Nenagh Ormond U15s   19    Garryowen    17

Nenagh Ormond under 15s played Garryowen in the quarter final of the U16 bowl competition at home on Sunday last. Conditions were perfect and it was a credit to both teams the quality and entertainment on show with the end result in the balance up until the final whistle. Garryowen kicked off the game and Nenagh failed to deal with it putting themselves under pressure. The large Garryowen pack hammered away at the line but heroic defending kept them at bay and eventually a knock on relieved the pressure. From that phase of play Nenagh gained confidence and took the game to the opposition. From a Garryowen lineout Shaun Murphy sacked their scrum half and forced a penalty turnover. From the resulting lineout on the opposition 22 a good pass by Cody O’Connor found Anluan White who was hauled down just short of the line. Kaden Fogarty moved the ball infield to Aidan Steed to make good yards and then at the ruck the ball made its way to James O Dwyer who spotted a gap to score just to the left of the posts. Kaden Fogarty added the extras. After that score Nenagh seemed to sit back a bit and eventually Garryowen pressure was converted to points with an unconverted try. Garryowen had the momentum at this stage and were using their big ball carriers effectively. They looked destined to score on several occasions but were curtailed by heroic defending with big tackles by Ben Madden, Anluan White and Luke Slattery. Just before halftime Garryowen got in for an unconverted try to leave the half time score 10-7 in the their favour.

Nenagh kicked off the second half with everything to play for. From a lineout inside the Nenagh 22 the Garryowen back row intercepted a pass and was hauled down just short of the line by Cian Murphy but three phases later they coasted in under the posts to lead 17-7. Nenagh really had an uphill battle at this stage. The game seemed to be gone but it was anything but. From the kickoff off there was a real urgency in everything Nenagh did. They were rewarded with a converted try a few mins later.  James O Dwyer, who would find space in a rabbit hole, made the initial break in midfield. After a couple of phases Luke Slattery came like a steam train onto the ball and powered his way over the line to dot down. That score instilled real confidence into the team and Nenagh kept the momentum going.  They needed another try as a penalty was not enough as Garryowen would have won a tied game based on more tries scored. Nenagh went very close on several occasions only to be denied agonisingly by the opposition. With five minutes to go Aidan Steed carried in midfield and Cody Sheedy went back against the grain feeding Ben Madden who passed to Anluan White who beat two defenders trying to tackle him. He still had a lot to do with 6 defenders chasing him down but he had the pace and power to round the 15 and score in the corner to a huge roar from the Nenagh faithful. That left the score 19-17 with 5 minutes to play. It was a nervy last few minutes with both sides making uncharacteristic errors which added to the drama. Nenagh held firm and finally kicked the ball dead for the referee to blow the final whistle. Overall, it was a high quality game with both sides contributing to an enthralling contest. Nenagh now face Fermoy at home in the semi-final next Sunday at 12 noon. Training continues Wednesday evening.