Westport march into league final after dominant win over Ballinrobe

CONNACHT J1B LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL

Westport 43

Ballinrobe 7

In Westport

THIS was a dominant victory for the 'Bulls' in a one-sided Mayo rugby derby. They booked their ticket for the league final in impressive fashion.

In the second half in particular, Westport played some magnificent rugby. Powerful carries, pace, direct lines, offloads, great teamwork and outstanding individual plays.

The big crowd in Carrowholly was treated to good quality rugby despite the fact that persistent rain had turned the grass pitch into a muddy landscape.  

Wing Conor Calvey caught the eye with his blistering speed and lethal footwork. His dances on the wing were reminiscent of a certain French international called Louis Bielle-Biarrey.

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On several occasions Calvey managed to escape defenders in front of him and shrugged off tacklers, quickly shifting into fifth gear.

The Westport forward play squeezed the life out of Ballinrobe, who had come to Clew Bay after finishing fourth in the league table. They always knew it was going to be a tricky task against the best defence in the league on their home turf.

However, Ballinrobe had shown in the league, that they could beat Westport, getting the better of their Mayo rivals on a 25-23 scoreline.

On Sunday though, Westport's scrum won several penalties, and their forwards carried the ball more powerfully and more efficiently. 

Their collective work rate helped to make up for Cormac Lyons not being available. Lyons is usually a menace at the breakdown, winning turnovers almost for fun, but he was out injured for this semi-final.

On the other hand, Westport's backs were bolstered by the return of fly-half Stephen Loftus. His kicking game helped pin Ballinrobe back and Loftus wasn't shy to carry the ball himself into tackles.

Ballinrobe tried to put boot to the ball to win the territory game. Fly-half Dylan Keane sent many kicks high up into the air, for his speedy backs Eoghan Lynagh, Kevin Mullin and Thomas Morris to chase.

Centre Seán Mullins who usually works as the perfect wrecking ball, was mostly contained this time by ferocious Westport tackling.

The first half was mostly played between the two 22m lines, more or less in the middle third. Westport blew two excellent chances to score a try in the first 30 minutes. In fact, they did score one but the pass was rightly ruled forward.

After half an hour, Westport would reward themselves. After a Ballinrobe mistake, when they kicked a goal-line dropout straight into touch, Westport had a five meter scrum. 

The 'Bull's got a push on and eventually full-back Alan Masterson crashed over the whitewash. 

Then, just before half-time, Westport doubled the lead to 10-0. Ballinrobe's had just been shown a yellow card for a high tackle. 

Westport's Harry Sheridan broke through, and after a few patient phases, prop McLoughlin touched down for the second try. 

Early in the second half, Westport produced some magic only two minutes after the restart. Conor Calvey launched one his irresistible runs on the wing, plunging Ballinrobe's defensive structure into disarray.

Fly-half Loftus received the ball and stormed through a gap, two quick hand passes later, full-back Masterson was through unopposed to score his second try of the day.

Ballinrobe just couldn't find a foothold in the game at that stage. Merely a few minutes later, Harry Sheridan showed how much of a force of nature he can be, running a straight hard line, he sprinted around a couple of defenders to fly through the sticks for Westport's fourth try. 

Ballinrobe to their credit worked their way up the field and were rewarded with their first try by Jack O'Toole before they threatened Westport's defence again.

The home team had the ball five meters out from their own try line. But instead of hoofing the oval down the pitch, they decided to run it. Sheridan drew a defender, passed outside to Calvey and he just took off, unstoppable, on a 70 metre run. When Calvey was eventually brought to the ground, he offloaded it to Sheridan, who had followed him down the wing, and he was through to score the fifth try for Westport.

Ballinrobe were beaten. Unfortunately for them, Westport's desire for points wasn't satisfied. Sam Walsh and Caolan O'Brien added two further try to make it a comprehensive 43-7 win.

Westport now face Corinthians 2nds in the league final after they beat Sligo 2nds 52-5. The match will take place on Sunday, March 15 in the Dexcom Stadium, Galway.