Henry the hero as hat-trick helps Athy claim first win of the season
After a sluggish start to their Leinster League Division 1A campaign, losing the first four games on the trot, Athy finally made an entry in the win column at home to a strong Wicklow side.
Many of the failings that have held Athy back, including place-kicking and linouts, reared their heads once again - but the quality of the hosts’ attack was enough to get them over the line.
Wicklow opened the scoring with a penalty after five minutes before a sustained period of attack finished with Tadhg Foley fighting through contact to score a try for Athy. As would be the case with all 5 of Athy’s tries, the conversion was missed.
Athy came straight back onto the attack and a Cathal Fennessy break was finished on 15 minutes when Aidan Henry scored his first try in the corner.
The home side’s dominance was punctuated on 24 minutes when Wicklow scored a converted try to level the scores, but Athy struck back with a Fennessy try after half an hour.
The sides exchanged penalties before half time to give the Kildare men an 18-13 lead at half time that didn’t fully reflect the quality of their performance or extent of their dominance.
The third quarter saw Wicklow produce their best rugby that was rewarded with two tries to give them a five-point lead. But Culann Carbery stepped through a gap to create the space for Henry to outstrip the defence and go over in the corner for his second try midway through the half.
The scores were level going into injury time as a sweeping Athy attack brought play into the Wicklow 22. After multiple phases, the ball made its way to Henry on the wing and he powered through two defenders to complete his hat trick and seal a much-needed win for Athy in the last play.
Athy will now prepare for their first ever outing in the All-Ireland Junior Cup away to Tuam next Saturday.
