The Galway Tribesmen Rugby League team were in action last Saturday in their endeavours to become the first Irish Rugby League team to win a first-round tie of the Betfred Challenge Cup.
The Tribesmen were drawn against the famous Pilkington Recs from St Helen's, so as well as facing the logistical challenge of getting to the UK amid the current Covid crisis, they were paired against one of the best amateur rugby league teams in England.
Early on the Tribesmen defence held strong with captain Matthew Towey and Tireon McCabe shoring up the middle. Strong running from the Galway front rowers Abdulhaq Abayomi and Tom Gormley was a feature of the game too.
However, the deadlock was broken by the St Helen's men on the 10-minute mark as sharp passing down the left-hand channel allowed second rower Jordan Morris to skip through and open the scoring for the home side. With the conversion missed the Tribesmen were behind 4-0. The Tribesmen attempted to establish a foothold in the game, superbly marshalled by half backs Ryan Guilfoyle and Barry Walsh but were finding it difficult to breach the highly organized and experienced Pilkington’s defence. Smart play from the Pilks' halfbacks set up right winger Tyler Duburry to cross for the home side's second score. With the conversion missed again the Tribesmen were now 8-0 behind.
Winger Seosamh McDonagh made a break down the right channel and he romped home to register the Tribesmen's first points on the 30-minute mark. With the conversion secured from the reliable boot of Barry Walsh the score was now 8-6 to the home side. Both teams fought valiantly to gain the upper hand and the home side were pushing again down their right channel, however Ryan Guilfoyle intercepted a pass and sprinted 60 metres to score the Tribesmen second try. With the conversion missed, the scores were 10-8 to the Tribesmen and this was how the half finished.
Within two minutes of the half starting, sustained pressure by the home team led to second rower Jordan Morris registering his second try. Standoff Kyran Knapper found his kicking boots for the second half and slotted over the additional two points. The Tribesmen tried valiantly to improve on their score line and threatened the home team’s danger zone on a number of occasions but could not convert their chances. Pressure again by the home team enabled a smart offload to the Pilkington winger Karl Ingham allowed him to place the ball over the try line. With another conversion slotted over by Knapper, the score was now 20-10 to the home team.
The Pilkington Recs continued to pile on the pressure and were rewarded with Tom Connick, Owain Abel and centre Ian Stanley registering tries as Pilkington triumphed 36-10.
