Wicklow up and running
WICKLOW 1ST XV got their South East League campaign off to a winning start with a good win away to a tough Gorey side on Sunday. The game was played on a beautiful sunny day on an excellent pitch. The side that started for Wicklow was without doubt the youngest side to start at first team level in the history of the club despite this they had too much for a committed Gorey side.
Wicklow started brightly and were soon on the scoresheet with a well taken try by David Acres. Ronan Hurley added the conversion to give Wicklow a 7-0 lead.
Gorey responded with a penalty to reduce the deficit to 7-3. Shortly afterwards Ronan Hurley added a penalty of his own to extend Wicklow's lead to 10-3.
David Acres scored his second try of the day shortly before the break. Following some excellent work by both backs and forwards Acres scythed through the Gorey defence to score beneath the posts. Hurley added the extras and Wicklow led 17-3.
Wicklow started the second-half in determined fashion and soon had Gorey under pressure. A series of scrums and line-outs deep in opposition territory didn't yield a score until a huge drive on a Gorey scrum saw the home side concede a penalty. Ronan Hurley slotted over the kick to give Wicklow a 20-3 lead.
At this point it looked like Wicklow would kick on and win comfortably, however Gorey had other ideas and battled their way back into contention with a try beneath the posts following some lax defensive work by the Wicklow backs. The conversion was added and the score was 20-10.
Barry Lynn who came on for the secondhalf scored a fine individual try when he gathered his own chip ahead to score. The conversion was missed but Wicklow led 2510.
Wicklow's indiscipline allowed Gorey to work their way back up the pitch. A Wicklow sin-binning created space on the blind side and Goreys big number eight crashed over for a deserved score. The conversion was missed.
Wicklow finished off the game on the attack but stout defence from the Wexford men kept the final score at 25-15.
Wicklow will be happy enough with this win against a tough Gorey side. Their discipline will need to improve as they face another tough battle next week at home against Rathdrum. Kick-fff is at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Ashtown Lane. Wicklow Rugby Club are holding a flag weekend in Wicklow town on Friday at Saturday of this week in aid of the proposed new gym at Ashtown Lane.
