AIL 1B – Queen’s University 7 Old Wesley 36
Old Wesley continued their winning run with a dominant 36–7 victory over Queen’s University Belfast, producing a ruthless second-half performance to pull clear and further strengthen their position at the top of Division 1B.
Wesley started brightly and opened the scoring when Tom Larke released Paidi Farrell, who showed great awareness to kick cleverly back infield for Evan Kenny to gather and score. Larke added the conversion to make it 7–0. Queen’s responded immediately, however, when their tighthead prop made a strong break downfield before offloading to the winger to score and level matters at 7–7.
With a strong wind at their backs, Queen’s enjoyed long spells of territory and pressure, forcing Wesley to defend deep for much of the opening half. Wesley struggled at times to clear their lines, but their scrum proved a crucial escape route, with Jamie Clark and Ben Popplewell winning a series of important penalties to relieve pressure and slow Queen’s momentum.
Just before half-time, Wesley suffered a setback when Tom Larke was forced off with a head knock, ending his afternoon early. Jarrod Homan came on, with Jules Fenelon moving to full-back, as Wesley regrouped for the second half.
With the wind now behind them, Wesley emerged with real intent and quickly turned pressure into points. Sustained attacking phases eventually told when Pat McBarron crashed over, with Niall Carroll taking over the kicking duties to convert and give Wesley breathing space.
The introduction of Charlie Meagher and Cathal Kelly into the back row brought immediate impact, both adding real physicality and momentum with their carrying. Meagher was first to be rewarded, finishing strongly in the corner after a barnstorming run to extend Wesley’s lead to 19–7. Soon after, Jamie Clark added another from close range as Wesley’s forward dominance began to tell, pushing the score on to 26–7.
Queen’s afternoon unravelled further as they were reduced by three players in the sin bin over a 20-minute period, and Wesley showed no mercy. Club captain Kieran O’Shea, introduced from the bench, made an instant impact by running a superb support line off Eoin Deegan, taking the offload and stepping the full-back emphatically to score, stretching the lead to 31–7.
Wesley weren’t finished yet. A sharp line break from Kristian Jensen off a scrum deep inside Wesley’s half sparked the final score, and after a couple of phases Cathal Kelly powered over to cap an outstanding second-half display and complete the scoring at 36–7.
A comprehensive bonus-point win, combined with results elsewhere in the division, sees Old Wesley now 10 points clear at the top of Division 1B, underlining their momentum as the season continues.
Click here for photos by Ken Richardson
Scorers: Tries: Jamie Clark, Charlie Meagher, Cathal Kelly, Kieran O’Shea, Evan Kenny, Pat McBarron; Cons: Tom Larke, Niall Carroll 2
Team: Tom Larke; Paidi Farrell, Kristian Jensen, Eoin Deegan (capt), Jules Fenelon; Niall Carroll, Evan Kenny; Jamie Clark, Stephen Smyth, Ben Popplewell, Mahon Ronan, Billy Corrigan, Luke O’Connor, Dan Campbell, Pat McBarron. Replacements: Kieran O’Shea, Luke McAuliffe, Cathal Kelly, Charlie Meagher, Stephen Hendy, Jarrod Homan.
