Athboy retain McGee Cup with solid performance

Any team that ends up winning the McGee Cup will deserve their moment of glory. To even get to the semi-final 10 games have to be played and most of those need to be victories, there isn't much room for error. It is a protracted, arduous campaign which underlines that old adage that when the going gets tough the tough get going. Athboy certainly showed they have the right stuff and the proper commitment for the hard road when they won the trophy for the second successive year at Balreask Old on Sunday. If there was any further evidence required to show that rugby has now not only taken root, but is starting to flourish in Athboy, it was demonstrated with this win. Athboy didn't exactly make the dream start to their McGee Cup campaign this season either, losing their opening game to Balbriggan. They re-grouped, found their winning touch and made it to the final. And they didn't make the best of starts on Sunday, or at least the best of starts to the second-half, as they conceded the opening score of the half and the game. The sides went in at the interval scoreless although Athboy had dominated much of the possession in the opening half without managing to make the breakthrough. Enda Reilly was unlucky not to score from a well-struck penalty that rebounded off the upright, although Ardee also had their chances with their full-back Keith Halfpenny missing a penalty from a scoreable position. Both teams also had 'tries' disallowed. Less than a minute after the restart Ardee found a rare gap in the Athboy defence and took full advantage. Ardree's Andy Kerr and Joe Van Der Westhuizen broke from midfield and found some precious space. They exchanged passes and the pacy Van Der Westhuizen ran in for a try in the corner. The conversion was missed, but the concession of a score was an ominous sign for Athboy who had to withstand considerable pressure in the subsequent minutes as the Louth side probed for further weaknesses. Just like they did after they lost the opening game of their campaign, Athboy re-grouped and emerged stronger. Just six minutes after Ardee got their touchdown, the Meath side rumbled over for a try. Athboy won a penalty about 10 metres inside opposition territory. Out-half Alan Fox found touch just a few metres from the Ardee tryline. Enda Reilly gained possession from the throw, Athboy set up a rolling maul and Michael Casey got the touchdown underneath a pile of bodies. Reilly stepped up to confidently slot the ball between the posts from the conversion attempt. Suddenly Athboy were in front and that's where they stayed. Ardee didn't do themselves any favours when Paul Kelly was sin-binned early in the second-half. It was hardly surprising that David Farrelly's side should score from a push-over try. All day Athboy had been setting up rolling mauls from their own line-out ball and making significant ground almost every time. Farrelly's men perfected the art of the rolling maul and it proved to be a powerful weapon in their armoury. They almost engineered a try from rolling mauls in the opening half with unforced errors proving to be their undoing. Athboy also proved adept at moving the ball through the phases, regularly putting seven, eight or nine phases together and their ability to produce controlled, measured rugby at certain stages was a huge factor in their victory. It was also an element in explaining how they managed to carve out their second, and decisive try after 70 minutes. Athboy won a penalty in midfield. Again - in what was another demonstration of their confidence in their forward division - Fox went for a line-out finding touch about 25 metres out. The ball was secured from Joe Griffin's throw. There followed a series of rucks as Athboy inched forward. Casey, Cathal Dempsey, Fox, Joe McGivern, JP Matthews and Trevor Murray were all involved. So was Seamus Potterton who had just come on as a blood substitute. He made ground, the ball was won by Stephen Lee who pumped his legs and drove over from about eight metres out, despite three or four Ardee players hanging out of him. It was power-packed, forwards-driven rugby at its best. Reilly missed the conversion, but he had, minutes earlier, taken a blow to the face and he eventually left the field with blood streaming from his nose. Displaying their guile and experience Athboy closed out the game with Fox neatly knocking over a penalty from close range to put the issue beyond doubt. On a negative note, Athboy's PJ McAuley sustained a suspected broken arm on teh stroke of full-time. Athboy - B McLoughlin, C Murphy, G Lutz, T Murray, M Priest, A Fox, J McGivern; C Dempsey, G Fitzgerald, JP Matthews, S Lee, P J McAuley, E Reilly, B Quirke, M Casey. Subs - J Griffin for Fitzgerald, T McGivern for Lutz, S Potterton for Reilly. Ardee - K Halfpenny, J McCoy, R O'Brien, J Van Der Westhuizen, S Lennon, G Smith, A Kerr, D Borza, E Walsh, J Taaffe, P Kelly, K McKeown, J Rogers, J Austin, B Duffy. Sub - E Dunne for Taaffe. Referee - Sean Rochford (Boyne); touch judges - Doug Gibson (Ratoath), Philip Mullins (Skerries).