Galway Rugby League will be well represented on All Ireland finals day with both the men and women's teams in action on Saturday.
The Tribesmen secured their place in the decider with a 28-22 win over County Meath's Longhorns last weekend to join their female counterparts who were winners the previous week over Carlow's Barracudas to advance to the final in their first season.
Both teams will face tough battles against Dublin City Exiles at Malahide Rugby Club where the action kicks off with the division two final between Clondalkin and Bangor, followed by the Tribeswomen's game ahead of the Tribesmen.
The semi-final was a close affair when Galway hosted the current champions The Longhorns in South Park on Saturday. Tribesmen had started on the back foot as the visitors took the game on, but tenacious defending by the Galway forwards, led by captain Matthew Towey and Abdulhag Abayomi, forced a knock on by the Meath men.
However, the deadlock was broken after 12 minutes when sustained pressure in the Longhorns' danger zone led to Galway's Mata Fifita crossing the line, and Barry Walsh converted to give the Galway side a six-point advantage.
An arm wrestle ensued, punctuated with a little ill-discipline and a few mistakes from both sides, before the Longhorns broke down the right-hand channel and centre Conor Creaby crossed the line to score their first points, converted by Matthew Coade to level the game. But just before half-time Tribesmen pressure near the Longhorns line allowed Mathew Towey to work his way over for as second try, with Walsh adding the extras for a 12-6 half-time lead.
Under-pressure Longhorns upped the tempo after the restart, led by Emmet Banahan and superb 40/20 kicks from standoff Mathew Coade. It was not long before Banahan crossed for another try - the conversion missed - to narrow Tribesmen's lead to 12-10. When Banahan registered his second try, followed quickly by a score from second row Aaron Beirne, it looked looked like the Longhorns were heading towards a fifth consecutive All Ireland final.
However, the Galway men did not give up. Hard-working prop forward Abdulhaq Abayomi crashed over for a try from close range to reduce the deficit to 22-18. Then not long after, a strong break from centre Allen Laggia created good field position, and substitute Sam Cullen crossed for another score. When Barry Walsh added the conversion, it gave the Tribesmen a slender 24-22 lead.
It resulted in a tense final 10 minutes with the experienced Longhorns trying everything in their locker. However, it was the Tribesmen who sealed the deal when young winger John Why scored to give the home side a six-point lead. Wwith only a minute remaining, it was enough to advance to an historic double on finals' day for Galway.
