Seven-try Cill Dara cruise past Balbriggan
Man of the Match Adam Meehan (Cill Dara) scored a wonderful hat-trick of tries and made another as Cill Dara eased into the second round of the Towns Cup. Photo: Martin Rowe.
Cill Dara are safely through to the second round of the Bank of Ireland Leinster Towns Cup after a commanding victory at home to Balbriggan on Sunday afternoon in Silken Thomas Park.
Adam Meehan was simply electric for the hosts, putting in a man-of-the-match performance as the Kildare club ran in seven tries - three in the first half and another four in the second - to comfortably see off their Dublin visitors.
The two sides are familiar with one another from competing in Division 2B of the Leinster League, and as such the game was played with an edge of animosity. Third-place Cill Dara came into the game as favourites to get past second-from-bottom Balbriggan, with Cill Dara winning 42-16 when the sides met back in October. With a similar scoreline here, Cill Dara brushed aside the challenge to advance into Round 2.
The visitors started well and looked to use their kicking game to put Cill Dara under pressure.
The home side were intent on keeping ball in hand using their physically to bash their way up the field; a strategy that opened the scoring in the 10th minute.
A goal-line drop-out from Balbriggan led Cill Dara to run the ball back at them, with some beautiful handling spreading the play out wide where Ross Dooley, who still had a lot to do, forced his way over in the corner.
They had to wait just another five minutes for their second try, going wide off a scrum on the Balbriggan 22 where Adam Meehan collected on the touchline before racing over into the same corner.
Cill Dara claimed the restart and immediately broke away, with Senan Brannock racing down the opposite wing before slipping a pass inside to Bryn Moore who showed a clean pair of heels to the Balbriggan defenders before crossing for a third try inside the opening quarter.
Moore was also on kicking duty, but the full back was unable to convert any of his first three shots from the tee, with each one out on the touchline and into the breeze.
The visitors declined a routine shot at goal in favour of a kick to the corner, and it paid off as they gathered the lineout and powered their way over the line where Ciaran Rutherford got the ball down.
Geronimo Rosa could not add the extras, so it stood 15-5 after almost half an hour.
Balbriggan smelled blood and were soon in for a second try. The visitors went quick from a penalty, with a powerful carry from Conor Caldwell releasing Tomas Murphy who jinked his way over the line. Rosa landed the conversion to make it a three-point game.
The visitors did lose winger Trevor Phillips to the sin bin for a slap-down before the break, but had fought back from 15 points down to trail by just 15-12 at half time.
Cill Dara attacked directly from the restart and made the numerical advantage count when Conor Smith crossed for their fourth try in the 46th minute, just before Phillips made his return. Moore's first conversion extended the lead to ten.
With 15 minutes gone, some hard-nosed defending from Cill Dara forced Rosa into a speculative kick; Meehan gathered 30 metres from his own line and showed incredible wheels to race past three Balbriggan men on the outside before playing a one-two with Billy O'Shea and running in under the post for his second try of the day and the standout score of the afternoon. Moore again added the extras.
The game went through a lull midway through the half, with bodies down on both side.
But Meehan was again the one to spark things back into life, going on a mazing run into the danger zone and releasing Chris Cousins who went over for the sixth try - completing the set for Cill Dara's back row in the process - with Moore on hand to add the extras.
Meehan was the instigator again in the closing stages, as Cill Dara went coast to coast in a wonderful sweeping move that culminated with a lovely turn from Mark Talbot that sent flanker Chris Cousins on his way to his second and Cill Dara's seventh try of the day.
That brought the scoring to an end with hosts finishing up 29 points better off.
Cill Dara were eliminated from the Towns Cup in the first round last year at the hands Kilkenny, but they will go at least one better this time around, where a visit to Division 1B leaders Dundalk awaits in Round 2.
Bryn Moore (1 try, 3 cons); Senan Brannock, James O'Loughlin, Ryan Hogg, Adam Meehan (2 ties); William Doran, Sean Behan; Aaron Kane, Oisin Carroll, DJ Brannock; Christopher Walsh, Stephen Walsh; Ross Dooley (1 try), Conor Smith (2 tries), Chris Cousins (1 try).
Louis Venter, James Dempsey, Billy O'Shea, Colin Moloney, Tadgh Doyle, Robin Dempsey, Mark Talbot.
Jack Scannell; Trevor Phillips, Matthew Jendra, Tomas Murphy (1 try), Callum Sterio; Geronimo Rosa (1 con), Shane Clarke; Ryan Reid, Fiachra Tuckey, Ciaran O'Donoghue; Conor Caldwell, Eoin Hannigan; James Raviolos, Ciaran Rutherford (1 try), Calum Beasley.
Stephen Dowling, Calum McManus, Kyle Russell, Glen Fitzpatrick, Jack Quinlan, Conor McFadden, Luke Hibberd.
Oisin O Maolain
