North Meath shape up for title
Following this 11-5 victory over title rivals Roscrea at the Grange on Sunday North Meath moved to within touching distance of the Leinster League Div 3 crown.
The home team started at a frantic pace and good pressure from scrum-half Conor Grey and a turnover from Kevin Dowds gave North Meath an early penalty which fly-half Ben Traynor duly slotted to put them 3-0 up.
However, North Meath’s confident start was halted when Roscrea’s fly-half spotted a mismatch in the back line and was able to break through a gap and score out wide to put the visitors ahead against the run of play.
North Meath continued to apply pressure with some strong carries from Andrew Dowds and Theo Chamberlayne-Daye, but untimely infringements kept letting Roscrea off the hook when pinned down in their own 22.
Similarly some promising moves sparked by centres Eanna Finn and Chris McCartan fell just short due to knock-ons and unforced errors.
However, a series of tap penalties eventually brought reward late in the half with Dennis Cannon emerging with the ball after a pile of North Meath forwards pushed their way over the line to make it 8-5 at the break.
If the first-half was tight, the second-half was even more miserly, yielding just three points.
With the high winds making both passing and kicking that much more difficult, the game became a forward battle.
Strong runs from Martin Giles and Michael Brogan helped North Meath gain some territory while the front row of Cormac Galligan, Jack Yore and Chamberlayne-Daye gave North Meath a big advantage at the scrum.
Indeed the scrum became North Meath’s most potent weapon as the half wore on leading to a penalty deep in Roscrea’s 22.
The ball was spun out wide to Mikey McNamee who was tackled just short, but he did well to keep the ball alive.
Roscrea were then forced to concede a penalty allowing Traynor to kick another three points and open up a six-point lead.
With the game effectively serving as a title decider, both teams were pushing for the result they needed.
Roscrea were looking for a converted try to win the game while North Meath were seeking one more score of any kind to deny Roscrea a losing bonus point and to secure the league title.
Replacements Cormac Donegan and Eric Szymanski came on for North Meath to keep the pressure on and, in the end, the home team’s defence stood firm.
The result means that North Meath now need a point from their final game away at Clane on 3rd March to seal the title. They will travel with no shortage of confidence, but will also be wary of assuming that victory is assured.
North Meath - Joe Carry, Mikey McNamee, Eanna Finn, Chris McCartan, Adrian Sheridan, Ben Traynor, Conor Grey, Theo Chamberlayne-Daye, Cormac Galligan, Jack Yore, Martin Giles, Michael Brogan, Dennis Cannon, Kevin Dowds, Andrew Dowds. Subs - Eric Szymanski, Cormac Donegan, Colm McDonagh, Aaron Colgan, Andy Monaghan.