Poor decisions cost wasteful Tullow
Tullow's Adam Johnson tries to get past Wexford's James Stewart.
A wasteful Tullow side slipped to a fourth defeat of the season as they lost to a Wexford side who hadn’t won a game yet since being promoted at the expense of Carlow at the end of last season. This was Tullow’s third successive defeat in a row. And it wasn’t for a lack of trying, the visitors had several chances and had several set-pieces that they wasted.
Wexford took their chances whilst Tullow were wasteful with their opportunities, wasting set-piece after set-piece, especially in the first half, finding themselves in the Wexford 22 on multiple occasions but not taking the chances on offer. Poor decision making played a part too, so often electing to kick for the corner rather than try and go for three pointers and keep the scoreboard ticking over.
This was a game that Tullow would have been targeting to win with Wexford winless in five previous games, and they dominated too, especially in the first half, finding themselves in the Wexford 22 on multiple occasions but not able to pierce their defence more than twice.
The hosts got off to the perfect start after two minutes when Mark Power burst up the right hand side and touched down in the corner. The ensuing conversion from Ruairi Fennell fell just short.
Tullow wasted no time in pulling level. Ezrah Vai threw into the lineout down the right hand side and got the ball back from the back of the maul and they pushed towards the line and forced the ball over the line. Adam Johnson missed the ensuing conversion.
With 12 minutes gone, a Johnson penalty was sent into the right hand side for a Tullow lineout inside the 22 but no sooner had Vai’s ball been won, Wexford overturned the ball. Two minutes later, another Johnson penalty was sent into the left hand side this time where Vai’s lineout was won and Tullow pushed towards the line and earned a scrum when Wexford knocked on. However, Wexford again overturned. With 20 minutes gone, Tullow finally found some success.
A lineout on the left was recycled out to the right hand side where Dara Cosgrave passed to his right and Sam Cullen went over in the corner. Johnson’s conversion from a tough angle hit off the crossbar. On the half hour mark, another penalty was sent into the right hand side for a Tullow lineout.
Vai threw to the back of the lineout and got the ball back from the back of the ensuing maul but they were a little too far out and under pressure, Vai gave the ball away to a teammate behind him but they were forced backwards and Tullow eventually knocked on. With two minutes to go until half-time, a lineout down the left inside the 22 was won but Tullow were forced backwards and conceded a penalty, allowing Wexford to clear.
In stoppage time, Sean Kelly-Komolafe won the ball in the middle of the pitch on the right and ran half the length of the pitch down the right wing and went in round the side to pull Wexford level again. Fennell’s conversion was missed.
14 minutes into the second half, Wexford hit over a penalty in front of the posts to put them three points up. With ten minutes to go, Scott O’Sullivan Magne found himself in space down the left wing but couldn’t get the final mile to go over the line. The ball was stolen by James Stewart who ran the length of the pitch down the right hand side but he was taken down just inside the 22, allowing Tullow to clear.
Two minutes later, a Johnson penalty was sent into the left hand corner with a lineout on the 5 meter line but nobody was able to get the ball. Tullow recovered it but Wexford knocked on. A Tullow scrum in the middle of the pitch was recycled to the right where Wexford again knocked on. Tullow collapsed the scrum and Wexford were given a penalty and cleared.
At the death, any hopes that Tullow had of winning the game was gone as a Wexford lineout saw them make good ground up the left hand side before recycling the ball out to the middle and back out to the left where James Stwart went in in the corner. Fennell fired over the conversion to end Tullow’s chances of even getting a losing bonus point from the game.
Mark Power, James Stewart, Shane McGuinness, Colm O’Corcora, Shéa Boggan, Alan Hawkins, Ruairí Fenlon; Jack O’Leary, Louis Richard, Kevin Redmond, Louis Gainfort, Vincent Carroll, Carthaigh Geoghegan, Ben McGuinness, Sean Kelly-Komolafe.
Brian Donohoe, Kaylem Codd, Jack Baker, Michael Cleary, William Murphy.
Adam Johnson, Jack Hanlon, Dara Cosgrave, Scott O’Sullivan Magne, Sam Cullen, Peter Burgess, Ryan O’Neill; Scott Caldbeck, Daniel Culleton, Tom Cashen, Jack McDonald, Joe Waters, Ezrah Vai, James O’Brien, Stephen Smith.
Paul Canavan, Fiach Kavanagh, Mark Ashton, Corey Leigh-Hughes, Jay Leonard.
