Buccaneers   27

Corinthians   15

By John Mulligan

A Corinthians side missing some regulars had to give second best to Buccaneers on Saturday afternoon in the semi-final of the Connacht Senior Cup, with the Midlands side advancing to the final where they will take on Connacht Senior League winners, Sligo.

Conditions were near ideal in Dubarry Park with little or no breeze, and given the heavy rain in the area in recent days, the pitch held up well, and despite facing a side playing two division above them in the All-Ireland League, Corinthians were in this game right until the end when the home side scored a game-clinching try.

It was Buccaneers who started the better. A lineout won by Danny Qualter found Cian McCann who was held up just short. However, McCann found Ryan O’Meara in support, and he drove through the cover for the opening try after just two minutes, with Michael Hanley converting for a 7-0 lead.

Corinthians responded just six minutes later when a lineout collected by Ruan Janse Rensburg led to a driving maul with Adam Nash at the back. Five phases later, and with Orin Burke stopped just short, Joey Tierney fed Sean Fox who powered his way through for the unconverted try.

The game was surprisingly open with both teams having half chances to add to the scoreboard. Buccaneers were stopped short of the line while at the other end Corinthians, through Sean Fox and Harry Rogers, both had breaks that didn’t materialise in scores.

Buccaneers would strike next with a try from Earle on 21 minutes; and they repeated the trick 12 minutes later with Earle scoring his second for a 17-5 lead.

However, with the clock nearing half-time, Corinthians gave themselves a lifeline when Harry Rogers intercepted a pass on his own 22’ and ran the length to dot down under the posts. Dylan Keane’s conversion left just five between the teams at the break at 17-12.

Corinthians sensed a weakness in the Buccaneers line and went for it, only for possession to break down at the worst of times, but handling errors and loose passes combined with staunch defending meant that chances were lost.

Pictured: Sean Fox scores Corinthians first try against Buccaneers last weekend. Photo: Michael Silke.