A combined Clondalkin U13s & U14s side travelled to Portlaoise on Saturday 17th December and came away with a hard-fought draw after an excellent team performance.
Early Clon pressure saw the away side camped in the Portlaoise 22 but luck wasn’t on their side and they were unable to come away with a score. They suffered a setback when powerful forward Nathan Mazingu had to be replaced having picked up a leg injury. The remainder of the half was very closely fought and it was Portlaoise, against the run of play, who scored the only try of the half, right on the stroke of half-time, to lead 5-0.
Clon upped the intensity after the break and were back on level terms when Louis Lavin stormed for the line and touched down after several phases of great link play between backs and forwards. Minutes later Clondalkin put together the move of the game from a scrum deep inside their own half. Outhalf Cathal Downey lead the charge out of the 22 and several phases later it was no. 9 Conor Branigan who sprinted away to evade the home defence and dot down for Clon’s second try and the lead.
For the remainder of the game, the boys in yellow showed great team spirit and put in some ferocious tackling as Portlaoise attempted to get back level, and their defence was eventually breached in the corner to leave the sides all square. That’s how it stayed until the final whistle and team captain Luke Swayne will have been happy to end 2016 with a solid team performance on the road. Coaches and players can now look forward to a well-deserved Christmas break and a new year full of potential for this talented group of players.
