The first League match of the new season was held on Thursday 26 September. It was a home game for St Mac Dara's and we were lucky enough to be able to borrow a pitch from Terenure College. We got down with plenty of time to spare and had a nice warm-up. The highlight was Mr Culleton's ability to hold back Aaron MacDonagh (prop) in a little contact warm-up. No way was Aaron pushing Mr Culleton back!
The referee (Johnny English - no messing!) started us off bang on time at half-one. Within a minute Balbriggan had struck. They had a great core group of athletic players who were able to take advantage of any gaps and rush to our try line. Within two minutes we were seven - nil down. Not an ideal start but the lads didn't let their heads go down even once. Throughout the entire game the St Mac Dara's philosophy was to attack and then to attack some more.
Our set-pieces were dominant throughout the entire game. They provided our players with a great attacking platform and it was only through some scrambling defence that Balbriggan were able to keep St Mac Dara's from their line. Three times during the first half we were within five metres of their lines and some handling errors turned over possession. Balance was restored and some justice prevailed when Jake Carroll (Inside - Centre) scored after 22 minutes. Jake then converted his try to bring things level. Each time we attacked from one of our set-pieces we made great territory and forced Balbriggan back. Our scrum was a great platform to attack off.
Our line-outs were also very effective and we maintained a 100 % strike-rate. Some of our calls were ... interesting. "Canterbury" and "x-ball" kept them guessing, while "Ball Ger Sma" had us all guessing. William Kelly's throwing was flawless, and the way Andrew Hayden bossed both teams in the Line was great to see. The defence being shown by players like Jake Miller and Jem O Ciaran from line-out play was also a big boost to us.
So half-time saw things all square. Both teams were eager to get back in to things. Unfortunately for us the second - half started the same as the first; Balbriggan broke through after a minute to score. The possession and territory remained the same also, with players like James Murphy (Outhalf) and Luke Alford (Lock - Captain) putting great pressure on Balbriggan. Our constant pressure was rewarded when eventually, finally, after being camped in their 22 for what felt like half-the-game Mark Reneghan (Lock) steam-rolled through the Balbriggan defence for a great score. The angle was really tight and Jake wasn't able to convert the try unfortunately. The game was turning into a war of attrition though and we had to move to uncontested scrums when Aaron strained his calf. Billy Hamilton proved a worthy substitute for Aaron though, with his twin Dylan also making a great impression in his first game for St Mac Dara's. William also strained his calf. In fact Ms Galligan thought he was giving birth he was screaming so much! The tiredness showed as soon Balbriggan ran two tries in and while we scrambled to get back at Balbriggan and put great pressure on their defence time ran out.
Our first match of the season. A loss, against the run of play. A great display of our technique and ability, and also a great display of the team-spirit of the St Mac Dara's Junior Boys.
A big thanks to a lot of people. Thanks to Paddy and Rory for being ball-boys and for sorting out the flags. Eventually. Thanks to all of our many water carriers who were kept really busy and gave great support to their team. A special thanks to our referee, John English, who allowed the game to flow and never got in the way and used his whistle to teach as well as to run the game.
Some boring statistics:
Tries. St Mac Dara's 2 (1), Balbriggan 4 (2)
Possession. St Mac Dara's 40 m. 66%. Balbriggan 20m. 34%.
Territory. St Mac Dara's 70%. Balbriggan 30%.
Line-Outs. St Mac Dara's 7 (7). Balbriggan 4 (2).
Scrums. St Mac Dara's 5 (4). Balbriggan 4 (2).
Full team list will be added first thing Monday morning. Or Tuesday maybe. While not all players have been named all players deserve credit for putting in a great performance.
