MULLINGAR RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB

BUILDING A COMMUNITY SINCE 1925.

MULLINGAR RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB

BUILDING A COMMUNITY SINCE 1925.

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Mullingar vs New Ross & Mullingar Ladies vs Wexford

November 25, 2014

November 2, 2014. Leinster League Div2A.
New Ross 8 Mullingar 36
Bonus point win on the long road sees Mullingar two points clear at top
By Finian Coghlan
Mullingar went as far away as they can in Leinster on Sunday and came home
from New Ross with a well earned five points and, significantly, breathing
space and the top of Division 2A as none of their nearest rivals could
capitalise.
It may have taken them until the very last play of the game to secure the
fourth try, but fittingly it fell to the returning Eoghan Gantly, playing
in his first game in almost 12 months, and he was swamped by a horde of
delighted teammates as his cloud of frustration vaporised in a cleansing
instant.
For the first time this season Mullingar played a primarily forwards game,
and considering they were giving away maybe a stone a man up there in the
quare place, they more than matched their burlier opponents once Brady got
his eye in and grizzled down.
That’s not to say that Mullingar were imperious, far from it, but the high
error count will give the touchline Double Ds plenty to iron out on the
training paddock this week. 
With Samuel Blair on early blitzkrieg duty, New Ross conceded two penalties
in the first 10 minutes, which Butler duly dispatched.
Mullingar were generous enough to return the compliments, but fortunately
their place kicker wasn’t Jonny Butler, and so Mullingar maintained the six
point gap for half an hour before the hosts finally got on the board.
In this period New Ross twice made it to the Mullingar line, but the
defence was absolute and spread from 1 to 15.
All New Ross got was the singular penalty, and from the re-start they
looked at getting in behind Mullingar with a deep kick, but stand-in
skipper Maxwell had other ideas. He caught it deep ad sprayed a long pass
to Jonny Butler who set off at pace, a bit like a train. 
He linked up with Alan Brabazon, and Mullingar were now in the New Ross 22,
although seeming in a cul de sac.
We had not factored on Matthew Coade, however, who picked and dashed down
an impossible blind, and showed that his Saturdays in watching Strictly
were not a waste of time if this was the standard of move he’d learnt as he
left three in his wake to the corner.
Mullingar had now figured out the measure of them up front and it was now
beginning to show at large.
With three minutes remaining in the half, Nigel Mills decided to go all
opportunistic from the left hand side of a scrum in his own half, and was
off like a shot with the posse in hot pursuit.
He made it to within 10m of the New Ross line before they got a proper paw
on him, but he turned at the right moment and found Sam Blair coming with
such a head of steam that not an Alp would’ve stopped.
Though now comfortably in the driver’s seat, Mullingar reverted to an old
habit of lifting the foot off, and their hosts were able to bruise up and
over for a try with the last play of the half, and saw the teams off to
suck citrus at 16-8.
Early in the second half Quinn and Hannon were added to the fray, and what
little hope New Ross were clinging to, evaporated with this double switch
of consolidation.
Mullingar were looking superior in all facets, and even more so when Jamie
Taaffe was added, but the gaps could not be found.
Instead of panicking though, Mullingar played it by the book and stretch
their lead with two further Butler penalties.
With two minutes remaining, and victory assured, Mullingar found the extra
gear. 
Once again the naissance of threat began in the hands of the highly
influential Leaving Cert student Matt Coade. He threw the hips at a tiring
line and made a hole before feeding Max at the max outside, and he was not
going to be stopped.
This would have been satisfactory, but Mullingar were not yet done.
Two minutes into overtime, Mullingar worked a scrum in the New Ross 22 from
which Blair picked at the rear before finding the industrious junior
Brabazon. He linked with Butler who had Gantly showing him exactly how to
come like a train in a called move for the most satisfying, monkey-removing
score of the season.
Other news 
It was definitely a case of ‘anything you can do’ at the weekend in the
Model County as the women’s team also had an emphatic table-topping 51-5
victory against Wexford to maintain their 100 percent record and promotion
ambitions.
Olive Butler was again on fire and is now top try scorer at the club with
eight of her team’s 27, but she was ably aided with opening scores of the
season from Adrienne Andrews, Crilly, Clodakins, and Tracy Talbot.
This week both these undefeated teams will be on display in Cullion, with
the women kicking off against Edenderry at1pm, and the chaps entertaining
Roscrea at 2.30. It will be well worth the visit, I promise you.
Scorers:
Tries: Matt Coade, Blair, Maxwell, Gantly.
Cons: Butler 2
Pens: Butler 4
Team: 1. Darren Brady, 2. Davy O’Reilly, 3 Ciaran O'Donoghue, 4. Alex Moran
, 5. Ritchie Pyke, 6.Paul Maxwell, 7. Nigel Mills , 8. Sam Blair, 9.Arthur
Brabazon, 10.Matthew Coade, 11. Ryan Tighe, 12. Conor Jack, 13. Alan
Brabazon,14. Diarmuid Raleigh, 15. Johnny Butler. Subs used: Niall Hannon, 
Darryl Quinn , Jamie Taaffe, Andrew Coade, Eoghan Gantly.
Top try scorers: Olive Butler (8), Andrew Coade, Matthew Coade (6), Paul
Maxwell (5), Sam Blair Stacy Boland, Louise Kelly (4), Diarmuid Raleigh,
Johnny Butler (3), Conor Jack, Adam Kerroum, Davy O’Reilly (2), Darech
Geraghty, Darren Brady, Ronan Wallace, RyanTighe, Cormac Dunne, Darren
Brady, Richie Pyke, Luke Peppard, Eoghan Gantly, 
Tries for: 42, Against :15.

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