Skerries got their AIL 2B campaign off to an almost perfect start in round one, as they claimed a dramatic bonus point win on the road against Galwegians.
They gave the traveling supporters full value for their journey, as Paul O’Loghlen’s successful conversion of Kevin McGrath’s superb individual try secured a 35-36 win, with the last act of the game.
As the scoreline suggests, it was an enthralling and evenly-matched contest, with both sides enjoying periods of dominance over the course of the 80+ minutes.
It was the hosts who had the better of the opening exchanges and things looked ominous for Skerries when home hooker Eoin Ferry crashed over off the back of an impressive lineout maul and Steven Mannion knocked over the first of five successful conversions for a 7-0 lead.
Skerries took some time to get into their stride but registered their first score of the season after 25 minutes when Ronan Mulcahy finished off a sweeping move on the left for an unconverted try.
‘Wegians struck back within a few minutes, when wing Jack Beatty won the race to a lose ball inside the ‘22 and raced away to score, with Mannion again adding the extras to extend the lead to 14-5.
Crucially for Skerries, with the first half drawing to a close, AIL debutant Alex Cleary crashed over for their second try and Mulcahy’s extras made it 14-12 at the break.
The visitors picked up they where they left off at the start of the second period, as the indomitable Darragh McEneaney skittled through a host of defenders and into the ‘22, where the ball was worked to the right, for Sam Deering to score and put Skerries in front for the first time at 14-17.
The lead didn’t last long however, as Galwegians second row Rob Holian found himself on the end of an overlap, after some good work inside by his forward colleagues, and Mannion made it 21-17.
Back came Skerries again though, as Taidgh Keane-Boylan finished off the bonus point try in the right corner and O’Loghlen registered his first points of the campaign with the conversion, to make it 21-24 after 50 minutes.
The returning John Waters was then dispatched to the sinbin for a series of Skerries infringements and Galwegians made their numerical advantage count with tries in quick session from out-half, Ryan Roche and number 8, Éanna McCarthy, with Mannion again on target with both conversions to leave his side in the driving seat at 35-24 ahead.
After such an action-packed third quarter, the scoring rate duly slowed down until the top right-hand corner of Crowley Park again proved fruitful territory for Skerries, and Peter O’Neill crossed for their fifth try of the afternoon, with ten minutes left to play and six points between the sides.
Unsurprisingly, Galwegians looked to gain territorial advantage through the closing stages but there never seemed to be any sense of panic in the Skerries ranks, and backs and forwards duly stuck to their tasks to work themselves into position.
When the opportunity came, McGrath showed his trademark quick feet to burst through a gap and touch down beside the posts and O’Loghlen’s kick sparked celebrations on the Skerries bench.
That McGrath was on the pitch at all was something of a feat in itself, as the former skipper returned to the field ahead of schedule, having suffering a serious injury to his bicep in the final game of last season against Instonians.
Smiles all round for the ever-loyal Skerries traveling contingent but not least for the five AIL debutants in the shape of recent arrivals Cleary and centre Luke Mitchell, who both started, and homegrown Evann Shelley, Rossa Gilbride and Jack Litchfield, who all featured prominently from the bench, having stepped up from the u18s this season.
Skerries:
15. Ronan Mulcahy
14. Taidgh Keane-Boylan
13. Kevin McGrath
12. Luke Mitchell
11. Davey Goodman
10. Paul O’Loghlen
9. John Healy
1. Trevor Scuffil
2. Kieran Leonard (capt)
3. Tomás O’Donovan
4. John Waters
5. Sam Deering
6. Alex Cleary
7. Darragh McEneaney
8. Peter O’Neill
16. Evann Shelley
17. Rossa Gilbride
18. Jack McGregor
19. Shane Hannon
20. Jack Litchfield