A Carrick squad of 26 lads took to the road for the tenth time (out of 12 fixtures) to contest the biggest prize in youth rugby — a provincial title — against Dunmore.
That they didn’t succeed shouldn’t be seen as a failure on their part but more an opportunity missed because there is no doubt that this team had the personnel to finish the job and take home the Connacht title to Carrick RFC.
On a very breezy but dry day at Creggs Rugby Club, both teams were fully intent on making their mark early. The fulcrum of Carrick’s success this season has largely been down to the strength and athleticism of their relatively inexperienced pack. But Carrick were initially taken aback by the sheer physicality of their Dunmore counterparts who were bigger in almost every position, particularly in the forwards.
It wasn’t long before Dunmore, with the wind at their backs allied to their strong and effective tackling, started making repeated inroads into Carrick territory. They soon capitalised when an unforced error by a Carrick defender and poor defensive work from the chasing backline allowed Dunmore in for the first try of the game after 12 minutes.
Carrick continually relied upon the strong running prop Oran Oates, second row Noel Dowd, Number 8 Krystian Kopczynski and hooker Jude Kennedy for go-forward ball. But a combination of poor running lines and great Dunmore tackling resulted in Carrick making limited progress into Dunmore territory.
The scrums were ferociously contested and this took its toll physically on both teams as the half wore on. Dunmore made full use of the wind and kicked into space whenever they could, forcing the Carrick defence to turn and defend, which they did successfully for the most part.
However, with five minutes to go to half time and after a series of scrum infringements, Dunmore were awarded a penalty, which they converted to leave the score 8-0.
The first half finished with Carrick stoutly defending their line against a Dunmore onslaught. Having won a penalty, Carrick then inexplicably tried to run the ball from their own endline instead of simply kicking to touch to relieve the pressure — a tactic they miraculously got away with to leave the half-time score at 8-0 to Dunmore.
Carrick rang the changes at half time and brought on second row, Theo Gately, and wing Cavan McGourty to buttress their team’s energy and tackling skills. They started the half in promising fashion by using the wind very effectively . Throughout the first seven minutes, centre Cillian McGowan made repeated territorial gains for his side with a series of excellent kicks into space and touch from his own half, resulting in the Dunmore defence being put under constant pressure.
However, Carrick didn’t capitalise on these gains and their tactic of constantly relying on the forwards wasn’t paying dividends either. Then, after a handling error by Carrick, the Dunmore attack found themselves deep in Carrick territory. Their strong running Number 8 received the ball at speed inside the Carrick ’22, and despite a great last ditch defensive effort by Gately and Kopczynski, the Dunmore player had the momentum to carry him over the line. It was now 13-0 to Dunmore against the run of play and not the second-half start that Carrick wanted.
However, Carrick, as they have for most of the season, dug deep and, led by half-backs Ben McGarry and Jack Foley, responded with a series of drives allied to some great pod work from the forwards, including prop Paudi Gilligan, Ryan Moran, John Mee and Kopczynski.
On this occasion, and roared on by the hugely vociferous travelling support, the forward momentum took the pack inside the Dunmore 22-metre line. Great defence by the Dunmore forwards kept the Carrick team at bay but flanker Seamus McGuire grabbed a loose ball in the ruck and raced over and touch down under the posts. The try was converted to leave the score 13-7 to Dunmore.
Carrick now had their tails up and the wind literally in their backs. Dunmore, however, after another Carrick infringement, managed to storm down the pitch and after a series of rucks were awarded a penalty, which they duly converted to leave it 16-7 with 20 minutes left on the clock.
Carrick introduced replacement scrum-half Rory McNabola who had an immediate impact on proceedings. His crisp passing from the rucks raised Carrick’s performance a notch. After another series of drives, the Carrick forwards advanced to within ten metres of the Dunmore line. A series of fiercely-contested rucks brought them to within touching distance of the try line, which was all McGuire needed as he sniped in and over the line for his second try to leave the score at 16-12 with 15 minutes left on the clock.
Dunmore were rattled but Carrick’s insistence on playing through the forwards at the expense of their swift-running backs was beginning to take its toll physically. Some poor decision making, erratic passing and cheap penalties cost them dearly.
It was end-to-end stuff with Dunmore taking advantage of the tiring Carrick players by launching kicks into the Carrick half and placing the hard-working wing Malachy Glover and defenders Rory Connaughton and full-back Solomon Gleeson under enormous pressure.
Carrick brought on wingers Luke Sharkey and Ryan McGarry , props Timothy Tansey, John Boyd and John Mulvanerty to help their cause in the final minutes. But despite their best efforts, it was Dunmore that had the last say when they crossed the line in the final seconds, despite heroic efforts by the entire Carrick defence.
This match marked the end of the 2023-2024 league campaign. With the Connacht Cup about to commence in the next fortnight, this Carrick team can hold their heads up high and take solace from their terrific second-half performance against the biggest and best team they have met all season.
It was Dunmore’s third consecutive Connacht final and their first win. The match was there for the taking and had Carrick started less nervously, employed their running backs more frequently and effectively, and implemented even a few of the tactical drills they practiced so diligently in the weeks leading up to this final, then the outcome may have been very different.
It is said that you have to lose a final before you really appreciate winning one. This Carrick squad, ten of whom never played rugby before September, are drawn from eight different secondary schools and nine different football clubs in Leitrim and Roscommon.
They exemplify all that is good in East Connacht sport. Hopefully the experience of this game will provide not only the incentive to propel them back to Creggs in 2025 in their quest to lift their first-ever Connacht title but also to encourage more young men and women to take up the sport of rugby.
The U-18.5 final between Carrick and Ballinasloe, scheduled for Sunday last was postponed due to Storm Isha.
Meanwhile, Carrick on Shannon's Jack Matthews broke into the starting 15 for Lansdowne RFC in their All-Ireland League Division 1A match against table toppers Clontarf.
Jack played the full 80 minutes, scoring a try and setting up the all decisive score during Lansdowne's 29-26 victory. Everyone is very proud of Jack in Carrick on Shannon RFC.