Galwegians made it three wins from three and continued their strong run of form with a 21-10 win over Clonmel to remain steady in second place in Division 2C.
It was the first time these two sides met in an AIL game, and both were determined to hold the honour of becoming the first victor of this fixture.
Galwegians had the first opportunity after Clonmel conceded a series of penalties inside their 22, but the chance was squandered as the ball was spilt at the line by Dylan Keane. Instead, it was the hosts who struck first with an early penalty, carefully dispatched by Josef O’Connor.
Galwegians’ response was almost immediate when Josh Munn got over for the Blues’ first try of the afternoon. Utilising their numbers on the left-hand side, Finn Tracey played a long pass to Munn who burst through on the wing, covering significant ground to find himself a few metres short. However, from a resultant penalty for offside, Wegians opted to go wide once more and Andrew Sherlock sent Munn through to take the lead. Tiarnan Neville added the conversion.
Momentum swung back and forth in the first half, but neither had the conviction to score again as Wegians led 7-3 at the break. However, Clonmel seemed destined to re-take the lead in the second half when Bobby Power was binned for preventing a clear line break inside their 22. Despite the numerical advantage, Galwegians’ defence remained firm as they survived the onslaught when securing a huge turnover.
That moment was huge as Galwegians worked themselves up the pitch and when Finn Tracey held off several Clonmel players to carry himself over the line to score their second try, Neville added the conversion to make it 14-3 to the Blues.
As both sides emptied ther benches and the game reached its final act, Clonmel applied the pressure, and finally were rewarded with a Jason Monua try from a five-metre lineout. O’Connor slotted the conversion between the posts to make it a four-point game.
The closing salvo of the game saw both sides give it their maximum in a tense finale. But Galwegians were the ones to break through as Garyn Daniel scored his second try of the season following his debut try against Midleton. Neville had another perfect conversion rate, giving Galwegians a 21-10 lead.
Despite an all-out effort, Galwegians came close to getting over the line for the bonus point. Although they fell short, it was another spirited performance from the team in their bid for promotion.
Galwegians: S Mallon, J Munn, F Tracey, M McGiff, B Walsh, T Neville, A Sherlock, J Winters, R Smith, G Daniel, O Halpin, R Holian, L Angermann, D Keane, B Power. Replacements: C Joyce, E Tarmey, H Gens, R Deacy, C Brady.
