Tullamore bounce back with important win

Tullamore showed real conviction on Saturday with a strong showing at home to Bangor. The home side hit the ground running almost immediately through Conor Dunne.

All-Ireland Rugby League Division 2C

Tullamore 35
Bangor 12

The home side hit the ground running almost immediately through Conor Dunne. Conor picked the ball on the halfway line and glided through the defensive line. He then stepped around the full back to show a clean pair of heels for the first score of the game.

Tullamore played with intent and played an exciting brand of rugby throughout the tie. A relieving kick from Bangor found its way to Sean McCabe in the 22. McCabe popped the ball to Brian Geraghty, who then fixed his opposite man and released Eoin Farrell who galloped to the far 10 metre line. Eoin slipped the pass to Barry Bracken who in turn whipped the ball to Liam Farrell. Farrell made his way to the try line before getting tackled, he coolly returned the pass to Bracken who finished a brilliant team attack. Conor Dunne converted both conversions to stretch the lead to 14 points.

Tullamore soon added a third try through some dominant carries by the Kelly brothers and Barry Bracken. Karl Dunne slinged the ball to Brian Geraghty on the 22 metre line. Geraghty dinked the ball into the 5 metre line. Sean McCabe and Chris Whittle stormed into action and put pressure on the Bangor winger. The winger lost control of the ball on the deck and Chris Whittle pounced to score a great opportunistic score.

Tullamore continued to probe and attack from every avenue. Karl Dunne received the ball on his own 10 metre line, and fended his opposite man to break through the defensive line. He drove to the far 22 and released a pass to Matthew Murphy. The defending full back reached out and knocked the ball forward. The referee decided that it wasn't a penalty try and awarded a scrum to Tullamore. Bangor won the scrum against the head and attacked down the far touch line through their winger. Scott Milne made a brilliant cover tackle, which gave Liam Farrell time to rip the ball from the Bangor man. Liam ran in the bonus point score from the 10 metre line for a brilliant individual effort.

The second half ebbed and flowed with both teams having moments of in attack. Bangor capitalised off a Tullamore overthrow to score from inside the 22 metre line to get off the mark. Tullamore responded with sharp drives through Cathal Feighery, Alan Douglas and Shayne Fleming. The side were awarded a penalty on the 5 metre line. Mark Kennedy quickly tapped the ball and burrowed his way over for Tullamore's 5th and final score. Bangor responded late and scored their final try to leave the score at 35-12 in favour of Tullamore.

Barry Bracken was awarded the man of the match for his strong defensive display and his direct and abrasive runs. Tullamore will travel to Skerries this weekend for a mouth watering clash between 2nd and 3rd at 2.30.

1. Matthew Murphy, 2. Cathal Feighery, 3. Mark Kennedy, 4. Conor Kelly, 5. Gavin Kelly, 6. Chris Whittle, 7. Leon Fox, 8. Bary Bracken, 9. Conor Dunne, 10. Karl Dunne, 11. Sean McCabe, 12. Lance Batten, 13. Eoin Farrell, 14. Liam Farrell, 15. Brian Geraghty (C).