Westport RFC book their ticket to the big cup dance again

COMING THROUGH Westport’s Adam Bourke takes on the Tuam defence during Sunday’s Connacht Junior Cup semi-final. Pic: Conor McKeown

SEMI-FINAL
Westport 33
Try: S Tobin, N O’Malley, K Corcoran,
K Hastings, L Scahill
Con: S Tobin (4)

Tuam 3
Pen: E Cosgrove

Daniel Carey
Carrowholly

SO Robbie Henshaw is leaving the Sportsground, and Westport are headed there.
On the day the Ireland international’s departure from Galway was confirmed, the Bulls set up an Easter Sunday date in the City of the Tribes. Their opposition in next month’s Connacht Junior Cup final won’t be known for a while, but the Division 1A table-toppers are exactly where they want to be right now.
It’ll be the Covies’ third successive decider, as they aim to become the first Mayo side since Ballinrobe in 1990/91 to win back-to-back cups.
“Breaking that duck last year and getting the win was massive for us,” coach JP Walsh told The Mayo News after Sunday’s semi-final victory over Tuam. “But ... we’ve learned a lot. We’re a lot smarter. Every game we play, every opposition, it doesn’t matter who they are ... We just have our heads right for games; we play the way we want to play. [We] don’t worry about anyone else.”
On a weekend when Ireland failed to turn territory into scores in Paris, Westport gave an object lesson in taking your chances. They were 12-0 up by the break, with out-half SeΡn Tobin going over for the first try (slightly left of centre) after 18 minutes, and then setting up Niall O’Malley to touch down for number two in the corner 15 minutes later.
Tobin added the conversion from his own try, though his touchline kick for the second was just off target. It was one of only two miscues from the number ten, who also missed a seventh-minute penalty.
Westport’s lineout and scrum were functioning well, and Dylan Carpenter was directing matters effectively from scrum-half. Eoin Cosgrove missed a Tuam penalty in first-half injury time (one of only two conceded in the opening period, Walsh noted with pride afterwards).
Word reached us at half-time that Arsenal had beaten Leicester thanks to a 95th-minute winner. We suspected no such late drama would be required in Carrowholly, but Tuam drew first blood in the second period. Having earlier spurned the chance of a shot at goal, Cosgrove popped one over from the left seven minutes after the restart.
But one felt a third Westport try would kill the game, and so it proved in the 56th minute. Carpenter fed the ball into the scrum in a promising position for the home side, and the ball was fed right, where centre Kevin Corcoran went over. Tobin added the extras, and did superbly five minutes later to field a high pass, make a half-break and pop the ball into the impressive Kevin Hastings, who went over for number four.
Tobin again did the needful from the tee, and both sides began to run their bench. The withdrawal of Westport’s David Keane (suspended for last year’s decider) prompted one wag to shout: “You’ll make the final this year, Dave!” The quick-witted Keane replied: “It’s not over yet!”
The Division 1B visitors lost second row John Fahy to a sin-binning with 15 minutes to go, and during that spell, Eoin Joyce and Kevin Hastings both went close before Westport replacement Liam Scahill touched down under the posts. Tobin claimed the last points of the day from the subsequent conversion.
 “We’ve three awful important league games and the Cawley Cup final now,” Walsh concluded. “We don’t just have 15 players. We’ve a good squad ... In fairness, Tuam played excellently in the second half, and they really put it up to us. But we just kept sticking to what we could do. They couldn‘t live with the pace and the power, and the scores started to come.”

Westport
D Keane; E Joyce, K Corcoran, D O’Malley, N O’Malley; S Tobin, D Carpenter; C Groden, J O’Connor, A Bourke; C Ryan, E Dunning; M Ryder, K Hastings, C Hastings.
Replacements: L Scahill, K Gill, C Jennings, M Dempsey, M Palamarczuk.

Tuam
D Burke; R Cosgrove, O Halion, A Atonio, A Tierney; E Cosgrove, B Dempsey; B Ruane, C Dempsey, P Cunningham; J Fahy, D Cunningham; B Ruane, S Burke, S O’Neill.
Replacements: TJ Kelly, E Kelly, W McDonagh, S Leo, J Coen.

Referee: R Clear