Bonus point win for Tullamore against Bruff

Onlookers were treated to an exhilarating game of rugby on Saturday, where no fewer than 11 tries were scored in the contest. It was a perfect day for running rugby, and Tullamore had a big point to prove after a disappointing performance away to Instonians in the opening round of the league.

All-Ireland Rugby League Division 2C

Tullamore 50

Bruff 26

Bruff started the better of the two and held possession and territory for the opening exchanges. Tullamore soon settled and began to build into the game through some excellent carries by Gavin Kelly, Shayne Fleming and Leon Fox. It was clear from the start that Tullamore showed intent to spread the play and attack wide. They were soon awarded a penalty on the 5 metre line. The home side opted for a scrum - from the resulting scrum the ball was whipped to Lance Batten. Batten saw a gap in the Bruff guard, maneuvered his way through 2 defenders bundled over for the first of his 4 try haul.

Bruff restarted and Tullamore rallied again, notching their way deep into the 22. Bruff stole the ball and cleared their lines, the ball found its way to Karl Dunne, who spun it to brother Conor. He then offloaded the ball to Mark Kennedy, who showed lovely hands to send new man Alex Bercovici into space. Bercovici moved the play to the wing where Leon Fox was released down the tram line. He steamed down the sideline and evaded two Bbruff defenders only to be tackled high over by the corner flag. The referee awarded Tullamore a penalty try and the winger received a yellow card.

Bruff received another moments later when Gavin Kelly was tackled dangerously by their inside centre. Tullamore benefited from the numerical advantage soon after this. Tullamore worked their way to the half way line, and worked the ball through the hands to the sideline to Lance Batten. Batten bounced his opposing man, and glided 50 yards unopposed to score Tullamore's 3rd try of the game. Conor Dunne scored both conversions to leave the score at 21-0 with minutes remaining in the half. Bruff rallied and had the last word in this period. They turned over a lineout in the Tullamore 22, and carried hard to work their way to the 5 metre line. The men from Limerick eventually squeezed in to leave the score at 21-7 at half time.

The second half continued to be a very entertaining affair. It kicked off with Bruff edging back another try to close the gap to 7 points.. From the restart Tullamore won a penalty. Conor Dunne slotted the penalty to stretch the gap to 10 points. Tulliers maintained possession and started to dominate the game. They worked their way into the 10 metre line through Alex Bercovici, Liam Farrell and Matthew Murphy. Sam Burns executed a great back line move to put Karl Dunne into space. He then drew the last defender to put Sean McCabe flying down the wing, McCabe went on a Lomu-esque run and barreled over the full back to dive in for the bonus point score.

The shackles were well and truly off at this stage and Tullamore smelled blood. They continued where they left off and worked their way into enemy lines. Matt Murphy made a great carry and coolly slipped the ball to Alex Bercovici, Bercovici made it to the 22 metre line. The ball found its way to Karl Dunne, who dummied his opposite man and showed a clean pair of heels to dot down for their 5th try.

To their credit, Bruff never gave up and fought back to score their 3rd try through indiscipline at the breakdown by Tullamore. Bruff fought to try and earn a bonus point but were held up and stripped by Matt Murphy. The ball was sent to the edge where Liam Farrell jinked and weaved his way to the half way line. He then expertly released Lance Batten who charged in for his 3rd of the day. Bruff battled once more and earned their bonus point with a well taken try with some good carries by the pack. Sam Burns' drop kicked the back deep, and Bruff tried to work the ball to the outside channel. The ball was spilled and Scott Milne pounced to hack the ball over the try line. Batten pounced and dived in Tullamore's 7th try. Conor Dunne converted and this was to be the final act of the game.

Tullamore can be very pleased with this result. This was the first time Tullamore had scored 50 points in 7 years, which is a massive achievement. They still have work-ons to fix at training, but they will look forward to travelling to play Clonmel this Saturday at 2.30. There were alot of players that stood out on Saturday. Mark Kennedy, Leon Fox, Matt Murphy and  Alex Bercovici had excellent games in the pack while Conor Dunne, Lance Batten and Sean McCabe were the pick of the backs. 

1. Mark Kennedy, 2. Shayne Fleming, 3. Matthew Murphy, 4. Alex Bercovici, 5. Gavin Kelly, 6. Jack Delahunt, 7. Leon Fox, 8. Barry Bracken (C), 9. Conor Dunne, 10. Craig Strong, 11. Sean McCabe, 12. Lance Batten, 13. Eoin Farrell, 14, Liam Farrell, 15. Karl Dunne. Subs: HT - Feighery for Fleming, 50mins - Milne for Farrell, 50mins - Burns for Strong, 55mins - Sullivan for Delahunt, 55mins - Douglas for Fox