Rugby: Under 20s’ final hopes get stuck in the mud

1/18/2007 - By: Tomás Moore

Harry Gale Cup semi-final

Kilkenny 6 Portlaoise 3


THE last time these two sides clashed it resulted in a routine victory for Portlaoise but terrible weather conditions and a witty Kilkenny defence conspired against a similar result.

While the attention of many was glued to the Heineken Cup last weekend, those in Athy RFC geared up for an expected tussle between two evenly matched outfits. Adverse weather conditions early in the match insured it was going to be a battle of the kickers. Portlaoise were without Gordon Peavoy, ruled out with a broken leg, and negated his side’s ability to convert penalties. The Laois side were also without Michael Dowling and Simon Stanley who had prior engagements.

“I suppose really the weather really made a lottery of it. It was always going to be a one-score game with the brutal conditions,” Portlaoise manager Brian Rigney told the Laois Nationalist.

“I thought near the end we could have snatched it but it just wasn’t to be. I am very proud of the lads for the effort throughout the competition. They fought really hard until the end and they also showed really good character.

“Once again I will go back to the weather because it didn’t help us any bit at all. I wouldn’t put any blame on the referee because I thought he did reasonably okay.”

Kilkenny had changed from the last time these sides clashed together. In the opening half the black and amber side were playing against a very stiff breeze. The ball was down in the Kilkenny half for the majority of the opening 40 minutes. Some brilliant defending by David Buckley and Paul Burke ensured this was going to be a tough battle for Portlaoise.

It was frustrating stuff for both managers as the rain started to belt down on both sides. Some of the referring decisions angered the vocal Portlaoise crowd as they felt he was too lenient on Kilkenny.

The Laois side should have opened the scoring after ten minutes when they were metres away from the line. Some unforced handling errors gave Kilkenny the chance to turn the ball over. The opening score of the game then came midway through the half as Kilkenny were made to concede a penalty.

The placed kick was easily slotted over by Graham Claxton to give Portlaoise a deserved lead. Kilkenny then started to gain confidence as they looked to hit their opponents back immediately.

They were up in the Portlaoise until Simon Shortall blasted the ball back down the pitch. Neither side could make anymore headway during the opening half which gave Portlaoise a 3-0 lead at the interval.

Portlaoise would have been considerably happy at the break although they were now going to be facing into the breeze in the last 40 minutes. Both sides showed how much they wanted to win this as they gathered in huddles around the field.

Handling of the ball was now difficult as the wind and rain failed to ease up. The problem was confirmed in the line out as the ball was blowing sideways. Kilkenny immediately put Portlaoise under pressure as they looked to get themselves back into the game.

The black and amber side pulled off a master-stroke by replacing their out half Gary Doyle at the interval. Rory McEnerney was his replacement and he made an immediate impact. Portlaoise were penalised as they were deemed to be offside by the referee.

McEnerney stepped -up and beautifully placed the ball between the posts. Portlaoise then lost fly half Eugene Hearns as the Abbeyleix native retired due to injury. Fatigue was starting to tell on Portlaoise as they gave away another penalty. They got away with a lucky break as McEnerney failed to take advantage of a scoring chance.

As the game seemed to be entering extra time, Portlaoise found some magic potion to take the game to Kilkenny. It was a late surge into the corner by Michael McEvoy, Eoin McEvoy (who won four line outs in a row) and Darren Brett which gave them some new hope. As it seemed a try looked destined the ball was snatched by the Kilkenny forwards.

The game was getting exciting as it was end-toend action. With only two minutes remaining Portlaoise suffered heartbreak.

As Kilkenny were on the attack they gained a penalty. Playing with the wind it was McEnerney who was to be the hero as he booted the ball over the bar. A late attack from Portlaoise failed to mate-rialise as the wheels fell off the bandwagon on a dreary day in Athy.

KILKENNY: Wayne Kavanagh, David Buckley, Paul Burke, David O’Brien, Eamon O’ Mahoney, Kevin Murphy, Alan McEntee, David O’Connor, Darren McGrath, Gary Doyle, Danny O’Brien, Conor Crowe, Mick Coughlan, Aidan Boland, Paudge Haughney. Replacements: Richie Byrne for Buckley (24mins), Killian Everade for Boland (37mins), Rory Mc Enerney for Doyle (HT).

PORTLAOISE: Stuart Meredith, Darren Brett, Paddy Dunne, Michael McEvoy, Eoin McEvoy, Bill Cooper, Scott Cooper, Joe O’ Mahoney, Eugene Hearns, Graham Claxton, Eoin Fingleton, Niall Miller, Trevor Roe, Ross Cooper, Simon Shortall. Replacements: Ger White for Cooper (32mins), Lorcan Byrne for Hearns (50mins, inj). Eoin McEvoy wins this ball for Portlaoise against Kilkenny Photos: Alf Harvey