Galway Corinthians ended their underage season with two fantastic wins, completing the double in both the U15 and U17 Cup Finals.
While the Under-15 success was achieved at Dexcom Stadium at the first time of asking, the Under-17 trophy had to be won the hard way - following a replay in Castlebar last Sunday.
U17s
When Corinthians under 17s faced Sligo in the Cup Final at the end of April, the game finished in a tight 10-10 draw. The subsequent replay was highly anticipated.
As promised, the game delivered a classic with both teams playing sublime rugby.
Corinthians opening the scoring through Ferdia O’Braonáin's fine try after a series of pick-and-goes from the Corinthians' pack.
Sligo responded with a try of their own, converting to leave Corinthians trailing by two. However an excellent break by Luke Keaveny, who did excellently to fend off the Sligo fullback, offloaded to Adam Laffey who crossed the line. Danny Browne converted successfully.
A third try for Corinthians, scored by Oisìn Meehan and supplemented by another Browne conversion had Corinthians leading by twelve at half time. This lead expanded at the start of the second half when O’Braonáin touched down in the corner for his second try of the afternoon.
Browne’s conversion put some daylight between the teams, but Sligo never gave up and a tried to close the gap. Corinthians were not going to relent in this game however, and they saw out the final twenty minutes to win 26-12.
U15s
Corinthians' U15 Blacks completed the League and Cup double against a Sligo team keen to remedy their league final defeat.
With the breeze at their backs in the first half, Corinthians underwent a campaign of dominance in Sligo's 22. A clever snipe at the base saw Corinthians open the score with a try by Charley Garvey; team captain Eoin Gannon added the extras.
Sligo were quick to respond and scored a converted try of their own. A penalty outside the 22 saw Corinthians go to the playbook for the next try, with Eoin Gannon scoring and adding the conversion to leave seven between the teams at half time.
Sligo opened the scoring in the second half with a try following a Corinthians scrum being overturned. This only added to the tension of an already excellent game between two well-matched sides.
Like all good classics, there would be one more twist as Corinthians regained the lead due to a try from Fíonnán O’Neachtain. Gannon once again kicked the conversion.
The final whistle led to great excitement among the Corinthians support on a historic weekend for the club. Credit must also be given to Sligo, who never stopped playing quality rugby until the end.
