Leinster Culliton Cup

FINAL

Saturday 27th April 2019

Carlow RFC

Mullingar 27

Tullow 15

LEINSTER CUP CHAMPIONS 2018/19

Site Editor

This Culliton Cup final was contested in Co. Carlow Football Club which is effectively Tullow’s backyard and the Mullingar supporters travelled in numbers but with no little trepidation. The early stages of the match did little to allay these fears as Tullow started brightly. Tullow won a line out in Mullingar territory and despite good pressure from the Mullingar defence the Tullow ball carrier managed to squeeze between two defenders to bring the ball deep into the Mullingar 22 and several phases later they crossed for the first score. Mullingar failed to kick the ball more than the prescribed 10 metres at the kick off which meant a scrum to Tullow and it started to look like it might be a long afternoon. But the faith is strong in this young group of Mullingar players and they managed to take the ball against the head in the scrum which settled the whole team down and they started to play some rugby. 

Strong carries by Sean Cronin, Evan Molloy, Hugh O’Neill and Liam Shaw saw Adam Treanor cross in the corner to get Mullingar on the score board and he duly kicked a fine conversion from the touchline to give Mullingar the lead.

Tullow responded to that score to apply more pressure and it looked like they had another try after several phases of play but there was a melee on the other side of the pitch with a large group of players involved and after the referee and assistant referee were finished speaking, two Tullow players and Evan Molloy were sent to the sin bin and the game restarted with a penalty to Mullingar with the Tullow try scrubbed off the scoreboard. 

Mullingar made the most of their numerical advantage, they worked their way down into the Tullow 22 with strong carries by Sean Cronin, Hugh O’Neill, Gerry Duffy, Dylan Daly and Conor Gibney all marshalled by Fionn O’Hara at out half. With a large overlap on the right it looked like a simple matter of just putting the ball through the hands but Adam Treanor, playing at scrumhalf, as he usually does spotted a gap beside the ruck and dived in for his second try to push Mullingar further ahead.

From the kick off Lee Ryan fielded the ball superbly and carried back at the Tullow defence before offloading to continue the attack. Again good carries from Fintan Larkin, Liam Shaw, and Hugh O’Neill brought Mullingar back to half way and some slick passing released Mullingar captain Conor Gibney with 50 metres and several defenders between him and the try line but he showed all his strength, pace and balance to make it all the way to the try line. Both teams were then restored to full strength and Tullow applied pressure to cross for one more try to make the half time score 17-10 to Mullingar.

Mullingar had the wind behind their backs in the second half and they made the early advantage tell when the secured a penalty in front of the posts and despite carrying a leg injury into the match Fionn O’Hara duly dispatched it over the bar to make the score 20-10. The intensity of the game went up as both teams realised that the game was entering its definitive phase, Tullow were carrying hard and Mullingar increased their line speed to match however Tullow pressure eventually yielded a try to make the score 20-15. The game was really in the mixing pot now put Tullow were a little over zealous at ruck time and another player departed to the sin bin giving Mullingar a numerical advantage and again they were ruthless. Directed by messers O’Hara and Treanor Mullingar worked their way into the Tullow 22 before the ball finally found its way to Captain Gibney who crossed for his second try. Adam Treanor added the conversion to make the score 27-15.

Fionn O’Hara left the field which meant a re-jig of the Mullingar back line but Mark Flynn ably deputised at out half and kept the Mullingar machine ticking. The game then settled into a scrappy period as there were several long stoppages for injuries. Tullow were restored to 15 players and they pushed and probed for weakness to get back into the game but Mullingar were equal to them and eventually Tullow seemed to run out of ideas, Rory O’Sullivan Sexton and the Mullingar substitutes Michael Conlon and Ollie McClair were particularly prominent in this period with their energy leading the line. There was a small chink of light when Lee Lyons was unfairly picked out for a neck roll and sent to the sinbin despite having only entered the fray but Mullingar managed the game well with only 14 players. The game seemed to go on for an eternity as the referee ensured the full 35 minutes were played but the final whistle eventually came and Mullingar could start the celebrations taking the Culliton Cup back to Shay Murtagh Park to be greeted by the mini’s who were having their annual end of season awards.

There is an old adage that forwards win games and backs decide by how much and while rugby football has undergone many changes since the advent of professionalism almost a quarter of a century ago, this adage still holds through and this game proved no different. This victory was based on a brilliant performance from the pack, who dominated the close exchanges, delivered the front foot ball that was needed and stood up for themselves when they had to as well. This gave the backs the time and space to work their magic. Well done to all the players who played their part in the season and a big thank you to all the parents who delivered players to training and matches and made food for after matches. 

Best of luck to all the players who are involved in the Westmeath Minor football and hurling squads as the Leinster Championship gets underway.

Best of luck to the U13 and U15 squads who will compete in their respective Leinster Cup Finals in Donnybrook next Monday.

Squad: Oisin Burke, Evan Molloy, Liam Shaw, Fintan Larkin, Gerry Duffy McAndrew, Dylan Daly, Sean Cronin, Hugh O’Neill, Adam Treanor, Fionn O’Hara, Jamie Daly, Mark Flynn, Conor Gibney (Captain), Lee Ryan, Rory O’Sullivan Sexton, Michael Conlon, Lee Crowley Lyons, Adam Bauer, Cian Farrell, Rian Conroy, Ollie McClair, Mark Cully