The Roscrea RFC boys u14s are having an exceptional season and have become a beacon for the huge strides being made in the club at every level. With a large and ever-growing squad, Head coach William Hayes has progressively instilled a collective culture of resilience and determination in his players. This has been instrumental in their wonderfully impressive run of 12 wins in a row this season and at this point in the season they remain undefeated in all competitions. No doubt their biggest challenges lay ahead, but they have the ammunition and the will to succeed and overcome any obstacles.
On Sunday January 19th, 2020, the Roscrea RFC boys u14s made the long journey on a frosty morning to Greystones RFC. The hosts have been in excellent form this season in the Leinster youth schools league and have recorded some very impressive results in recent weeks. The game had all the ingredients to be a titanic battle.
From the kick-off both teams played with a high level of intensity, exchanging and repelling each other’s attacks with determined defence. After some positive attacking play, James Ryan received the ball and made a strong run through the Greystones defenders, he offloaded the ball beautifully to Robert Carney who finished clinically under the posts. Tadhg White kicked the conversion to make it 7 – 0. Greystones settled into the game after the early setback and began to gain a foothold in Roscrea territory with some excellent attacking play. In turn, the men in maroon continued to try to find a gap, probing the home sides defence to find a way through. Roscrea eventually received the reward for their endeavours just before half time when after some fine rucking by the forwards, impressive centre Billy Hayes broke the line with a powerful carry and fed the ball to his centre partner Robert Carney who still had a lot of work to do handing off a number of players before crashing over the line for his second try. At the half time whistle the score was 12 – 0 with all to play for in the second half. As the second half started, the home team upped their intensity and scored a fine team try which was converted to cut the margin to 5 points. The tie ebbed and flowed for the remainder of the second half until Robert Carney popped up again for his third of the game which Tadhg White duly converted. The match finished 19 – 7 to Roscrea, with both teams deservedly being clapped off the pitch after a scintillating contest. As a result of the victory, the Roscrea boys u14s now qualify for the Leinster schools league semi final with 3 games in hand. After the game, Roscrea RFC Head Coach William Hayes thanked Greystones RFC for their hospitality and wished them well for the remainder of the season, he also paid tribute to the traveling support who had made the journey and have played a vital part in the teams successes this season.
Robert Carney was the recipient of the much-coveted Roscrea RFC boys u14s best effort award in recognition of his commitment this season in games and in training. He receives a voucher for Moloney sports sponsored by K9 security.
Pictured
Dave Pearson (Coach), William Hayes (Coach), Robert Carney receiving his award, Harry Loughnane (Captain) Richard Loughnane (Coach)
