The Galway Tribesmen Rugby League team took on the Longhorns Rugby League team from County Meath, in the All Ireland semi final last Saturday at South Park, The Claddagh. The Longhorns, who are the current champions travelled west, aiming to continue their monopoly on the title in recent years.
The Tribesmen kicked off to the Longhorns who returned the ball with pace. Ferocious defending by the Galway forwards led by captain Matthew Towey and Abdulhag Abayomi led to a knock on by the Meath men.
The Tribesmen played through another set from the restart and Ryan Guilfoyle kicked through on the last tackle. The Longhorn fullback Eoin Creaby gathered the ball on his own goal line and mounted a counter attack down the middle of the pitch, but strong defending again from the Galway men thwarted any real threat from the Longhorns.
The deadlock was broken on the 12-minute mark when sustained pressure in the Longhorns danger zone led to Mata Fifita, in usual fashion, crossing the line with three or four defenders hanging off him.
Barry Walsh converted to give the Galway men a six-point advantage. The next period of play was a bit of an arm wrestle, punctuated with a little ill-discipline and a few mistakes from both sides.
It wasn’t until after 20 minutes when the Longhorns broke down the right-hand channel and centre Conor Creaby crossed the line to score their first points.
With the conversion secured by Matthew Coade, the scores were now level at 6 apiece. As the clock ticked down, it looked like the half was going to finish with this score line as both teams displayed guile in attack, which was countered by heavy robust defending.
However, Tribesmen pressure near the Longhorns line allowed Mathew Towey to work his way over the line in the last minute of the half. With the extra two points added from the reliable boot of Barry Walsh the scores were now 12-6 to the Tribesmen and this was how the half ended.
The game recommenced with the Longhorns kicking off towards the SouthPark beach end of the pitch.The Longhorns coach, Casey Dunne, must have said stern words at the half time break as there was a noticeable difference in the tempo of their game.
Emmet Banahan marshalled the forwards effectively around the pitch and couple of superb 40/20 kicks from their standoff Mathew Coadeput them in an excellent attacking field position. It wasn’t long before Banahan crossed for another four.
The conversion was missed which put the scores 12-10 to the Galway men. However, the Meath men continued their purple patch and Banahan registered his second try, followed quickly by a score for second rower Aaron Beirne.
In what seemed like a 20-minute blitz, it looked like the Longhorns were out of sight and were now on their way to a 5th consecutive All Ireland final. However, the Galway men were not going to roll over and began a fightback.
The hard-working prop forward Abdulhaq Abayomi crashed over for a try from close range. The conversion put the scores at 22-18 to the Longhorns. Not long after, a strong break down the right-hand channel by centre Allen Laggia created a good field position.
Substitute Sam Cullen crossed for another score and Barry Walsh again added the two points. This gave the Tribesmen a two-point advantage at 24-22.
The final ten minutes was a tense affair with the experienced Longhorns trying everything in their locker to improve on their score line, however another break down the left wing by the Tribesmen, created a chance for young winger John Why to score.
The Galway men were now six points ahead with one minute left on the clock. The Longhorns restarted the gave from the kickoff and both teams managed one set of six tackles each before the referee blew for full time.
Final score was 28-22 to the men from the west. The Tribesmen will now join the Tribeswomen at All Ireland finals day at Malahide Rugby Club next Saturday, where they will both face off against the Dublin City Exiles men’s and women’s teams respectively.
The day will commence at 12pm with the division 2 final between Clondalkin and Bangor, followed by the Tribeswomen game and then the Tribesmen.
