Galway Tribesmen 30 Longhorns 18
The Galway Tribesmen Rugby League team were in action again last Saturday when they travelled to Athboy, Co. Meath to meet the current All Ireland champions, The Longhorns. The two teams have met regularly over the last few years, although it has been a while since Galway has secured a victory against them.
The Longhorns kicked off deep into the Tribesmen half and the ball was returned by centre Allen Laggia, who bounced off a couple of would-be tacklers, one of whom received a knock to the head and had to be taken off the pitch with only seconds on the clock. This set the scene as both teams displayed strong running and ferocious defence. The big Galway pack were superbly marshalled by half backs Seosamh McDonagh and Barry Walsh, whilst Ryan Guilfoyle dictated the plays from the ruck.
The Longhorns were equally well drilled with the Coade brothers directing the play for the Meath men. The first 15 minutes were a bit of an arm-wrestle with both teams enjoying an equal share of possession and both sets of forwards giving as good as they got. The deadlock was broken on the 15-minute mark when a break by Mata Fifita set up Barry Walsh to cross for a try. Walsh converted his own try and the Tribesmen were 6 points to the good. The game continued in the same combative fashion as the Longhorns sought to gain parity, however superb defence by the Galway men stopped them from scoring several times close to the line. Another break from the Tribesmen allowed Walsh to cross again after 31 minutes and with try converted the scores were 12-0.
As the last few minutes of the half slipped away, the Longhorns put together a few plays and sneaked in the corner for a try on the 36th minute. Then just as the referee was about to blow the whistle for half time, Emmet Banahan found a gap from acting halfback close to the Tribesmen line. With the try converted the half finished 12 points each.
The second half began with the Longhorns exerting severe pressure on the Tribesmen line and within minutes of the half commencing Banahan once again had skipped over from acting half back to take the Longhorns in front for the first time in the match. The Tribesmen however were in determined mood and responded quickly and strong defence and a good shape going forward put them in a great field position. A break from Guilfoyle through heavy traffic allowed him to place the ball on the whitewash. With the conversion secured, the scores were level again.
The Longhorns were not going to lie down though and they mounted a strong attack down the middle, but a savage hit from Allen Laggia dislodged the ball in the tackle and the loose ball was picked up by Barry Walsh who raced in to claim his hat trick.
Further pressure from the Galway men created space down the right-hand channel and the excellent Jamin Hoffman registered another score. With the conversion added the scores were now 30-18 to the Tribesmen. The Longhorns tried desperately to get back in the game and series of knock ons from the Tribesmen gave them a good field position. Their progress was halted though when a red card was shown to Longhorns’ captain, Matt Connolly, for throwing a punch. This resulted in a Tribesmen penalty and numerical advantage in numbers on the pitch.
A late flurry by the Galway men nearly earned them another score through Daithi Joyce, but the try was chalked off due to a forward pass decision. The Tribesmen finished strongly and the game ended 30-18.It was a fine display by the Tribesmen who came good after the disappointment of losing their first game two weeks ago. They now look forward to hosting Athboy at Southpark, Claddagh next Saturday, when as well as the men’s fixture taking place, the Tribeswomen will also host Athboy ladies.
