Carrick on Shannon RFC 24
OLBC 29
Carrick and Shannon welcomed OLBC to Castlecarra on Sunday for the third round of the league. Carrick began the game with real energy and controlled possession throughout the early exchanges. Their forwards carried strongly and repeatedly drove OLBC backwards, working their way inside the 22. After a sharp movement off the ruck the ball was flashed across the line into space and Dan Bosquette cut through the defence to score under the posts for the opening try of the match. Senan Mooney converted to give Carrick a 7–0 lead.
OLBC responded immediately from the restart. Sustained pressure forced Carrick back into their own 22 and after several quick phases OLBC punched the ball into midfield and broke through for a try beneath the posts. The conversion levelled the game at 7–7.
Carrick settled well again and pushed back into the OLBC half. Their pressure was rewarded when OLBC conceded a penalty in front of the posts which Mooney knocked over to move Carrick 10–7 ahead.
OLBC struck back with a penalty of their own moments later to make it 10–10. Growing in confidence, the Galway side then stretched the Carrick defence with width and speed, eventually moving the ball wide to the right corner where they finished well for their second try. The conversion drifted wide but OLBC took the lead for the first time.
Carrick then suffered a setback when a spell of indiscipline resulted in a yellow card. OLBC capitalised immediately. Another sweeping move caught Carrick short of numbers and OLBC crossed for their third try of the half. The successful conversion pushed the score out to 22–10 and Carrick were relieved to reach the halftime break.
Carrick emerged for the second half with urgency and strung together long passages of possession, but OLBC landed the next major blow. After a lengthy phase of attacking play they broke through again for their fourth try, which was converted to stretch the margin to 29–10.
The contest became broken from here, with both sides receiving yellow cards in what was a physical encounter. Carrick refused to yield. A clever chip over the top from Bosquette created confusion in the OLBC defence where Brian King gathered brilliantly and finished in the corner. Malone converted to narrow the gap to 29–17.
Carrick sensed momentum and pushed hard again. As the game fragmented, their ability to play in broken field came to the fore. Bosquette spotted space, accelerated into it and burst clear for his second try of the afternoon. Mooney added the extras to make it 29–24 and set up a tense closing spell.
Carrick hunted for the winning score but a sequence of penalties broke up their rhythm. OLBC regained possession, managed the final phases well and eventually kicked the ball to touch to seal a tight 29–24 win.
