Old Wesley 22

Tallaght 13
Try: Luke Brady Deegan
Conversion: Rob Hudson
Penalty: Rob Hudson, Luke Maher

Winters Cup Quarter-final
Donnybrook
06/04/2024

Tallaght took on Old Wesley in the quarter-finals of the Winters Cup.

With storm Kathleen raging, the weather conditions were extremely windy but thankfully mostly dry. The game was a bit of a stalemate for the first twenty minutes as neither team could put together much attacking fluency. After 25 minutes, Wesley scored a try to break the deadlock. But Tallaght centre Rob Hudson kicked a fine penalty into the wind to reduce the deficit to 5-3. But then some weak defending around the ruck allowed Wesley in for a soft try, which they converted to lead 12-3. Tallaght kept coming at them though and they won a penalty which Luke Maher kicked to make the half-time score 12-6.

In the second half, Tallaght started gaining some territory with Jordan Corrigan and Alex Sadiku carrying strongly. They scored a try when scrum-half Daryl Keogh made a fine break and put Luke Brady Deegan in to score in the corner. Rob Hudson kicked a superb sideline conversion to give Tallaght a 13-12 lead. They couldn’t hold on though and Wesley scored two unconverted tries to make the final score 22-13 to the home side.

Head Coach Adam Nolan was pleased with his side’s performance, despite the result. “After our last league game in Blackrock, we added the lads for a reaction and we definitely got that. It was a close fought cup-tie that could have gone either way. That’s our season finished now and although we’re gutted to lose, it’s good to finish with a positive performance.”

“It’s been a tough season dealing with a lot of transition. We need to grow the size of the squad next season to bring us back to the level where we can compete to win leagues and cups again. But a lot of players have emerged in the team this season as real leaders and I want to thank all the coaches, players and the committee for their hard work. Finally I want to thank our sponsors 123.ie and all our great supporters who have stuck with us through thick and thin this season. Hopefully the days where we’re playing finals again aren’t too far away.”

Man of the match: Jordan Corrigan

Tallaght RFC

1. Alan Sower (Captain)
2. Kevin Quinn
3. Brian Lacey
4. Graham Timmins
5. Patrik Toth
6. Mick Corrigan
7. Colin Morrison
8. Jordan Corrigan
9. Daryl Keogh
10. David Clarke
11. Alexsandro Sadiku
12. Luke Maher
13. Rob Hudson
14. Luke Brady Deegan
15. Raheel Hussain
16. Simon Gaskell
17. Rosemar Alves
18. Sean Smyth
19. Karl Segrave
20. Dave Mahon

Photos: Mark Luttrell