‘Wegians get badly-needed win in meeting of bottom two

Date Published: {J}

Galwegians 13

UCC 6

Galwegians got their season back on track when they secured a badly needed win at home to UCC in a bottom of the table clash at Crowley Park on Saturday.

This game had been postponed twice in early December and the previous weekend, so Wegians were relieved that the fixture eventually went ahead, being their first competitive outing in five weeks.

Crucially, they managed to put an end to their run of five successive league defeats which had seen them marooned at the bottom of the league table coming into this fixture, and while they remain bottom, this win has them only one point off safety at the mid-way point of the league campaign.

The game was played in atrocious wet and windy conditions with a gale blowing down towards the clubhouse end. Opting to play against the elements, the home side started extremely well, keeping possession of the slippery ball with some tight driving forward play.

It got even better when they took an unexpected lead after 10 minutes.

The inspiration once again came from skipper John Cleary, who gathered a clearance kick from halfway and went on a typical mazy run, evading the attentions of several defenders in his path.

He was held up close to the line, but the visitors were forced to concede a penalty and the Blues opted for a scrum. Their powerful pack got a shove on, and the UCC pack collapsed the scrum, conceding another penalty.

Again Wegians opted for the set-piece, again they got the shove on, and again the visitors collapsed the scrum as the Wegians front row of Jamie Stephens, Conor Muldoon and Ja Naughton piled on the pressure, and referee Barry O’Keeffe went straight under the post and awarded the penalty try, with Tadgh Leader adding the easy extras.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.