9th November 2024 – AIL – UCC 27 Old Wesley 31
Trailing 7-27 with 35 minutes to go Old Wesley looked to be down and out. However a mammoth 3 try second half performance saw Wesley claim their first bonus point win of the season.
Our first visit to Cork this season was played in a constant drizzle that led to tricky handling conditions. UCC came out of the blocks well with a dominant opening 10 mins. It was just when Wesley appeared to have weathered the storm and were on the attack that UCC got the first try of the afternoon. A big tackle forced a Wesley handling error and the ball was quickly moved wide to the impressive Ben O’Connor who set David Cogan free down the clubhouse touchline. Cogan eventually freed inside centre Squires who had a clear run to the line. Squires converted his own try to give UCC a 7-nil lead on 15 mins. A penalty soon after gave Squires the opportunity to extend the lead to 10 points after 20 mins.
UCC’s second try again came on the back of a Wesley error. Following multiple phases attacking the UCC line a loose pass was capitalised on by Ben O’Connor. The Ireland u20s full back galloped 60 metres before offloading to Sean Condon who dotted down under the posts. Squires added the conversion to give the hosts a 17-nil lead with 10 to go in the half.
Wesley again responded to the setback by going on the attack and forcing back-to-back penalties in the host’s 22. The ever alert Andrew Doyle took the opportunity to catch everyone asleep by taking a quick tap. By the time the UCC defence responded the young scrum half had dived over the line practically unopposed. Cassidy stepped up to make the score 17-7. From the kick off, Wesley again contributed to their own demise with a clearing kick being blocked down and gathered smartly by Jason Aherne who scored the home team’s third try of the half. The successful conversion gave the students a 24-7 lead at the interval.
The second half started in the same fashion as the first with UCC adding to their lead from the boot of Squires. With the hosts now leading by 20 points and Wesley down to 14 men following a yellow card for Cronan Gleeson not many would have predicted what came next. What we do know about Morgan Lennon’s men is that they never give up and never stop believing. With 30 minutes remaining Kieran O’Shea and Eoin Deegan linked up beautifully for Deegan to score under the posts. Cassidy reduced the deficit to 13 points.
At this point Will Fay, Paidi Farrell and Eoin Murphy had entered the fray. All three, and the outstanding Tom Larke, made significant contributions in the fightback. Three minutes later the Donnybrook team who were attacking the River Lee end had earned another penalty. Cassidy stepped up make the score 27-17 going into the final quarter.
With 19 minutes left on the clock Wesley earned an attacking scrum in the UCC 22. A huge effort from the pack resulted in a penalty close to the UCC line. Wesley opted for a tap routine which resulted in Harry Noonan driving powerfully over the line for the away team’s third try. Cassidy again converted to bring Wesley within 3 points of the hosts. Wesley continued to go fast and hard in search of a winning score. In what was a fantastic squad effort Charlie Meagher and Paidi Farrell continued to find holes in the UCC defence.
The comeback was finally complete with 4 minutes left in the game. Rian Handley, who replaced the excellent Kieran O’Shea, readied himself to throw into an attacking 5 metre lineout. He floated the ball to the back of the lineout before entering the maul powerfully, breaking off to crash over the line for the bonus point try. Cassidy added a superb conversion to give Wesley a 4-point lead.
A game of two halves and 5 valuable points. We do it all again in Donnybrook on Saturday versus Highfield.
Click here for photos by Ken Richardson
Click here for match highlights
Old Wesley Scorers: Tries: Andrew Doyle, Eoin Deegan, Harry Noonan, Rian Handley; Cons: Ian Cassidy 4; Pen: Ian Cassidy
HT: UCC 24 Old Wesley 7
Team: Tom Larke, Tommy O’Callaghan, Alex Molloy, Eoin Deegan, Nathan Randles, Ian Cassidy, Andrew Doyle; Harry Noonan, Kieran O’Shea, Cronan Gleeson, Mahon Ronan, David Motyer, Cathal Kelly, Josh Pim (capt), Reuben Pim. Replacements: Rian Handley, Adam Watchorn, Charlie Meagher, Will Fay, Eoin Murphy, Paidi Farrell.
