12 - nil up, nine minutes played. The game wasn't one-sided however and CC hadn't lost any of their attacking spirit however. We conceded a penalty inside our half on 11 minutes, and CC decided to run it. Jake Carroll put in a monstrous tackle and was soon joined by Andrew Hayden (flanker & captain) to complete the choke tackle. The determination shown by the St Mac Dara's team was huge. There was no way they were going to lose this game. The determination resulted in massive pressure being put back on Colaiste Chiarain and the scores soon followed. Jake Miller (scrum-half) crossed the line with 17 minutes played, while James Murphy (fullback) scored a minute later. James' try was the result of some incredible carrying and off-loading by Mark and Andrew. The forwards wanted to show that they had some skills too!
CC came back at us, putting pressure on us and forcing us into some errors. They put on a great attack from a scrum, but we could withstand it. Eventually after we conceded another penalty they kicked deep for a lineout near our 22. Andrew Hayden showed great confidence and agility to steal the ball and set up another blistering run. This time we pushed up through the centre and Jonathan Kelly carried a couple of CC players across the line on his way to scoring.
We made our way to the sideline at half-time ahead by 29 points to nil. Most teams would feel very comfortable and confident at this point but our nerves were acting up. We'd been here before too often.
We were lined up and ready to go for the second half almost as soon as the whistle went to end the first. Our determination to win was almost desperation to win and there was a reluctance to lose any momentum. At this point Coláiste Chiaráin probably felt the game was gone from them however. The first half had been very tough on them and they had lost some of their star players, including their hooker. We restarted and attacked straight away. The first minute was frenetic, with an awesome take from Jake Carroll, a monster tackle from CC forcing us to knock-on, another scrum won by us against the head, and Jem Cairns (wing) scoring. Two minutes later and we won another tighthead scrum. CC didn't give up though and had a great break through the centre with strong support runners. Single-handedly though Sean Redmond put in an awesome tackle to stop the runner and drive him backwards. Textbook try-saving tackle.
Our subs started to come on and to help maintain our winning momentum. The Hamiltons swapped, although Billy would go back on later to prop down with Dylan. "Trevor" Browne and Bryan MacDonagh were able replacements for Mark and Luke, while Eoin Flood and Ben Daly were able to continue the great work they'd put in on the wing throughout the year. Jem made way too, but not before putting in what turned out to be our last score of the game. Coláiste Chiaráin did get one back in the final minute of the match, but it ended 39 points to five.
It's a cliché to say that "forwards win games; backs just decide by how much", but ours was a game where every try was scored by a back, who got clean, fast ball, due to dominance in the scrum and the lineout. It's a cliché, but it was certainly true of this game. Backs and forwards working together, relying on each other, succeeding together. Well done lads.
PS - Great to have some parents travel along to offer us support, and also great to see William Kelly drag himself from his sick-bed (he had flu or pneumonia or something; none of us were paying attention to him) to cheer on the team. It was great to meet Trevor's parents too. For some reason they insist on calling him Jason though; what a funny nickname!
