Sligo RFC 52 :: Buccaneers 12
At Hamilton Park last Sunday Sligo brushed aside a Buccaneers side in a clinical display that showed forward dominance and back play of the highest calibre. They scored eight trys with six conversions in a wonderfully entertaining display that had quality written all over it. After last weeks superb display against high flyers Monivea the confidence was high and this showed from the off giving there opponents nothing easy and putting pressure all over the park which yielded scores from an early stage.
This Sligo side have a superb set of backs and given any half chance they will punish sides . In the process of winning they managed to score eight trys ,seven through their backs with one from prop Adrian McHale having got the scoring pass from Gavin Foley. On an afternoon when the rain held off and with a slight wind Sligo kicked off and they were immediately on the offensive. This yielded an early penalty chance for Paddy Pearson but the kick drifted wide. Sligo were immediately back on the attack and continued to apply pressure. Eventually the midlanders defence cracked with Pearson putting Jordan Farrington in under the posts. In fact the half became the Paddy and Jordan show with Farrington getting in next followed by a superb second try by Farrington as he waltzed past his opposite number. Buccs got back one score in the half when their heavyweight forwards engineered a try close to the posts. This left the half time score at 21 to 7 but at this early stage Sligos relentless work up front and their powerful defence was going to tell on their opponents as the game wore on.
The second half started like the first and soon became a procession as the Sligo backs ran riot and the forwards got totally on top of their opponents. Trys from Adrian McHale Ted Mulvany David Gerrity and Andy Feeney left Buccs reeling and it could have been more only for some brave defence from the midlanders.
This squad has a fine mix of youth and experience and with a dry pitch and good conditions they are joy to watch. As in any good rugby team you firstly need a sound forward foundation and Sligo have a group of forwards at the moment that when they switch on can give anyone a game. With a superb lineout featuring the giant James Wilson and the naturally talented Peter Mullan they are definitely the best in the province at this level. The scrum is equally dominant with the likes of the superb twenty year old Jason East backed up by Adrian McHale Dara Cox and the rising star 19 year old Thomas Gormley.
More photos from this game are available on our facebook page. Courtesy of Rory Raftery.
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