St Ciaran’s CS V St Patrick’s Classical School
Venue: North Meath RFC
Godfrey Plate
St Pats 29 – St Ciaran’s 10 Scorers for St Ciaran’s. K Brady 1 try. R Moran 1 Try.
St Pats – Tries x4 Conversion x3 Penalty x1
St Ciaran’s were hoping to bounce back with a win today against local rivals St Pats in what could were ideal conditions at The Grange. It was a tense opening 20 minutes with both sides testing each other. Ciarán’s had the lions share of possession and territory for most of the first half with possession being coughed up at critical stages. Some well worked phase play from the pack and line breaks from J Prior (6) put Pats really under pressure. Some intricate back line play between centre and fullback also gained lots of ground but Ciarán’s failed to capitalise. Unfortunately, It was the Navan men who drew first blood with a nicely worked try from their 11. It was a sign that Pats could mix it up between the backs and the forwards. Another Pats try from the restart offered a stark reminder in the danger of the Navan outfit but eventually Ciaran’s opened their account heading into half time with an unconverted try by Kayden Brady (12). Ciarán’s had been camped on the Pats try line and eventually Brady exploited a gap and dotted down. The conversion was narrowly missed from a difficult angle. Half time score 12-5 in favour of Pats.
Early in the 2nd half Pats were awarded a penalty which was duly dispatched keeping Kells at arm’s length. The tormentor in chief was the Pats number 12 who gave endless trouble throughout the game. It was an energy sapping game. J Kerins, L Farrelly, D Rock and D Daly all came on early in the 2nd half to claw their way back. Eventually a well worked move out wide was finished by R Moran to keep Kells in the mix. The Ciaran’s line out and scrum functioned particularly well. D O Brien Robinson and T Stander carried a lot of ball but alas, Pat’s pulled away at the end with two further try’s which made a difficult task, impossible.
Next up is a Duff Cup semi final on the 28th of February. Ciaran’s look with interest on the result of the Wilsons Hospital game as this will be opposition for the semi-final. Ciaran’s will be re-group after the midterm and redouble their efforts to reach the final in Donnybrook against Good Council or Gorey CS.