by Thomas Hynes
The Galway Tribesmen Rugby League team were in action last Saturday (15th January) in their endeavours to become the first ever Irish Rugby League team to win a first-round tie of the Betfred Challenge Cup.
The Challenge Cup is arguably the oldest and most prestigious rugby league tournament in the world and the Tribesmen were invited to take part in the first round on account of them being crowned All Ireland champions in 2021.
The Tribesmen were drawn against the famous Pilkington Recs from St Helens, so as well as facing the logistical challenge of getting to the UK amidst the current Covid crisis, they were paired against one of the best amateur rugby league teams in England.
The game, in front of a huge crowd began with the Tribesmen kicking off to the home team. The Pilkington Recs returned the ball with menace as they sought to establish a dominant position against the Irish champions, however the Tribesmen defence held strong with captain Matthew Towey and Tireon McCabe shoring up the middle.
Strong running from the Galway front rowers Abdulhaq Abayomi and Tom Gormley set the platform for the Galway men as both teams tested each other in the initial phases.
However, the deadlock was broken by the St Helens men on the 10-minute mark as sharp passing down the left-hand channel allowed second rower Jordan Morris to skip through and open the scoring for the home side. With the conversion missed the Tribesmen were behind 4-0.
The Tribesmen attempted to establish a foothold in the game, superbly marshalled by half backs Ryan Guilfoyle and Barry Walsh but were finding it difficult to breach the highly organized and experienced Pilkington’s defence. Smart play from the Pilks halfbacks set up right winger Tyler Duburry to cross for the home sides second score. With the conversion missed again the tribesmen were now 8-0 behind.
The Tribesmen were not going to lie down though and smart hands down the right channel gave winger Seosamh McDonagh a break down the right channel and he romped home to register the Tribesmen first points on the 30-minute mark.
With the conversion secured from the reliable boot of Barry Walsh the score was now 8-6 to the home side. Both teams fought valiantly to gain the upper hand and the home side were pushing again down their right channel, however Ryan Guilfoyle intercepted a pass and sprinted 60 metres to score the tribesmen second try.
With the conversion missed, the scores were 10-8 to the Tribesmen and this was how the half finished.
The English National Conference Premiership team were jolted by the half time score line and came out for the second half fighting, determined not be outdone by the relative minnows from the West of Ireland.
Within two minutes of the half starting, sustained pressure by the home team led to second rower Jordan Morris registering his second try. Standoff Kyran Knapper found his kicking boots for the second half and slotted over the additional two points.
The Tribesmen tried valiantly to improve on their score line and threatened the home team’s danger zone on a number of occasions but could not convert their chances. Pressure again by the home team tied up a number of Tribesmen defenders close to their own try line and a smart offload to the Pilkington winger Karl Ingham allowed him to place the ball over the try line. With another conversion slotted over by Knapper, the score was now 20-10 to the home team.
The Pilkington Recs continued to pile on the pressure and were rewarded when loose forward Tom Connick broke through to register another score. Another conversion followed courtesy of Knapper again.
The Galway men continued to work hard but a number of errors held them back. The vastly experienced home team began to take control of the game and put on a few expansive plays ultimately leading to scrumhalf Owain Abel and centre Ian Stanley registering another couple of tries.
Another conversion from Knapper put the scores at 36-10 to the home team and that was how the game finished.
The Galway team will now dust themselves off and look ahead to defending their All-Ireland crown in the 2022 domestic competition. Whilst the team did not get the result they were looking for, the players and everyone associated with the club are very proud that they were able to compete with the very best that the game has to offer in an area steeped in Rugby League history and will certainly fancy their chances if they get the opportunity again in the Challenge Cup first round in 2023.
