BUCCANEERS SECONDS 15 CASTLEBAR 31
On a cool, crisp evening conditions were ideal for rugby when Buccaneers Seconds and Castlebar battled it out in the Bank of Ireland Connacht Junior 1A League on Saturday night at Dubarry Park where the visitors came out on top 31-15 after a lively contest.
The visitors got off to a perfect start, Keepa Cherrington scoring a 4th minute try converted by Luke Walmsley. Buccs responded with an unconverted Harry Hughes try 8 minutes later. On the half-hour mark Barry Walsh touched down for Castlebar’s second try. Walmsley converted and added a penalty just before the interval to give the Mayo side a 17-5 lead at half-time.
The home side had the better of the third quarter but could not quite cross the whitewash and so just had a Michael Byrne penalty to show for their endeavours. Castlebar had a more ruthless streak when chances presented themselves and they notched two tries in quick succession as the game entered the final quarter. Walmsley dotted down between the uprights for a try which he also converted and he added the extras to Conor O’Neill’s try that put the game beyond the Pirates.
Castlebar were that bit more organised and cohesive as they secured a bonus point win but youthful Buccs battled to the very end. Their best spell of sustained pressure was rewarded with Goncalo Catarino’s try which Byrne converted to complete the 31-15 scoreline. These latter two had good outings for the Athlone side as did Hughes and Charlie Byrne.
BUCCANEERS:- H.Hughes; B.Daly, C.McDonagh, H.Balsiger, C.Rooney-Digan; M.Byrne, D.Colgan; C.Daly, C.Morrissey, C.Byrne; S.Fogarty, J.del Olmo; J.Scouler, J.Brady and L.Balsiger. Replacements:- D.Bolger (for Daly), C.Brill (for Byrne), G.Catarino (for Scouler), K.Connolly (for del Olmo), R.Greene and E.Naughton.