Tullow fail to take chances against last season’s runners up
Tullow's Ezrah Vai tries to get away from Seapoint's Cian Tallon.
Tullow will be left scratching their heads as to how they left the Black Gates on Saturday afternoon without winning this game. They won’t get a better chance to beat last season’s runners up, Seapoint who turned up to Tullow not looking like a side who lost the league last season by a single point, and the hosts will know that this was a glorious chance missed to take points from them.
Sean O’Brien was an interested spectator on the sideline, and he looked frustrated at full-time. And it wasn’t hard to see why. Tullow had created several chances, but were let down by sloppy kicking and handling errors. The usually reliable Adam Johnson missed a penalty at the death which would have given them their second win of the season.
Maurice Logue’s side came into the game off the back of a promising start to the season having recorded a bonus point win against Athy before losing by two points to newly promoted Tullamore last week.
Tullow got off to the perfect start when Ryan O’Neill spotted a gap and ran the length of the pitch to score directly underneath the posts. Johnson converted with ease.The joy was short lived though as the Dubliners levelled three minutes later, as Cormac Hurley went over to the left of the posts, recycling the ball left from a ruck. Hurley added the conversion.
However, Tullow were hungry and with eight minutes gone, took the lead again. A scrum just inside the 22 saw them win a penalty on the 5m line and it was taken quickly and fired into Ezrah Vai who went over next to the posts on the left hand side. Johnson converted. Again the lead was short lived as eight minutes later, Seapoint pulled level.
A Hurley penalty was sent into the right hand corner leading to a lineout where Cian Tallon found a gap just to the right of the posts and had an easy try. Hurley added the extras. Midway through the half, a good attack down the left hand side for Tullow saw them win a lineout and recycle the ball out to the right hand wing and put pressure on down there, trying to find a way through but they were held up.
Five minutes later though, they had their third try, a lineout win on the right hand side saw them push to the line and recycle it to the left where O’Neill kicked the ball into space and chased it, going down on the line. Johnson added the conversion.
On the half hour mark, Tullow won a scrum and pushed up the pitch before winning a penalty. Johnson sent it down the left touchline for a lineout. Ryan O’Neill tried to take the ball on and go through a gap but failed. The ball was recycled but Seapoint forced a turnover and cleared the ball, giving it back to Tullow but they couldn’t take advantage.
Seapoint went close straight after the break, sending a penalty into the left hand touchline. Scott Caldbeck stole the ball at the back of the lineout and Tullow pushed forwards but Seapoint overturned and cleared for a Tullow lineout in their own half.
They tried to push forward from it but Seapoint intercepted and forced a penalty. They won the lineout and Sam O’Donovan went over under the posts with Hurley adding the conversion to bring them level again.
14 minutes in, Tullow were in down the left and Dara Cosgrave tried to kick into space but found the hands of a Seapoint player who cleared up the pitch for a Tullow lineout. A Tullow penalty three minutes later was sent into the right hand corner and a lineout was won on the 5m line but Seapoint knocked on. Tullow won the scrum but Seapoint turned over the ball and cleared. With seven minutes to go, the ball was kicked into Dara Cosgrave on the right hand touchline in space and had he caught it, he would have been in, but he couldn’t quite get onto the end of it. Two minutes later, Seapoint won a scrum 10 meters out from the Tullow touchline but won a penalty for offside allowing them to clear up the pitch. At the death, Tullow won a penalty in a decent position and elected to kick it but the usually reliable Johnson missed his kick and Tullow who had dominated for large periods had to settle for a share of the spoils.
Adam Johnson, Jack Hanlon, Dara Cosgrave, Scott O’Sullivan Magne, Jack Johnson, Willie Cass O’Brien, Ryan O’Neill; Scott Caldbeck, Daniel Culleton, Tom Cashen, Tom Hughes, Joe Waters, Ben Butler, Ezrah Vai, Stephen Smith. Subs: James O’Brien, Fiach Kavanagh, Thomas FitzGerald, Cian Leonard, Jay Leonard.
Cormac Hurley, Matthew Jungmann, Sam Cassidy, Charlie McLoughlin, Elliot Allen, Conor Byrne, Cian Tallon; Callum Kavanagh, Eoin Brian Mahon, Gordon Britchfield, Hugh Ross, Jack Campbell, David Murphy, Liam Forster, Dan O’Donovan. Subs: Hugh Bourke, Conor Elvers, Josh Perrem, Donal McMahon, Sam O’Donovan.
John Carvill
