There was a big crowd in attendance for what was our first home game in a year, and the lads did not disappoint with a largely dominant display that yielded three tries of real quality.
Seapoint got on the front foot from the off and despite owning the ball with the wind at their back we struggled to make it count. In fact it took until the 15th minute for us to register our first score with Harry Martin landing a fine penalty from some 40m. While we continued to dominate it took a further 10 minutes for Martin to again land a penalty to extend the lead to 6-0.
Have sustained continuous pressure up to this point Boyne started to establish themselves but for the third week running the Seapoint defence remained stoic. Having reestablished ourselves in the Boyne half a sustained period of possession saw us breach the Boyne rearguard with a beautifully angled run from Dave O’Reilly seeing him glide through under the posts on 35 minutes, with Martin accepting the extras for a 13-0 lead. That was the end of the first half scoring which was the least the prevailing wind demanded.
As was to be expected Boyne responded to having wind advantage, taking the game to Seapoint in the early minutes of the 2nd half. They were offered an opportunity to cut the deficit but the penalty attempt drifted wide. This let-off stirred Seapoint into action and we were unfortunate not to build on our lead as a try scoring opportunity was spurned with a knock-on just short of the line.
The game was see-sawing now as Boyne took their turn with territory and possession but couldn’t break us down. From inside our 22 Seapoint launched with impressive continuity & off-loading to put us deep in the Boyne red-zone. The forwards then took to punching around the fringes with Zac Jungmann putting the final nail in the coffin which Martin successfully converted. The Seapoint faithful could breath easier now but with 25 minutes still to go there was still plenty of time for Boyne to strike back.
Thankfully we kept the foot on the pedal and offered very little opportunity to Boyne. We took complete control for the next 15 minutes with Dave O’Reilly grabbing his second try of the day on 70 minutes with another run of quality which Martin converted for an unassailable 27-0 lead.
Boyne came right back at us and after we were reduced to 14 men they took full advantage to secure a well-worked try in the right corner that they were unable to convert. The remaining five minutes of the game were played out without incident with the final whistle being greeted with great joy.
In what was a another fine squad display we saw two more 1st XV debuts for Jacob Cook and Daryl Draper.
We now turn our attention to the first Leinster Cup Final that we will have contested since 2010, so looking forward to the Seapoint roar being heard in Lansdowne FC as we take on a Wicklow side that have dispatched three Division 1A opponents on their way to the decider – BRING IT ON???
Seapoint Squad
15 H. Martin 14 A. Guerin 13 D. O’Reilly 12 G. Hughes 11 E. O’Reilly 10 C. Buckley 9 C. Tallon 8 M. Kerr 7 Z. Jungmann (Capt.) 6 C. Montayne 5 C. O’Gorman 4. A. Macaulay 3 R. Mouatt 2 C. Cunningham 1 B. Duggan
Reps: 16 E. Mahon 17 D. Draper 18 B. Lyons 19 J. Cook 20 M. McKenna
