The Dundalk U9s hosted both Boyne and Bective on Sunday morning at the Rugby Club. In total, there were eight teams present so there was plenty of matches for all the eager players present.
The Black Sharks kicked off their day with a bruising encounter with Bective. Rory Wallace and Oisin Nash set the tone with some crunching tackles whereas David Coyle and Oran Rafferty finished off some moves with well taken tries but Dundalk lost by the odd try. They really upped their performance levels in the second game against Boyne with Michael Carroll leading the way with some fantastic tackling. Darragh Collier and Jake Kenny were the main benefactors as they both notched a couple of tries each as Dundalk won the match by a few tries. The lads played another Boyne team in their final match and they definitely saved the best until last with a superlative performance. Adam McCoy was unstoppable in this match, scoring a hat-trick of tries. Theo Connolly and Euan McArdle linked the play together brilliantly with some incisive passing but try of the game went to Luke O Connell who outsprinted the entire Boyne defence for a wonderful individual try.
Black Sharks: Michael Carroll, Jake Kenny, Adam McCoy, Darragh Collier, Rory Wallace, Oran Rafferty, David Coyle, Theo Connolly, Luke O Connell, Ewan McArdle, Oisin Nash.
The White Sharks commenced their day’s business with a very competitive joust with Boyne. Conal Mullins and Cian McGuiness led the way with some really surging runs whereas Liam and Thomas McNamara repelled countless Boyne attacks with some fine tackling. An unlucky lapse of concentration allowed Boyne to nick the game at the death. The Sharks were determined to make up for this and they certainly did in their second match against Bective. Oisin McBride and Jacob Dunlevy were absolutely sensational with their direct running leading to many tries. Bective tried to mount a challenge but were met head on by Donal Lavery and Keelan Carroll with Donal in particular making one unbelievable try saving tackle in the corner. Boyne again provided the opposition for the Sharks last game and this one ended in a very entertaining draw. Tom Cunniffe and Ash Robinson were the attacking stars of this game whereas Eoin Purton was his normal disruptive self at the breakdown.
White Sharks: Oisin McBride, Ash Robinson, Jacob Dunlevy, Cian McGuiness, Thomas McNamara, Liam McNamara, Eoin Purton, Tom Cunniffe, Conal Mullins, Donal Lavery, Keelan Carroll.
Boyne were the first team up to test the Grey Sharks. A slow start resulted in the lads chasing the game but some great running from Max Valentine and Andrew McKay hauled Dundalk back into it. The game was in the balance right up to the end when Liam O Connor scored a brilliant try to ensure a well earned draw. A physically bigger Bective team stood in the Sharks way for their next game but the lads really reveled in the challenge. Iarlaith Connolly and Josh Spaight led the tackle count with some great hits. Bective could not cope with the passing interplay of Dundalk which culminated in Daniel Cartwright and Ewan Kelly posting two tries apiece. Some outstanding aggressive defence by Ryan Martin ensured Dundalk chalked up another win. The final match pitted the Sharks against Boyne again. This match proved to be a real crowd pleaser as attack was the order of the day. Thomas McCourt and Eamon Donnelly bamboozled the Boyne defence on countless occasions with fine play. Boyne hit back themselves with good scores but DD Reilly sealed the win with a wonderful individual try where he zig-zageged around almost the entire Boyne team.
Grey Sharks: Ewan Kelly, DD Reilly, Josh Spaight, Iarlaith Connolly, Liam O Connor, Ryan Martin, Daniel Cartwright, Eamon Donnelly, Thomas McCourt, Andrew McKay, Max Valentine
