Sundays Well RFC

Cork Constitution (29) vs Sundays Well (23)

Musgrave Park, 19:00PM

As with their previous meeting in the league this season with city rivals Cork Con, the ‘Well 21’s will feel they could have and perhaps should have got more from this game. Despite being 22 points to 6 down at one point in the 2^nd half, the ‘Well rallied heroically as in their semi-final victory over Dolphin, and for a time it seemed another late comeback was on the cards. Alas, it wasn’t to be, and Con raised the cup after a nail-biting 29 points to 23 victory. Much of the ‘Well’s undoing came in the opening exchanges where Con’s quick backs and slick hands ensured 2 early tries from which the ‘Well had to dig deep to recover from. But recover they did. With as many as 6 of this year’s under 19’s finishing the game out and a pack including senior players James Mulcahy and Shane Walsh, the ‘Well took time to gel as a unit but became stronger with every phase of play. Captain and centre Cormac Horgan was metronomic with the boot and his tally of 5 from 5 including a conversion of Mason’s try took the ‘Well within striking distance of Cork Con. Another stalwart of the U-21’s season, full-back Luke Duffy chipped in with an outrageous individual try that furthered the ‘Well cause. Late in the second half, Horgan landed a difficult penalty from the left hand side to bring the tie back to the life and heap pressure on a creaking Con unit at 22-20. However, Con’s strength in the back division was to prove the ultimate undoing of the brave ‘Well lads – from a lineout deep in ‘Well territory, the Con outside centre took advantage of an uncharacteristic lapse in the ‘Well defence to go under the posts and stretch the Con lead back out to 6 points. There was life in the fixture yet; with just minutes left on the clock the ‘Well regained territory and the dominant pack continued to exert their superiority in the key areas. With one final attack deep in Con territory, the ‘Well won a scrum 15 meters out from the opposition line. A scrum which had been consistently better all night once again delivered a platform for scrum half Peter Arrigo and the ball was moved wide. To the dismay of players and supporters alike, Con managed to turn over the ball in midfield and retain possession. With the last play of the game Con managed to find the safety of touch, and with it went the ‘Well’s hopes of victory.