All Ireland League

Omagh RFC 7
Enniscorthy RFC 27

Enniscorthy consolidated their position at the top of Division 2C of the AIL league with a well earned 4 try victory up in Omagh last Saturday.

They got off to the ideal start with a well-taken try down the right by Arthur Dunne after only 5 minutes.

Enniscorthy didn’t have it all their own way in the first half as Omagh had a lot of possession with their big pack. A turnover by the visitors undid all their good work with a super try against the run of play. From well inside their own half Enniscorthy worked the ball down the right side with a wonderful 30 metre run by David O’ Dwyer. When caught he offloaded inside and after some slick passing Richard Dunne found Nick Doyle who scored under the posts. Ben Kidd converted to put them 12-0 up after 20 minutes.

Omagh continued to press but failed to score. Enniscorthy’s defence held firm and the score remained at 12 nil at the interval. Although the rain continued to fall after the break the ground conditions were good. The Wexford men began to dominate playing mostly in the opposition’s half. Ben Kidd scored a penalty to increase the margin to 15. Omagh would have their say however and were awarded a penalty try from a collapsed scrum on the visitor’s line after 60 mins.

The final quarter, however, belonged to Enniscorthy, the bench, particularly forwards Angelo Todisco and Tom Ryan, was making a big impact. The big Omagh pack began to tire as Enniscorthy took control of the set pieces. When Ivan Poole, now operating at out-half, scored a brilliant individual try it was game over for the hosts with 18 mins to go. After sustained pressure, Daniel Pim dived over for their fourth try and ensuring a bonus-point win. Ivan Poole converted to complete the scoring.

Manager David Wrafter said, “This was a crucial win for us today especially after travelling so far. It puts us in a strong position in the league. I thought the half-backs Billy Wicham and Ben Kidd did very well in difficult conditions.
The value of a good bench is huge and made a big impact for us in the final quarter.
We have the momentum now we just need to keep it going.”

Enniscorthy continue their AIL campaign at home next Saturday in the Ross Road against Cork outfit Sundays Well at 2.30pm.

MJ Doyle, Davy Murphy, Paddy Waters, Tomas Stamp, Joe Carley, Timmy Morrissey (Capt), Brian Bolger, Nick Doyle, Billy Wickham, Ben Kidd, David O’ Dwyer, Ivan Poole, Daniel Pim, Ivan Arthur Dunne, Richard Dunne.

Subs all used: Jamie Barron, Angelo Todisco, Tom Ryan, Hughie O’ Neill, Ivan Jacob.