DUNMORE 43 BUCCANEERS SECONDS 7
DUNMORE proved too strong for Buccaneers Seconds in the opening round of the Bank of Ireland Connacht Junior 1A League with the westerners winning by 43-7 at Abbeyland South on Sunday.
Buccs had just a handful of survivors from the side’s Junior Cup semi-final defeat to Dunmore late last season and had a number of players operating out of position. Nevertheless, the Pirates put in a gritty performance especially in the first half after which they trailed narrowly 12-7. The homesters opened the scoring with a converted try but Buccs responded and, following a scrum, Harry Balsiger scored at the posts with Richie Greene converting the try to level the scores 7-7. Dunmore then enjoyed a spell of territory coming up to the interval which yielded an unconverted try to give them a 12-7 lead at the break.
A cleverly worked try followed by a breakaway touchdown stretched the Galway club’s advantage to 26-7 early in the second half with knocks and the wind impacting on Buccs. A couple of loose exit kicks were punished by the homesters who tacked on a further pair of tries, the last one scored by their best player Conor Burns which completed the 43-7 scoreline.
Depleted Buccaneers put in a resolute defensive shift in the first half. Cian Daly, operating in the centre, and Cormac McDonagh’s powerful runs were pick of the backs where Greene’s kicks from hand relieved pressure. Luke Balsiger and Conor Morrissey were relentless in their work rates in the forwards exchanges where the midlanders scrum, especially Cedric Fokam and Jim Connolly, stood up manfully to a vastly larger and bulkier home unit.
BUCCANEERS:- B.Daly; R.Greene, C.McDonagh, C.Daly, C.Rooney-Digan; H.Balsiger, P.Daly; J.Connolly, R.Cahill, C.Fokam; C.Morrissey, J.Scouler; C.Byrne, J.Brady and L.Balsiger. Replacements:- K.Connolly, E.Naughton and C.Brill.
