The local rugby scene is back in full swing with Kilkenny, Carlow and Tullow all seeing action in the Leinster League over the weekend.
Saturday saw Kilkenny take to the road to meet familiar foes Suttonians.
While the Kilkenny seconds got the day off to a winning start with a 24-point shutout of their hosts, the firsts weren’t as lucky. With the game already delayed due to traffic on arrival, Kilkenny went into the break 26-5 down, leaving a mountain to climb in the second half. Both sides added 12 points after the restart for Suttonians to pick up a 38-17 win, tacking on a bonus point courtesy of a six-try haul.
That result lifts Suttonians to third after two games with Kilkenny a point clear of Ashbourne in seventh. It’s a home tie for the Foulkstown side this Saturday with Bective Rangers due in Kilkenny for a 3pm kick-off. They’ll be arriving to the Waterford Road on the back of a 31-15 win over Boyne while other results on the weekend saw Monstown edge Gorey in Wexford 20-18 while Seapoint beat Ashbourne 28-27 at Milltown House.
In Division 1B, Carlow had the perfect start to the new league season with a 22-13 win away to Mullingar. Scrum-half Josh Cope opened the scoring for the visitors with Johnny Crossley adding a try and penalty before the break, sending Carlow in with a 15-6 lead. Richard Whyte added a third try for Carlow in the second half but they would give up a penalty try late on.
Speaking after the game, Carlow coach Cory Carty said “we tried a number of new attacking moves today and some of them came off. The Mullingar backs caused us a few problems but at the end of the stop-start game, we ran out of time to capture that fourth try.”.
Tullow managed to keep touch with Wicklow at Ashtown Lane on Sunday afternoon but slipped to a 29-23 defeat, the win securing Wicklow maximum points thanks to a four-try bonus while Tullow nabbed a losing bonus point, something we’ve seen prove vital in the league in recent years. They’re straight back into action next weekend with Mullingar making the trip to Black Gates while Athy head to Oak Park to take on Carlow.
