Portlaoise 31 Boyne RFC 11
Leinster U-16 Division 1 Rugby League Round 5
The winter sun shown brightly in Togher on Saturday afternoon as Portlaoise started of the new year with a fine team performance to take the points against a tough Boyne side.
There was an even start to the game with both sides having good spells of territory and possession but it was Boyne who got the scoreboard moving after five minutes.
They side were pressing hard with a number of phases taking them to the Portlaoise 22 where the home side were penalised for offside. Out-half Hugh O’Dwyer made no mistake in front of the posts to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.
Portlaoise started to dominate proceedings but had to wait until the 20th minute to open their account with a fine move finished off in style by Daniel Whelan.
A lineout on the Boyne five metre line was taken cleanly by Cormac Drea and scrum-half Paul Byrne (on early for the injured Kyle Moore) quickly got the back line moving.
Donnchadh Carroll was central to the move as he flicked on a pass to keep the ball alive. A great take by Cullen Kirwan on his boot laces set up Whelan to touch down on the right with Matt Cunningham adding the extras for a 7-3 lead.
Back came Boyne three minutes later to reply with another O’Dwyer penalty once again from the Portlaoise 22 after the home side were penalised at the breakdown.
The Portlaoise forwards were really fronting up against a strong Boyne pack with the front row of Shane Foley, Conor Deegan, and Mark Ging getting through huge work ably assisted by the teak-tough tackling of Bill Rigney and Darragh Maher in the second row. This gave the home-side a great platform to get in for two tries before the break.
On 28 minutes, Portlaoise put a number of phases together with strong carries from Fionn Mullen, Aaron Fitzpatrick, and Eoghan Kennedy to set up Carroll to finish nicely to the left of the posts.
Just on the stroke of halftime, Portlaoise crossed the whitewash once again. A well-judged kick from Whelan resulted in a lineout on the Boyne 5m line. A good break by Cunningham drew in the cover and Byrne moved the ball wide where Kirwan gave Portlaoise a 17-6 lead at the break.
Portlaoise started the second half in the same manner and extended their lead after just 5 minutes.
Foley, once again, carried hard at the Boyne defence to take play to the Boyne 10m line. Carroll moved the ball to wing Declan Iguma who carried strongly to the 22. From there, the backline kicked into gear with Whelan stepping inside nicely to touch down to the left of the posts.
The extras were added for a 24-6 lead. Boyne responded with some good phases of play and were attacking on the Portlaoise 10m line when great work by Drea and Rigney forced a scrum to the home side.
A solid scrum allowed Byrne to get quick ball to Cunningham and he weaved all the way through the Boyne defence to touch down under the posts. He added the extras for a 31-6 lead midway through the half.
Jamie Shiel, Dara Coffey, and David Allely added fresh impetus to the Portlaoise attack but it was Boyne who had the final say on the scoreboard when No. 8 Liam Riley took a great line to touch down to the right of the posts after strong carries by the pack.
The home side managed the remaining minutes to run out well-deserved winners on a fulltime score of 31-11. Boyne put in a fine performance and will return to Togher in a few weeks for the first round of the Cup.
PORTLAOISE: Eoghan Kennedy, Cullen Kirwan, Daniel Whelan, Aaron Fitzpatrick, Declan Iguma, Matt Cunningham, Kyle Moore, Shane Foley, Conor Deegan, Mark Ging, Darragh Maher, Bill Rigney, Fionn Mullen, Cormac Drea, Donnchadh Carroll (c).
Replacements: Paul Byrne, Jamie Shiel, Dara Coffey, David Allely
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