08 Oct 2016
Our U15s had a good win over Tullamore B yesterday by 55 points to 22.
Saturday morning was bright and dry with very little wind so conditions were perfect for this under 15 midland league encounter between Birr and Tullamore B. The pitch was also in excellent condition thanks to the hard work of the club volunteers. It was clear from the start that Birr were determined to put the defeat by Roscrea last weekend behind them. Birr won the ball from the drop off and protected possession very well in contact and after recycling the ball Michael Egan crossed for the first try of the game. Indeed the hard work upfront in protecting and recycling the ball was a feature of Birr’s first half and this work allowed the backs to use the ball very well when opportunities arose.
Throughout the game tries were produced through determined team work and the scorers included Josh Hough, Christopher Middleton, Dan Murray, Kevin Tierney, Michael Houlihan and Niall Lyons while some good goal kicking from players such as Eamon Dolan added to the scoreboard. In addition to the scorers there were very good performances from Padraig Kelly, Reece Mahon, Captain Joseph Ryan, John Coughlan and Adam McGill.
Birr did not have this game all their own way and Tullamore worked very hard and were successful in disrupting quite a lot of ball in the breakdown. They won some good ball through very strong defensive counter rucks and this combined with some very slick passing led to their four tries. This was a good response to an opening week defeat and the team worked extremely hard for the whole hour to ensure victory. It was particularly encouraging the way the team dealt with regular substitutions which meant that a number of players found themselves in unusual position at times during the game.
