Carrick-on-Shannon’s Under 13 Boys team were away to Portumna in the final round of the Cup on Sunday.
On a mild day and on a slightly soft track, both sides struggled to get a foothold in the game. While Carrick looked the bigger team, Portumna showed great commitment in the tackle, with both sides being guilty of handling errors in the opening exchanges. A strong individual effort from half way saw Carrick strike first with a try under the posts after 17 minutes, converted by the out half who would go on to have a perfect day off the tee. In the closing minutes of the first half Portumna showed great hands across the back line to leave it 7 a piece at the break.
Carrick upped their game from the off in the second half, resourced the ruck and held their shape a little better. Bit by bit Carrick took control of the game and while Portumna first line defence was strong, when Carrick did manage to get past the gain line they made the most of their opportunity’s,’ scoring 3 consecutive converted tries. Portumna continued to contest to the end scoring a good try in the corner to close out the game.
Carrick look forward to the knock out stages of the Cup in the coming weeks.