Seapoint 1st XV 0 Enniskillen 1st XV 20

 

Enniskillen 1st XV secured their quarter final place in the All Ireland Junior Cup after a decisive win down in South Dublin against Seapoint Rugby Club last weekend.

Playing with the wind at their backs in the first half, Skins went in at the break with a 12-0 lead and they dug in during the second half before George Foster wrapped up the win with their third try to leave it 20-0 at the finish.

“It was brilliant,” said Skins head coach Stevie Welsh. “It was as professional a performance as I’ve seen from the boys in a long time.

“We played with the wind in the first half and got two tries but you wondered would it be enough but in the second half the boys were immense. The defence was ferocious and it was just a really pleasing performance,” he added.

The draw for the quarter finals took place on Tuesday with Skins handed home tie against fellow Ulster side Ballyclare on November 20.

“There are no easy games when you are at the quarter final stage but to get a home draw is good and hopefully we can get a massive crowd to the club for it,” added Welsh.

With the advantage of the breeze in the first 40 minutes, Skins used it to pin Seapoint in their own half.

The home side had the lion’s share of possession, however, and required a big defensive effort from Enniskillen, who responded well.

The windy conditions made it hard to sustain pressure on the home side, with the line out somewhat of a lottery, but eventually Skins secured ball on the 22’ and mauled close to the line, followed by a series of picks and goes which ended with Neil Rutledge crossing the line to go 0-5 up.

The second score came shortly afterwards in much the same fashion; this time the ball found it’s way from the forwards to man of the match Mark O’Shea who crossed the line under the posts, converted by John Maguire to go 0-12 up.

The home side knew the game was escaping them at this stage and dug deep to try to get on the scoreboard, working their way into the Skins half and forcing a huge defensive effort.

The back row worked extremely hard to keep them out, and Jack Rutledge earned himself a yellow card for his efforts to slow down the desperate Seapoint attack.

However, the Skins defence held firm and the half ended 0-12 to Enniskillen.

With the wind against them, Skins continued to play well in the second half and earned a penalty in front of the posts early on after some sustained attack, John Maguire extending the lead to 0-15.

The home side had a lot of possession in the second half but seemed stubbornly fond of keeping ball in hand even with the wind at their backs and struggled to get out of their own half.

Eventually Skins got some possession and continued their clinical streak in attack, building pressure through the forward pack in the 22’ before hitting Balfour out wide and he broke the line before offloading to George Foster for the final score, finishing things at 0-20.

It was a great team performance from Enniskillen who look to be finding some cohesion now after many changes to their squad.

Ballyclare are then next up in the cup and they are also the opposition this week in the league with Skins on their travels.

“It will be a good test for us this Saturday as Ballyclare are always a tough team to play, especially up there,” commented Welsh.