Sligo RFC U15’s came up against their opposite numbers in Ballinasloe last Sunday in an away fixture against the Galway club. This was the first of two scheduled league matches between the clubs, so the fight was on to win the 2 points available for the winning side.

On a seriously wintry day, both teams came out of the changing rooms determined to win, and the match was hard fought from start to finish, drawing comparisons by the spectators with the recent Munster game against the All-Blacks. Sligo got things moving early on in the proceedings, with a well-deserved try from captain James Mullen at Wing. Strong winds made a conversion impossible, but Sligo now had a lead of 5 points over the home side, which didn’t go down well with the opposition.

Sligo kept both possession and territory throughout the first half, in an aggressive game that saw one of the Ballinasloe players sin-binned. Showing great maturity and discipline, the Sligo boys played the game of rugby, their efforts rewarded with a second try before the half-time whistle from Eoghan Flanagan. James Mullen stepped up to take the conversion, but was unlucky when the wind blew the ball forward before his kick and with the Ballinasloe line advancing upon him, he had no option but to take a drop-kick out of hand, narrowly missing the posts.

With the start of the second half came more wintry showers, and this time Ballinsloe took possession, being awarded a try that would no doubt have gone to the TMO should the television cameras have been rolling (RTE take note!). One try was not enough to beat the visitors though, and Sligo took back possession, keeping it for much of the remainder of the match. With poor discipline from the home side, Sligo gained plenty of ground, benefiting from a series of penalties awarded against Ballinasloe in their own half.

However, with no time left to do more damage, the final whistle blew on a welcome 10-5 victory for the Sligo side, advancing the club’s lead in the U15 Connacht League once more. The U15s’ next match is against Buccaneers next Sunday 30 November and will be well worth watching.

Anyone interested in playing rugby with the U15s should contact Dean Weaver on 086 823 8795.

Tries: Mullen, Flanagan

Sligo: C Lyons, B Simon, E Roache, E Flanagan, J Mullen (Capt), W Weaver, E Gavin, D Tonry, P Saba, M Davey, J Draper, B Spellman, C McLoughlin, R Smith, D McDonagh

Reps: K Grimes, G Devlin, E Weaver