Thurles RFC 32 – 25 Waterford City RFC

On a lovely day for rugby Thurles entertained Waterford City in the first round of the Challenge Shield This match had plenty of talking points for 60 minutes Thurles played solid rugby to move into a 32 points to 10 lead, and seemed to be coasting to a comfortable victory, but taking the foot after pedal can be a dangerous thing to do as Thurles almost found to their cost as Waterford city came back into the game to close to within five points

The first score of the game came when Thurles were successful with a well worked try after Larry O Gorman had made a superb break with support from Shane Moloney and some slick inter-passing moves sent hooker Teddy Skehan in under the posts which Shane Moloney converted A penalty soon after was also kicked by Moloney to put Thurles 10 – 0 ahead

Waterford city replied with a penalty of their own but another Shane Moloney penalty left Thurles with a 10 point lead with 20 minutes gone A quickly taken penalty with Thurles players in sleep mode allowed the Waterford blindside winger to score under the posts bringing the score to 13 – 10 and a serious wake-up call for Thurles

The following 30 minutes were all Thurles. A series of forward drives opened up the Waterford defence and Nicky Irwin didn’t need a second invitation and raced in under the posts to score a try which Shane Moloney converted

Thurles were back in control and a great drive through the centre and Rory O Dwyer created space for fly half Peter Coman to put his backs in motion with Shane Lanigan Ryan slicing through to feed Declan O Rahilly who put the burners on to score in the corner. Shane Moloney added the points The half time break allowed head Coach John Lillis to introduce Jason O Mahoney , Joey Kelly and Luke Kelly to add some fresh legs and a very hot day

The second half began with Thurles once again on the attack and when Sligo man Ross Chrystal made a well worked break down the blindside, he put Waterford City under serious pressure once again before second row Philly Kelly carried to within a metre of the Waterford City line. The try looked on the cards but Waterford City killed the ball repeatedly and were able to relieve the pressure with a well placed kick for touch. The resulting line out allowed:Colin Feely to feed Davy Kelly who drove for the line. Once again Waterford city killed the momentum resulting in another penalty converted for Thurles by Shane Moloney.

A superb take from there restart by Paddy Phelan set the Thurles Pack on the front foot and the patient drive paid dividends with a try for Larry O Gorman. Thurles confortable at 32 to 10 or so it seemed.

With Thurles feeling their job was done Waterford City put in a surge to push Thurles back into their own half. A drive from the resulting line out earned Waterford City a seven pointer and within five minutes, some slack tackling allowed them to score again and convert to put eight points between the teams with ten minutes to go. A penalty five minutes later reduced their deficit to 5 points, and what had seemed like a comfortable win now became a dogfight

Changes were needed and prop Damian Dunne came on to make his seasonal debut and his experience was vital in steadying the ship. With Peter Coman Colin Skehan and Nicky Irwin on the sidelines Thurles needed the more experienced players to calm the turbulent waters. Full credit to Shane Moloney, moved to flay half from full back, who managed to keep Waterford City pinned back in their own 22.
Thurles held on in the end for a victory but got a serious warning about how important it is to finish out a game and not lose concentration no matter who the opposition is. They play CastleIsland in the next round with an away fixture. This is a trophy that is there for the taking and Thurles can have a big say in this, but they will need at more concentrated performance if they want to be serious contenders

Thurles.
Rory O Dwyer, Dave Kelly, Colm Skehan, Phil Kelly, Colin Feely, Ciaran Ryan, Larry O Gorman, Paddy Phelan, Nicky Irwin, Peter Coman, Declan O Rahilly, Shane Moloney, Shane Lanigan Ryan, Ross Chrystal, Shane Moloney, Jason O Mahoney, Damien Dunne, Joey Kelly. Luck Kelly , Ollie Delaney