COOLMINE 38 RATOATH 7
Coolmine got off to a fast start with Ben Colgan reaching the try line. We were 5 points up! Followed in quick succession, Liam Coyne went over the line, with Louis McDonagh kicking the conversion. A slight error from Ratoath, allowing Harry Meehan to intercept, resulting in him crossing the tryline, right in the corner which set Justin Leonard up to kick the conversion, between the sticks. Coolmine were relentless, and this pace continued. The Coolmine forwards barracaded their line and Ratoath simply couldn't penetrate through. They managed to make a break in the last couple of minutes of the first half, however, an error resulted in Ben Mancini ripping the ball and covered some ground until he could see Max Gerhardt on the wing. Successfully passing the ball, Max sprinted to the line with at least 5 Ratoath players in pursuit - it wasn't meant to be! Max skipped over the while line, Justin converted. Half time score 0-26 to Coolmine.
Second half started with a series of changes in Coolmine, notably some of our new players starting. Our forwards coach Andrew Kelly has been busy recruiting in the local schools - and we have had 4 new players join the team in the last few months. They have settled in quickly and brought fresh ideas and approaches to the team. Having clawed back a try in the early minutes of the second half, it was vital that Coolmine didn't get complacent - the final whistle had not yet blown. The next two tries were scored by two of our new players, Kristians Feldmanis and Bao Trans. The gap has widened to 7-38 In the last few minutes of the game, through a couple of errors from Coolmine, we find nearly all 30 players along the Coolmine try-line, with Ratoath trying to put a dent in the score. Ratoath's determination is applaudable, Coolmine's defense is determined. And just when you thought that Ratoath were to ground the ball, Max Gerhardt dived in, tackled the unsuspecting players legs with support from Ben Mancini on the other side - you couldn't see the ball or line for the mass of players sprawled across the line.
The referee blew the whistle and the try was held up! Victory to Coolmine, 7-38 and we march onto the Semi-Finals. Congrats to both teams for a great game of rugby.
