Swords Cup Hopes Cut Short in Tipperary

Roscrea 27 Swords 8

MORAL victories count for nothing in the harsh reality of cup rugby as Swords bowed out in the first round on their Towns Cup debut. For the majority of the match, the Fingal side were in control, driving their opponents back in defence and pumping out the hard yards in attack. In the end however, Roscrea found a gap and a try late in the second half and eventually racked up a flattering winning margin.

Playing with a howling wind in the first half, Swords leaked an early try ten minutes in, when a mix up in midfield allowed Roscrea in for a converted try.
The hosts were reduced to 14 men shortly after, following a swinging arm to the face of outhalf Richie Cowman, and Swords duly pulled back three points through a Dave Flynn penalty. Incredibly, Roscrea were again left a man short, when the same player once again struck Cowman and this time left the field permanently, though they did knock over a penalty shortly after.

Rallied by their advantage, Swords piled on the pressure and kept the ball in the pack, who, it has to be said, were outstanding all day. The rolling maul proved their most effective weapon, as time after time, the Greens rumbled out territory. A stunning forty metre surge brought them just short, before another maul from a lineout close in had try' written all over it. Regrouping three times, the pack couldn't squeeze over for a deserved score and the half-time whistle brought welcome relief to the home side. Had Swords managed to ground, it may have been a different story in the second half.

As it was, the second period was pretty much more of the same. Swords relied heavily on their industrious forwards, while the backs were up against it, playing into a stiff breeze. Following more good work in the maul, prop Ed Flannery crossed ten minutes into the half Swords were back in it at 10-8. Roscrea to their credit pinned the Fingal side deep in their own half with some clever kicking, but the Greens continued to probe away up front - how more yellow cards weren't dished out is a wonder, considering how often the hosts were found guilty of collapsing the maul.

Cowman went agonisingly close with a drop-kick on the hoof, before Roscrea tagged on another penalty to stretch it to 13-8. Once more, Swords came within metres of the Roscrea line, but couldn't find that vital gap to exploit. Roscrea then struck with a sucker punch, piercing a hole in the Swords back line to ground under the posts. Swords to their credit continued to probe, but had to take risks and Roscrea wrapped up the game when a clever kick behind the visitors' defence bounced favourably and gifted them another converted try. Swords move onto the Towns Plate and can rightfully feel frustrated not to have progressed into the second round of the cup, after the level of effort displayed.

SWORDS RFC: D. Flynn; R. Kiely, L. Guyomarc'h, M. Finnegan, K. McDonagh; R. Cowman (c), J. Kubran; E. Flannery, F. McKevitt, M. Bradley; F. Coll, D.
Brennan; R. Merrigan, J. Julian, S. Mulligan. Subs used: K. Corcoran, J. Gormley, P. Jones, E. O'Donnell.