Galwegians fail to turn possession into points

For a second successive week, Galwegians found their rise to Div 1 rugby fraught with frustration, particularly their failure to match finishing power with possession.

While Galwegians coach, Joe Healy, can be pleased with a big improvement from the pack after the hammering it received the previous week against Buccaneers, he must be wondering how his side let Blackrock College steal the points given their domination.

Ironically, it was not just the forwards but Galwegians's much vaunted Connacht back line that could not penetrate a well-drilled Blackrock defence and it certainly exposed the team's lack of strength in depth, which could prove crucial in the weeks ahead.

Outside of the first quarter, Galwegians dominated the action, but they conceded two tries at critical times. Conversely, while the Dubliners did just enough to win, their defence was more than admirable against the wave of Galwegians attacks in the second half.

There was only one team in the match in those opening 20 minutes and Blackrock's out-half, Alan McGowan, potted two of three penalty chances as Galwegians struggled to settle. Yet in their first foray into the Blackrock half, courtesy of one of Mervyn Murphy's dazzling breaks, Galwegians won the first penalty, which out-half Eric Elwood converted.

Three minutes later, the Irish international levelled with his second effort in front of the posts after Blackrock full-back, Brian Carey, had failed to control a superb Elwood ???????Garryowen.

Blackrock sneaked ahead before the break when stand-in full-back and veteran Connemara campaigner, Henry O'Toole, conceded possession inside his half and from the ensuing scrum, McGowan set in motion a fine three-quarters move that saw Aidan Guinan go in for the opening try after 43 minutes, putting Blackrock into an 11-6 half-time lead.

However, the home side looked capable of winning as they launched a series of concerted attacks. First, lock Graham Heislip was held up just short; Elwood then missed a 48th minute penalty; and with their third chance in 10 minutes, Blackrock's Guinan was able to clear the ball before the in-rushing Nigel Carolan could touch down.

A 56th-minute Elwood penalty reduced arrears to two points, but he could not put the home side ahead when his drop goal effort some three minutes later floated frustratingly wide. Despite a plethora of possession, Galwegians', through a lack of penetration and the barrier of Blackrock's well organised defence, became so frustrated that at the end they simply ran out of options. Instead they conceded a soft try to Blackrock scrum-half, Andrew Boyd, who dived through from the base of a five metres scrum in the 72nd minutes to give Blackrock the valuable away points.

Scoring sequence: 9 mins: A McGowan pen, 0-3; 15: A McGowan pen, 0-6; 23: E Elwood pen, 3-6; 27: E Elwood pen, 6-6; 43: A Guinan try, 6-11; 56: E Elwood pen, 9-11; 72: A Boyd try, 9-16.

Galwegians: H O'Toole, A Reddan, P Duignan, M Murphy, N Carolan, E Elwood (capt.), D Reddan, P Kay, K Tierney, M Finlay, G Heislip, J Duffy, J Casserley, G Dineen, B Gavan. Replacements: D Lee for Tierney (65 mins).

Blackrock: B Carey, A Guinan, E Robinson, M Roche, T Keating, A McGowan, A Boyd, P Flavin, S Byrne (capt.), P Jordan, R Casey, H Kos, R Wheeler, D Kennedy, L Cullen. Replacements: I McLaughlin for Jordan (50 mins, N Assaf for Guinan (72 mins).

Referee: A Watson (Ulster).