AIL 1B – Blackrock 40 Old Wesley 28
Old Wesley’s hopes for a promotion play-off slot were dashed after losing their final AIL match of the season to Blackrock.
Old Wesley came out strong in their final game of the AIL regular season away to Blackrock, with Andrew Doyle crossing from close range in the opening minutes. Cassidy added the extras to give Wesley an early 7–0 lead.
But the game quickly turned when Tom Larke was yellow-carded for a high tackle in the corner, denying a likely try. A penalty try was awarded, levelling the score at 7–7.
From there, a series of errors allowed Blackrock to run in three unanswered tries. By half-time, Wesley found themselves trailing 26–7, with a mountain to climb.
After the break, they responded almost immediately. Larke broke the line and sidestepped the fullback to touch down, narrowing the gap to 14–26. Minutes later, Billy Corrigan intercepted a pass and sprinted 40 metres to score, with Cassidy converting again to make it 21–26.
Wesley were on fire, and when Molloy broke down the wing and offloaded to captain Reuben Pim, it looked like the comeback was complete. Cassidy slotted the conversion to put Wesley ahead 28–26 with 20 minutes to play.
But Blackrock were not finished. Two quick tries turned the game back in their favour, pushing the score to 40–28 with 10 minutes remaining. Wesley had chances late on including a last gasp near try by Larke. But they couldn’t convert, and the final whistle confirmed their playoff hopes were over.
A tough end to the season, but a battling performance from Old Wesley in Blackrock.
Scorers: Tries: Andrew Doyle, Tom Larke, Billy Corrigan, Reuben Pim; Cons: Ian Cassidy 4
HT: Blackrock College 26 Old Wesley 7
Team: Tom Larke; Andrew Vincent, Alex Molloy, Eoin Deegan, Eoin Murphy; Ian Cassidy, Andrew Doyle; Adam Watchorn, Stephen Smyth, Evin Coyle, Mahon Ronan, David Motyer, Billy Corrigan, Reuben Pim (capt), Will Fay. Replacements: Kieran O’Shea, Rory Duggan, Shane Cawley, Gavin Meagher, Eoin Quinn, Willem Johnstone.
