BUCCANEERS 18 GALWAY BAY 17
Buccaneers U-17 boys edged a hard-fought battle against Galway Bay in the Connacht Cup semi-final at Dubarry Park.
A large travelling crowd gave Galway Bay great support and both teams started strong with neither side giving an inch in a very physical battle. Buccaneers played the lion’s share of the attacking rugby in the first quarter but the game remained scoreless due to a resolute Galway Bay defensive effort. Eoin Egan was unfortunate to have a try disallowed after a fantastic break saw the winger score from just inside the halfway line.
Buccaneers pressure was rewarded and the deadlock finally broken shortly after 21 minutes when a Buccs penalty was converted by Andrew Cotton. Egan had another chip and chase go unrewarded when the 50/50 grounding went the way of the defence. Galway Bay’s purple patch came in the minutes leading up to the half time break and their attack was rewarded as they scored a try off their lineout, which was converted, leaving the visitors ahead by 7-3 at the break.
Early in the second half Buccaneers regained the lead with an exceptional try from Reuben Colleran. A missed conversion left it at 8-7 to Buccs. Buccaneers then saw a player yellow carded for 7 minutes in the bin for a deliberate knock on and the homesters put in an incredible defensive effort to hold out against Galway Bay’s repetitive attacks. One converted and one missed penalty by the visitors during this period saw Galway Bay take the lead once again, going ahead by 10-to 8 with 20 minutes to play.
5 minutes later saw a great individual try from the young scrum half Hugo McGowan whose quick feet saw him in open territory with a lot of work to do to get clear of several defenders in the back field and dot down under the posts. Cotton’s conversion brought it to 15-10 in favour of the Pirates. Not to be outdone, shortly after this the Galway Bay no.4 stripped the ball from Buccs hands and wasn’t to be caught when he made his own run from just inside the half, touching down under the posts. The conversion meant that Galway Bay regained the lead for the second time in the game 15-17.
The Buccaneers team showed their championship qualities however, winning a penalty in the right part of the field which Cotton converted sealing the victory and allowing this team to continue to the cup final and an opportunity to repeat their League and Cup double achievements of the last several seasons.
Buccaneers:-
1. Hugo Hannon
2. Donncha Dullea
3. Ciaran West
4. Evin Claffey
5. Peter Bourke
6. Tadgh Coleman
7. James Kelly
8. Reuben Colleran
9. Hugo McGowan
10. Darragh Glennon
11. Owen Egan
12. Oisin O’Donoghue
13. Philip Finan
14. Alex Connor
15. Andrew Cotton
16. John Okegebenro
17. Amoafo Brown
18. Eoin O’Sullivan
19. Nathan Kelly
20. Senan Nugent
21. Eoin Dunning
22. Noah Stewart
23. Lefa Leshona
24. Andreii Milik
Subs used:-
N Kelly for P Bourke
A Brown for D Dullea
E O’Sullivan for T Coleman
