In what can only be called a defensive masterclass, Galway Corinthians RFC overcame a determined Sligo to win their Energia League meeting on Friday night in Corinthian Park.
Conditions were near perfect for this meeting but incredibly, it was also an evening where kicking success was sadly lacking and while Corinthians came away with the win, their opponents will again wonder how they lost this match given their possession in the second half.
Corinthians have always taken pride in their starts and once again it stood to them. With five minutes gone on the clock they got off to an ideal start. A line out was well collected by Ruan Janse Resnburg and Adam Nash finished the move he started touching down in the corner following a good driving maul from the pack with all eight involved in the move.
Sean Naughton, who this week was called into the Irish U20 Squad for the Six Nations, saw his kick go to the left of the post and wide.
Once the game settled down, both teams went for it. A couple of Corinthians moves broke down and the same can be said for their opponents but on fifteen minutes Sligo hit back with a try that there no doubt was frustrating to see from the Corinthians coaching staff point of view. A line out on halfway seemed innocent enough and Corinthians dealt with the opening plays. However, a break from Philip Carter caught them out and his pass to Hubert Gilvarry was accurate, giving the Sligo full back all the time he needed to go under the posts. Gilvarry had the easiest of conversions and with just fifteen minutes gone, Corinthians were now two points down.
With both teams scoring so early, the large crowd could have been forgiven for thinking that this game was now going to be a shootout. There was quite a bit at stake with Corinthians looking to keep the pressure on leaders Instonians and Sligo wanting to keep their place in fourth in the table. However, despite a few chances and both teams missing what looked like kickable penalties, no other score would go up on the new scoreboard in Corinthian Park until the twenty eighth minute when Micheál O’Reilly produced a moment of magic to restore Corinthians’ lead again.
A Corinthians line out on their opponents 22’ led to a driving maul. Scrum Half Joey Tierney was on hand and his quick pass found Sean Fox who used quick hands to find Tom Waters. While all this was happening, O’Reilly pounced on the pass from Waters to go through the gap with the Sligo back line all over the place and the winger dived over the left of the posts. Naughton’s conversion was inches wide, and three points would separate the teams. It would be incredibly the last score of the game.
While there would be no further score, it did not reduce the action on the field. If anything, it added to it with the drama rising at every opportunity. Hubert Gilvarry and Euan Brown, both kickers of some skill, saw chances veer wide, even more bizarre as there was no wind of any note to make an impact. Corinthians made several breaks only for play to break down and while the game never really threatened to spill over, referee Paudie Sheehan was also a busy individual keeping both teams, especially the packs, on the straight and narrow.
With the opening half nearly up, Micheál O’Reilly thought that he had broken through only for the referee to deem that the pass from Tierney was forward and with time up, Euan Brown had a chance with a penalty but his kick from in front of the posts again veered wide.
What happened in the second half can only be described as hectic on so many levels. Corinthians landed the first punch only for Sligo to respond and neither got close to the other’s goal line.
What happened next was a period of pressure that many teams would have struggled to handle. From the twelfth minute to the twenty eighth, it was all Sligo who pounded the line only to face a Corinthians defence that would not give in.
At one stage, Sligo had won six penalties in a row but resulting kicks to touch were short or broke down. Twice they went for the posts and twice the kick went wide. Orin Burke was inspired at full back and Patrick Fahy immense in the tackle as the forward challenged and tackled everything that moved.
The large crowd were entertained by the outstanding rugby on show with both teams working incredibly hard and when Corinthians were awarded a penalty from inside their own half, Naughton decided to go for a kick at goal. His effort was short, but it ate up vital seconds and it gave Corinthians a brief respite. With time running out for Sligo, desperation set in and Corinthians sensed that they now had the winning of the game if they kept their heads. Something they did and the full time whistle did not lead to wild celebrations, but more an enormous sense of relief among the players and home supporters.
Rainey Old Boys are next on the Corinthians agenda and following their defeat last week to Dungannon, the Ulster lads will not want to lose this one at home. Leaders Instonians beat Belfast Harlequins last weekend and they will be expected to beat bottom side Dolphin so every Corinthians game from here on will be more than important in the battle for playoff spots. Kick off on Saturday is at 2.30pm.
Corinthians: O Burke, M O’Reilly, S Fox, T Waters, F McNulty, S Naughton, J Tierney. P Fahy, A Nash, R Dufficy, G Kilkelly, R Janse Rensburg, R Glynn, G Murray, M Boyle (Captain ). Replacements: D Fitzpatrick, A Burke, O Garcia, T Farthing, H Rogers.
Sligo: H Gilvarry, F Bamber, E Faitaua, R Feehily, P Carter, E Brown, B Cunningham. K Wojtowicz, B Hynes, T Gormley, A MacLean, C Cummins, D Byrne, J O’Hehir, A Bamber. Replacements: M Earley, E Lang, R Tiernan, B West, J Laszczynski.
Referee: P Sheehan
