U15s lose out in Connacht League Final

An inexperienced Carrick RFC U15 squad lost their first Connacht U15 League Final last Saturday in Creggs at the hands of a powerful Dunmore RFC.

That they didn’t succeed shouldn’t be seen as a failure on their part but more an opportunity missed because there is no doubt that this team had the personnel to finish the job and take home the Connacht title to Carrick RFC.  The fulcrum of Carrick’s success this season has largely been down to the strength and athleticism of their relatively inexperienced pack. 

Carrick were initially taken aback by the sheer physicality of their Dunmore counterparts who were bigger in almost every position. It wasn’t long before Dunmore started making repeated inroads into Carrick territory. They  capitalised when an unforced error by a Carrick defender and poor defensive work from the chasing backline allowed Dunmore in for the first try of the game after 12 minutes. 

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Carrick relied upon the strong running Oran Oates, Noel Dowd, Krystian Kopczynski  and Jude Kennedy for go-forward ball but a combination of poor running lines and great Dunmore tackling resulted in Carrick making limited progress into Dunmore territory.  

Dunmore made full use of the wind and kicked into space whenever they could, forcing the Carrick defence to turn and defend and with five minutes to go to halftime, the Galway side converted a penalty to extend their lead, leaving the halftime lead at 8-0 to Dunmore.

Carrick rang the changes at half time and brought on Theo Gately and Cavan McGourty and they started the half in good fashion by using the wind very effectively but despite constant pressure, they didn’t capitalise on these gains. 

Dunmore struck for another try after a Carrick handling error to extend their lead to 13-0 but Carrick dug deep and after a period of pressure, forward momentum took the pack inside the Dunmore 22. Dunmore initially kept Carrick at bay before flanker Seamus McGuire grabbed the loose ball in the ruck and raced over and touched down under the posts. Try converted to leave the score 13-7 to Dunmore.  

The Carrick team who lost out in the Connacht U15 League Final. (Back, from left) John Mulvanerty, Rory McNabola, Ryan McGarry, Noel Dowd, Ryan Moran, Louis Glancy, Solomon Gleeson, Malachy Glover, Rory Connaughton, Jude Kennedy, Cillian McGowan, John Mee, Krystian Kopczynski, Oran Oates, Eli Mulligan. (Front) Luke Sharkey, John Boyd, Timothy Tansey, Joey McGovern, Theo Gately (JC), Jack Foley (JC), Seamus McGuire, Ben McGarry, Shane Murtagh, Paudie Gilligan, Cavan McGourty Picture: Mark Kelly

Carrick their tails were up but Dunmore hit back with a converted penalty with 20 minutes left. Replacement scrum half Rory McNabola had an immediate impact on proceedings.  His crisp passing from the rucks raised Carrick’s performance a notch leading to McGuire sniping across the line for his second try with 15 minutes left. 

A rattled Dunmore took advantage of tiring Carrick players when they crossed the line in the final seconds despite heroic efforts by the entire Carrick defence. 

With the Cup campaign about to begin, this Carrick team can hold their heads up high and take solace from their terrific second half performance against the biggest and best team they have met all season.

The match was there for the taking and had Carrick started less nervously, employed their running backs more effectively and implemented even a few of the tactical drills they practiced so diligently in the weeks leading up to this final , the outcome may have been very different.    

This Carrick squad, ten of whom never played rugby before September, are drawn from eight different secondary schools and nine different football clubs in Leitrim and Roscommon. Hopefully the experience of this game will provide not only the incentive to propel them back to Creggs in 2025 in their quest to lift their first ever Connacht title but also to encourage more young men and women to take up the sport of rugby.

Postponed: The Carrick v Ballinasloe Under 18.5 final scheduled for Sunday last was postponed due to Storm Isha.

Jack Matthews: Carrick's Jack Matthews broke into the starting XV for Lansdowne RFC in their All Ireland League Division 1A match against table toppers Clontarf. Jack played the full 80 minutes scoring a try and setting up the all decisive score in Lansdowne's 29-26 victory. We are all very proud of Jack in Carrick RFC.