Cooke 1st XV 38 Enniskillen 1st XV 27

With 51 minutes of this game played, Enniskillen appeared to be cruising to victory.

Skins were phenomenal in the first half, playing some of their best rugby to date and dominating the home side throughout, scoring three tries and two kicks at goal to lead 3-27 with about 30 minutes to play, only to lose the fixture 38-27 in a bewildering turnaround.

Cooke to their credit showed their dangerous attacking ability but Enniskillen undoubtedly lost composure, structure and the favour of the referee in the final half hour.

“For 51 minutes it was the most professional performance I have seen from a Skins team but they then got a penalty try and it just spiralled out of control from that,” explained Skins head coach Stevie Welsh.

“The age profile of this team is young but we believe in this team and we just need a bit of patience,” he added.

Welsh is glad, though, of a break from league matters this weekend, as the focus switches to the All Ireland Junior Cup and a clash with Bective Rangers in Dublin.

“It is great to have this distraction from the league and playing in the All Ireland Junior Cup is reward for the efforts of the boys last year in securing top four.

“We are under no illusions, they are a quality side and they got to the play off last year where they lost to Instonians, but we will go there and enjoy the game and we want them to know who Enniskillen are at the end of it,” stated Welsh.

Last Saturday’s game saw Skins start well, absorbing a period of attack from Cooke that yielded a shot at goal for the home side.But afterwards they pressured the restart from the accurate boot of George Foster, man of the match on the day.

The set piece functioned well to begin with also, Keenan executing well at the lineout while props Breen and Graham were getting the ref’s preference at the scrum, despite being against a much larger front row.

Skins set up camp in the Cooke half and after some repeated attempts and good ball retention, Niall Keenan crossed for the first score, converted by Daire Hill, 3-7.

Cooke came back and pressured hard once again but Skins were calm in defence; a box kick from McConkey to relieve pressure was well chased by Hylton and Hill was in support to claim the turnover penalty.

From here Skins set up camp again in the Cooke half and carried hard off the lineout, opting for the three points from Hill to extend the lead, 3-10.

From a maul penalty on the half way Skins made their way in the Cooke half again. Eventually another shot at goal extended the lead 3-13.

Cooke came back hard but Timoney claimed the turnover and ended the home side’s hopes of taking control of the game.

Shortly afterwards the backs sent the ball wide on the 22’ making good ground through the defence and Hylton almost powered over but just stopped short, but Keenan was on hand and spotted a gap to claim his second score, converted again to lead now 3-20 against a shellshocked Cooke.

The home side made another lunge for some momentum before the half but Skins held out for half time.

Momentum stayed with Skins at the outset of the second half, living off Cooke’s errors and another penalty allowed them back inside the 22’. Foster showed his ability to run a backline now and moved the ball well from touchline to touchline, Jordan Hylton finishing the score in the corner and Daire Hill converting a tough kick from the sideline to lead 3-27, all the momentum with Enniskillen and looking completely in control.

Skins fumbled the restart following their try and the big Cooke pack claimed a penalty at the scrum to give them the boost they needed, but still Skins exited well through Foster and remained resolute.

A penalty for offside on half way shortly afterwards though gave the home side another opportunity. Skins managed to turn possession but had the ball stripped from scrum half McConkey at the maul and then sought to move the ball wide.

Sam Balfour seeing an opportunity left his line for what seemed an excellent attempt at an intercept but failed to hold onto the ball; the referee however disagreed and sent Balfour to the sin bin and awarded a penalty try in a double blow that left Enniskillen baffled.

It was only a few minutes later when Cooke scored their next try; the Skins defence found themselves bunched after scrambling back for a kick and Cooke moved the ball quickly wide, cutting through for a soft second try.

Cooke continued to make ample yards in attack through their backs who moved the ball well and exploited a tiring Enniskillen defence. Off a stolen lineout on the Skins five metre line Cooke began a series of carries and finished under the posts for a third score against an Enniskillen side who couldn’t believe their eyes.

Momentum stayed with the home side now and a flustered Enniskillen began to gift them penalties. Soon they were back inside the 22’ and rumbling over the try line off a lineout. The game was still salvageable but Enniskillen began to chase it now and clever kicks from Cooke in behind the defence made it an uphill battle out of their own half and penalties conceded didn’t help matters. Cooke managed a final score in the last play of the game to finish 38-27.