06 Nov 2017
This re-fixed clash between Tullamore and Edenderry in the U16 Leinster League finally took place on Saturday having been postponed as a result of Storm Brian. However, unlike the meteorological tempest that was Storm Brian, the game itself proved to be a rather tame affair.
From kick off, Edenderry went on the attack and helped by some poor Tullamore ball handling, gained territory. Luckily, these initial errors did not prove too costly as Tullamore were well on top in the scrum and didn’t give Edenderry any attacking options from the set piece. Tullamore settled into the game well and found their rhythm and during this period, the entire team worked hard at the breakdown and supported one another in the many breaks that lead to the four Tullamore tries scored in the run up to half time. The score going into half time was 26 – 7 to Tullamore.
The start of the second half saw Tuallmore on the front foot once more, scoring two tries before Edenderry even got their hands on the ball. It can be said that Edenderry grew into the game in the period just after these scores. Tullamore seemed to lose composure and focus during this time which resulted in the home side conceding a large number of penalties. To Edenderry’s credit, they capitalised on this and ran a try over the Tullamore line right under the posts. Tullamore found their focus after conceding this try and ran in a number of tries in the ten minutes leading up to the final whistle.
The match finished with a score-line of 64-14 in Tullamore’s favour. The performance showed improvements in work rate and team play for Tullamore at times. However, these improvements will have to be maintained over the full period of the game in upcoming matches against stronger opponents. Well done to the U16 boys and their coaches/manager.
