Corinthians 29 Old Wesley 29
Harry Houdini was a rare man to extricate himself from tricky and almost impossible situations. Even he might have considered the escape act performed by Old Wesley against Galway Corinthians a bit far fetched. Trailing 29 – 10, reduced to 13 men with two yellow cards and facing yet another 5 metre scrum against a pack who had dominated the set pieces to this point, Houdini probably would have opted out of this one. Yet the second card proved to be the catalyst for a remarkable comeback which saw Old Wesley draw level with six minutes remaining, before missing a relatively easy penalty goal to win the encounter. The three points gained for a bonus point draw leaves the Donnybrook side on 19 points and 12thin the table.
The teams were welcomed on to the pitch by underage sides from both clubs who had played beforehand. Straight from the kick-off Corinthians dominated in every aspect of play to such an extent that they had gained the try scoring bonus point after 22 minutes. Old Wesley simply could not get their hands on the ball and, to add to their woes, defended poorly by dropping off first up tackles. Corinthians made the most of their dominance playing an expansive game to which Old Wesley had no answers. The opening try came on 12 minutes and another three were added to give the home side a 26 – 0 lead before the visitors first real attack involving a flowing move ended with John Rowe crashing over for a converted try. Another Old Wesley attack against the run of play on 35 minutes yielded a penalty goal from Greg Jacob, but this was cancelled out with a similar score for the home side just before the interval. The half ended with the visitors frantically defending their line.
With the visiting support contemplating the possibility of an afternoons shopping in downtown Tuam as a viable option, Corinthians began the second period on the front foot and threatening to extend their lead. The Old Wesley cause was not helped by a yellow card for second row Phil Hosie as they were forced to repel several Corinthian attacks close to the line. The defence held firm with captain Greg Jacob leading the way and ably supported by fellow backrowers Colin Wallace and Richie Murphy. Then with twelve minutes gone in the second period the visiting tight head prop John Rowe received a yellow card when it was obvious to just about everyone in the ground that the Corinthians loose head had slipped in the mud and brought the scrum down. Incensed by what was perceived as an unjust decision, the Old Wesley pack suddenly sparked into life, tearing into their opposite numbers and, for the first time, producing a steady stream of good loose possession for a hungry backline. The tables were turned completely as the visiting side took control. In a ten minute period the visitors conjured up three trys through prop Rob Dempsey, second row John Carroll and full back Alan Large to tie the scores at 29 – 29. At this stage Corinthians were desperately holding on. The visitors had the chance to take maximum points with a very late penalty but Greg Jacob’s effort drifted narrowly wide. The final whistle sounded and the sizeable crowd showed their appreciation to both sides for a pulsating match and a somewhat unlikely outcome.
Old Wesley:- Alan Large, Barry McLaughlin, Alan Thompson, Brian Doherty, Richie Jermyn, Mark Geraghty, Dan van Zyl, Tristan Goodbody, Robert Dempsey, John Rowe, Philip Hosie, John Carroll, Richie Murphy, Greg Jacob (Captain), Colin Wallace.
Old Wesley scores:- Rob Dempsey (try), John Rowe (try), John Carroll (try), Alan Large (try), Greg Jacob (3 cons, pen).
