Wegians on cusp of history as city club host Cork Con

GALWEGIANS will look to put their All Ireland League relegation blues behind them when they bid to become the first Galway and Connacht side to claim the prestigious Bateman Cup, the knockout championship comprising of the four provincial Senior Cup winners.

In defeating Ballynahinch in a nine-try semi-final thriller – the final scoreline was 35-31 – back in January, Galwegians secured only their second final appearance having lost out to Lansdowne 19-12 in the 1928/29 decider.

Indeed, only two other Galway clubs have progressed to this stage of the competition, with UCG defeated by UCC in the 1936 final and Corinthians unluckily losing out to St. Mary’s College on a try count after drawing the 1974/75 showpiece – the Centenary tournament – on a 9-9 scoreline.

In any event, Saturday’s final in their home ground of Crowley Park (12:45pm) offers Galwegians a chance to make history. It does,” acknowledges coach Matt Browne. “It is great for the club and the fact we got the home draw as well is huge for all the players and the committee.

“So, it is a big day out for the whole club, from bottom to top really. The fact that we have never won it as well is huge. It might go some way to fixing the broken hearts after relegation (from Division 1A of the AIL).”

Galwegians qualified for the final after defeating Buccaneers 27-10 before the Christmas to secure the Connacht Senior Cup for the 33rd time – UCG lead the roll of honour with 34 – before accounting for Ulster champions Ballynahinch in January.

Tries from Juan Anaya, Josh Pimm, Marty Cummins and Doron McHugh, along with the boot of Aidan Moynihan – who tallied three conversions, two penalties and a drop goal – were central to the victory.

“It was a thriller; end to end stuff. We got in a position of dominance but unfortunately, and this has happened a few times this season, we let the other team come back into it. The players dug deep in the last five or 10 minutes to keep Ballynahinch out and, thankfully, they got their just rewards.

“This was a final we would have liked to have got into the year before but it didn’t work out the way the Connacht Senior Cup went. So, we are delighted to have got there this year,” says Browne.

However, in Cork Constitution they not only face the reigning Bateman Cup champions but also the side who relegated them from the top flight of Irish club rugby on the final day of the season.

Galwegians needed just a losing bonus point to avoid the automatic drop and they looked to have done so until a wayward pass was intercepted by Cork Con centre Niall Kenneally and he raced over the whitewash to secure his team a 26-16 win. The concession of the score consigned them to Division 1B rugby next season.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.