Vaughan seals Naas win with second half try
Lalor Cup champions Naas Photo: Aisling Hyland
The third game of the day was Cill Dara against Naas in the Lalor Cup which was a tight and well fought affair. Both teams were up for this match with big hits and huge carries happening from the kick off.
After a long opening stalemate, it was Cill Dara to draw first blood with lock Billy O’Shea finishing with space out wide from Cill Dara’s quick offloads through the back line before ending up in the number four’s arms.
Five remained the gap between the two teams as both missed important kicks. Derry Lenihan of Naas had a tough penalty just drop short in front of the uprights while Ryan Curran came even closer as he hit the crossbar from his penalty attempt.
With both teams filled with adrenaline, cards started to be shown. Cill Dara had two put in the sin bin with Chris Walsh and Senan Brannock both sitting out for 10 minutes on two different occasions.
Naas made use of their advantage as they scored next when a great team worked move allowing winger Eimhin Conroy to evade his tackler and score his team’s first points. The missed conversion meant the sides were level at five apiece and it would stay that way heading into the break.
The second half was as highly contested and energised as the first. Strong scrums from each side led to exciting contests between the two packs and both back lines filled with pace and flair created an enthralling match with tempers rising and tension building.
A couple of small outbreaks of scuffles were quickly resorted and Naas then took the lead with full back John O’Brien converting a big penalty from distance.
Cill Dara still had plenty in them and showed it on the pitch, with big turnovers and hits. After one of these turnovers and phase after phase the substitute lock broke the line and drove for the line, before he could be brought down with what would’ve been a try saving tackle, he produced a Sonny Bill Williams-esque offload to the scrum half David Vaughan for a try which was rightly deserved as Vaughan had been a live wire and bright spark in the Cill Dara back line. A made conversion was big for Cill Dara as it now put them in the driving seat in the second half leading 12 points to 8.
It was far from over though; Naas came at them with everything they had and they were rewarded for their efforts. Big carries from the Naas pack and electric movement from the back line meant Naas kept gaining yards. These yards made all the difference as Naas were able to bundle over a well-earned try and a made conversion from the consistent John O’Brien meant Naas took the lead for the first time in the game.
Naas had to deal with their own yellow card problems in the second half as substitute Francisco Bartorelli was sin binned for a dangerous high tackle on a Cill Dara player. This set back didn’t prove too costly for Naas though as a final penalty from John O’Brien sealed the win for Naas on a scoreline of 18 points to 12 points in a thrilling game of rugby.
Jim Downey, Fintan O’Malley, Kaleen Niazi; Lorcan Murphy, Sarib Qazi; Tristan Groenwald, Jack Mallon, Cillian Dempsey; Lochlann Cawley; Derry Lenihan; Eimhin Conroy; Matias Gianetti, Colm Strapleton; Ross Cleary; Ethan Lyons. Replacements: Francisco Bartorelli, Patrick Stapleton, Will Richards, Kaelan Burke, John O’Brian.
DJ Brannock, Gordan Shannon, Conor McCormack; Billy O’Shea, Chris Walsh; Ross Dooley, Conor Smyth, Padraig Wall; David Vaughan; Ryan Curran; Adam Meehan; Chris Cousins, Rory Conway; William Doran; Senan Brannock. Replacements: Aaron Corrway, Michael John Prendergast, Tadhg Doyle, Bryn Moore, Phil Kenny.
