Navan shine on last home game of the season
Enniscorthy defeated in spirited display
Pride can be a great motivating force in sport. Pride in yourself, pride in your colleagues, pride in the team, pride in the jersey.
Navan, bottom of the table at the start of the day, had nothing but pride to play for in this AIL Div 2B game yet it was enough to motivate them to produce one of their most productive performances of the season.
Enough to help them secure their fourth victory in a league campaign, that has had a mixture of the good, bad and the downright disappointing.
This season has turned out to be a sharp learning curve for this reconstructed Navan team under coach Ryan Roberts with a raft of young players brought in. They showed in this encounter against a physically-imposing Enniscorthy side that they are learning fast - as they needed to do.
With the help of two tries from Mark Coen and one each from Johnny McKeown and Jeaic Timmons, as well as two penalites and three conversions from ever reliable place-kicker Tom Gavigan, Navan made it across the line.
Add in the fact that Navan had a more powerful scrum and the willingness of each and everyone of their players to graft like tigers, the home side were able to find the winning formula, something that earned them a warm reception indeed from their loyal band of supporters at the end.
The difference between the height and heft of the Enniscorthy side compared to their hosts, cannot be understated yet Navan made up for the shortfall by battling for everything. Their pride was at stake and they weren't found wanting.
Ahead by 20-15 at the break Navan produced some scintillating rugby at times. A perfect example of that could be seen midway through the opening half when a fine move, kick-started by a typically surging run by Ben McEntagart, ended with Mark Coen going over in the corner for the first of his two tries. The try was a product of imaginative, bold rugby, quick hands and even quicker minds.
Johnny McKeown soon after finished off a sweeping Navan move when the home side recycled the ball with purpose and tempo.
After the break Coen again put the finishing touches to a fine move with the ball again shifted sharply from player to player.
Later in the second-half Jeaic Timmons got his try when he smartly blocked down an attempted clearance by an Enniscorthy player from behind his own posts.
Unforced errors, some indiscipline, missed tackles at times cost Navan with Enniscorthy making hay by running in for four tries themselves scored by Conal Kervick, Tony Ryan, Tomas Stamp and James Doyle.
However this Navan side that included impressive youngsters such as Fionn Craik and Ben McCreary as well as seasoned campaigners like Eoin King, who has returned to the fray after a long absence, proved up to the task.
This was very much a team effort from the Navan players who showed real pride in the jersey on this their last home game of the season.
Navan - Shane Walshe, Will Finnegan, Ben McEntagart, Tom Gavigan, Mark Coen, Jeaic Timmons, Kit Waddington; Shane O'Connor, Fionn Craik, Gary Faulkner, Ben McCreary, Karolis Navickas, Jonathan McKeown, Michael Brady, Conor Farrell. Subs - Liam Carroll, Eoin King, Jordan Finney, Saul Nicholson, Mark Farrell.
Enniscorthy - Jack Kelly, Ivan Jacob, Nick Doyle, Shane Maguire, Rhyan Whelan, Conal Kervick, Fiachra Hourihane; Ori Lasisi, Davie Murphy, Scott O'Connor, Tomas Stamp, Timmy Morrissey, James Doyle, Lee Treacy, Tony Ryan. Subs - Isaac Kearney, Mikey McVeigh, Ben Kidd, Marco Byrne, Andrew Redmond.
Referee - Kevin Coffey.