Navan on the brink of a breakthrough

STILL only mid-January, but already Navan are closing in on the Leinster League Div 1 title following Saturday"s 13-7 victory over Dundalk at Balreask Old which keeps the hopes of an AIL place intact. The Navan players will be in action again this weekend and can take a giant step towards wrapping up the crown if they defeat Seapoint away on Sunday. Brad Harris brings his team to Killiney knowing that a victory would put his side in an almost unassailable position at the summit of the league where Navan have found themselves for most of this season. One of the biggest tasks for coach Harris and the team managers Collie Kiernan and Karl Hogan is to keep the players focused on one game at a time. Navan lead the table by six points going into Sunday"s encounter and after that they have fixtures against Garda at home and Enniscorthy away. Digging out a victory against Seapoint has rarely proved to be an easy affair for Navan and it won"t be any different this time around. Last season both sides played out a 16-16 draw at Balreask Old in what was a highly entertaining encounter, full of attacking rugby. Two weeks ago the teams also faced each other in the AIB All-Ireland Junior Cup and for long spells Seapoint looked poised to go on and win. They led 12-3 soon after the hour mark before Navan engineered a comeback with the help of tries from Mark Harrington and Simon Hogan. Out-half Ryan Roberts landed a few penalties and conversions to complete the revival. This time around Navan will be looking make an early impact on proceedings and provide themselves with a platform to go on and win. Navan got themselves in the right frame of mind for the Seapoint challenge when they defeated Dundalk last weekeknd in what turned out to be an uncompromising, derby encounter, although again they had to come from behind after trailing 3-6 at the interval. The home side dominated for long spells without managing to find a way through the stubborn Dundalk defence until Simon Donnelly broke through to get a super individual touchdown early in the second-half. Ryan Roberts also landed one memorable penalty from distance to help Navan secure the victory that maintained their unbeaten record. Tackling, fitness, off-loading at speed are all aspects Navan have exelled at times during this campaign but it is their resilence that has perhaps proved most valuable. With playes such as Bernard Smyth, David King, Karl Manning, Paul Feeney and Kieran Mattson playing consistently good rugby and Roberts kicking well the Balreask Old side will go into Sunday"s game optimistic they can achieve the win and keep the title in focus. Navan were drawn to play Ballymoney at home in the quarter-final of the All-Ireland Junior Cup. The game will take place on Saturday, 14th February. The other ties are: Cill Dara v Richmond, Westport v Tullamore and Armagh or Crosshaven v Cashel.