue to improve at senior level.
A big thank you to the great home support we had on Sunday for the last home game of the season.