ÕWegians left to rue missed chances in Cup semi-final

Date Published: 21-Jan-2013

Galwegians 22

St Mary’s 30

Galwegians and St Mary’s served up an absolute cracker of an All-Ireland semi-final in cold but excellent conditions for rugby in Crowley Park on Saturday, but it was the visitors who emerged victorious to set up a final showdown with Cork Constitution.

’Wegians started very well but were unable to put any points on the board, and they were punished when St Marys scored with a breakaway try in the 10th minute by winger Steven Toal-Lennon, who converted himself for a 7-0 lead against the run of play.

The Sky Blues continued to put pressure on the visitors up front but were struggling to live with the pace that St Mary’s were putting on the ball, and at the end of the first quarter it was a case of déjà vu, as the visitors doubled their lead with a second breakaway try out of defence, this time hooker Dylan Fawcett getting on the end of the move to ground the ball over the line, with Toal-Lennon again adding the extras.

However the Glenina outfit refused to panic, and they got right back into the game on the half hour mark when they scored their first try of the game. It came from a solid forward platform when the pack drove downfield from an attacking lineout, and when the backs moved the ball to the blindside, winger Paddy Finn took a superb line to score on his return from injury.

Out-half Dave Clarke missed the conversion to leave the gap at 14-5, but spurred on by the score and the dominance of their forwards, the home side pushed for a second score before halftime. It duly arrived when ’Wegians opted to kick a penalty to the corner, and a well-worked rolling maul saw prop Jason East claim the touchdown. Clarke’s conversion hit the post but went over the bar to reduce the half-time arrears to 14-12.

The start of the second-half cost Wegians dearly as the Leinster champions made them pay for lapses on concentration. An early penalty from Toal-Lennon stretched the margin to five points after ’Wegians lost the ball at a defensive lineout.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.