U20 Donal Walsh Trophy Section B
The under 20’s had to dig deep to grind out a 23-22 victory away to Young Munsters on Saturday. The Cookies were quick out of the blocks scoring 4 trys in the opening 30 minutes but only converting 1 which would prove costly in the end. Trailing 22-6 just minutes before half time Bruff rolled up the sleeves and worked the ball into the Yng Munsters 22. The ball was recycled and moved out the backline before out half Paul Downes slipped inside the on rushing defence to touch down. He added the conversion to his earlier 2 penalties to make the score 22-13 at H/T. The half time team talk looked pretty animated from the sidelines but whatever was said seemed to have the desired effect. The Bruff defence tightened up considerably and the aggression levels at the breakdown intensified. The Bruff front row seemed to be gaining the upper hand and the backrow of Laffan, O Dwyer and Mallon where getting their hands on the ball more often than in the opening 40.
The score remained the same until 20 minutes into the 2nd half when after sustained Bruff pressure Tom O Dwyer picked from the base of a ruck to crash over for Bruff’s 2nd try. Downes added the extras and it was now a 1 score game. With 10 minutes remaining Bruff were awarded a penalty just inside the half way line but the kick at goal dropped just short. Minutes later Bruff were awarded another penalty for not releasing the ball on the ground. This was an easier kick for Downes and he made no mistakes adding what would turn out to be the winning score. The Cookies did have 2 penalties in the last 5 minutes to win the game but both efforts drifted wide of the posts.
Bruff Team: Bruff 1-8, Shane Breen, Eamon O Dea, Brendan Keogh, James Keogh , Conor O’Dwyer, Robert Laffan, Niall Mallon, Thomas O’Dwyer 9-15 John Carew, Paul Downes, Gavin Reidy, Cian Tierney, Shane Doona, Liam Treacy, David O Grady Subs, Mikie Walsh, Anthony Neylon, Killian O Riordan, Killian Sheehan, David Dooley
Paul Downes who scored 18 points for the u20’s