Management and fans alike were justifiably concerned as the Seapoint U-20s faced league leaders Terenure following Seapoint’s heavy defeat away to Trinity the previous weekend. However, despite conceding 28 points in the first 25 minutes whilst playing against a significant breeze, the Seapoint team showed great belief and resilience to fight back and make a real contest for the rest of the game, with a final score line of 33 points to 7.
Seapoint kicked off into the breeze and contested the kick off well. However, several refereeing decisions in quick concession went against Seapoint and as a result, despite defending with great tenacity they found themselves trailing by 7 points to nil with only five minutes gone. Things got worse with some more decisions going against the home side, and at the 15 minutes mark they conceded a second try, again however they made Terenure work hard for their score.
Once again Seapoint contested well at the restart and now started to play some quality rugby. Good pressure yielded an attacking lineout deep into the Terenure 22. It seemed to the home spectators that Terenure tackled the jumper in the air, however the referee gave a penalty against Seapoint saying they had engaged in a forward drive while the jumper was in the air. This allowed Terenure a relieving penalty and shortly afterwards they managed to break out, a missed tackle giving them a simple line break from which their centre chipped over the oncoming Sam Lynch, gathered a kind bounce, and scored their third try. A somewhat fortuitous score but the initial tackle should not have been missed.
Not for the first time this season the next try Seapoint conceded came from a failure to clear their lines. Despite winning good clean ball in their own 22, Seapoint’s clearance kick was blocked allowing Terenure win a scrum 10 meters out. From the scrum simple first phase passing put the Terenure centre through and he scored under the posts. 28 points to nothing with only 25 minutes gone. Things now looked bleak for the home side. The rest of the first half however was encouraging for Seapoint. Despite playing into the wind, they dominated possession and created some good scoring opportunities themselves. More importantly when Terenure did manage to get into the Seapoint 22 in the closing minutes of the first half, the Seapoint defence held firm and refused to give up another score before half time.
After the break despite a great take from the kick-off by Jack Hand, a knock-on gifted possession to the visitors. Shortly afterwards, with the best back movement of the game Terenure put the ball through several hands at speed resulting in the winger going over in the corner. Despite missing the conversion, the score was now 33 nil only 5 minutes into the second half. The rest of the game was dominated by Seapoint, and they spent most of the time in the Terenure half, using the wind to good effect and putting consistent phases and some great attacking moves together. After a period of intense pressure Seapoint were awarded a penalty try for a high tackle on Jack Hand as he crashed over the line. Seapoint should really have scored another couple of tries in the second half and were unlucky not to score on more than one occasion. The final score was 33 points to 5.
Some great performances from the Seapoint players, including some of the less familiar faces introduced off the bench. At full back Sam Lynch seems to have re-found his mojo, he fielded well and attacked the line with gusto at every opportunity. Abe Tormey Murphy was ambitious and dangerous every-time he got the ball. Arthur Hoade probably had the Seapoint man of the match performance, tackling like a demon, making good decisions with ball in hand and always running with intent. In the pack, Jack Hand showed energy, strength and courage. Philip Bolger tackled well. Daire Frankling relished his opportunity off the bench and took advantage of putting a real marker down for his inclusion as hooker. Callum Desmond bossed the forward exchanges in the last 20 minutes.
So a well earned rest and a chance to go again in January. This team are better than the results to date. They are developing as a team and we expect some big performances and a few scalps in the second half of the season. Most importantly we are enjoying the journey.
