Swords Win on the Road!

LEINSTER LEAGUE - DIVISION 3

GOREY    8 SWORDS  24

SWORDS RFC recorded their first win of their league campaign at long last, with a hard fought win away to Gorey last Sunday. Three tries and the boot of Richie Cowman was enough for the Fingal side to take the points in atrocious conditions in the not so sunny south-east.

Swords went ahead five minutes in with a try from scrum half James Kubran. From a quick ruck, Cowman fed wing Jim Julian the short side who beat two men before feeding Kubran who scampered home to the line. Cowman narrowly missed the conversion, but it was a great effort from the touchline with the howling gale.

The visitors very nearly crossed the line minutes later after more good work from the pack. From the restart, a number of quick rucks put Karl McDonagh into space on the right, who popped to Fiachra Coll and off-loaded to Shane Mulligan, who was held up just short of the line. From the ruck, Kubran came close again when he dummied off the back and reached for the line, but the ball just fell out of his grip in the act of grounding. Gorey, running into the wind, played a tight game using runners off their outhalf and operating two pods in to good effect at first. But Swords got their act together in defence and started hitting them back behind the gain line, gaining big yardage.

Cowman crossed after five metre dart on the blind side giving Swords a second try soon after and was unsuccessful with the conversion, though it did give the Greens a solid platform to build from. Gorey then missed a penalty attempt from close in after their only venture into Swords territory in the first half.

Swords' tactical kicking game kept the hosts pinned back in their half, but the lineouts were a lottery throughout the match. Cowman opted to kick two penalties from distance to give his side a 16-0 lead half time. Playing into a second half wind, Swords changed their game plan, deciding to keep it tight in the pack, using their runners in the forwards to good
effect.

Gorey had a better percentage on territory in the second half with the wind advantage, but stern defence ensured they didn't threaten the line often. They managed a try from a five metre scrum and added a penalty kick to bring it back to 8 ­ 16. Two further penalty attempts were missed before a 40 yard maul with two quick rucks gave Swords a penalty chance, which Cowman duly slotted over.

Swords took control and were encamped in the Gorey half for the remainder of the game, with repeated forward drives mixed with some fine play from the backs. Prop forward Eoin O'Griofa showed a deft touch with a near perfect chip, which very nearly went to hand for try. From the resulting scrum, forward pressure gave Swords a huge overlap which McDonagh took full advantage off with a try. “We really won the match in defence as much in attack,' Swords vice captain Shane Mulligan said afterwards. “Obviously it was a forwards's game due to the weather, but our scrums were solid, our lineout was as good as could be expected in the conditions, the were tackles put in and the hard yards were made.' After a much improved performance, Swords will look to continue their good form at home to Arklow this Sunday.

SWORDS RFC: R. Cowman; J. Julian, M. Finnegan, M. Child, K. McDonagh; D.Flynn, J. Kubran; E. Flannery, F. McKevitt, E. O'Griofa; M. Corbett, F.Coll; M. Bradley, M. Finglas, S. Mulligan (c).