Co Cavan edge out rivals in derby.

Paul Fitzpatrick at Swellan Park Co Cavan's first string made it three from three in competitive action this season when they overcame a dogged and resilient Virginia side at Swellan Park last Saturday afternoon. Cavan tore into their opponents from the first whistle and were 5-0 up just three minutes in when a Shane McCormack break set up James Loughnane, who went over under the posts. Newcomer Gareth Corrigan tacked on the conversion but this would be the final score of what was a scrappy first half. Some poor handling by both sides contributed to a disappointing opening 40 minutes, during which both sides exerted pressure but neither came close to scoring, with Virginia arguably just shading matters territorially. The visitors' most potent weapon was their scrum - an area Cavan must work on if they are to continue their winning run - and their hard work consistently denied Cavan out-half Salesi Tu'ipolutu possession. Down 7-0 at the break, Virginia needed to up the ante and they pressed hard, with talented number eight Fintan O'Reilly causing serious problems for Cavan, although his discipline let him down on occasions. A break from well-known Gaelic footballer David Sheridan almost yielded a try but Cavan clung on well, with Robbie Beattie and Gareth Corrigan putting in some excellent tackles. Urged on by the home support, Cavan settled down and began to throw the ball around, with Tumaile Tasola - who showed slick footwork - and Steven Ivers coming into the game. A well-worked cross-field move resulted in full-back Dan Leddy going over for a superb try in the left corner on the 52-minute mark to make it 12-0 and Corrigan sent over a very difficult conversion to move the hosts, for whom Jonathan Jackson impressed in the line-out, further clear. Not to be outdone, Virginia hit back with Sheridan showing an impressive turn of pace to race clear almost the full length of the pitch before laying off for Gary McNally - whose accurate kicking from the hand was a feature of the game - to touch down. Matt McWeeney converted to cut the gap to seven and Virginia almost got back in for another, only for a fantastic last ditch tackle by Corrigan on Sheridan. The Drumlane man added a late penalty to round off the result, with both sides effectively reduced to 14 men after a Virginia player was sin-binned and Cavan's Justin Pilgrim was reduced to a bit-part role due to an ankle injury. CAVAN: Myles O'Reilly, Paul McCusker, Alan Brady, Jonathan Jackson, Martin Reilly, Garry Browne, Robbie Beattie, Shane McCormack, Steven Ivers, Salesi Tu'ipolutu, Justin Pilgrim, James Loughnane, Tumaile Tasola, Garetch Corrigan, Dan Leddy VIRGINIA: Damien Agasse, Sam McQuade, Gavin Gorman, Jim O'Connell, Andy O'Neill, Ben Gilmore, Breffni O'Reilly, Fintan O'Reilly, Sam Timmons, Gary McNally, Tony McLoughlin, Matt McWeeney, David Keoghan, David Sheridan, Keith O'Reilly • Virginia Under 17's had a hugely-impressive league win over Instonians last weekend. Minus the services of key man Kevin Mulvany, Virginia knuckled down and were full value for their 29-5 victory. Two tries from Man of the Match Jamie McDermott (who finished with a hat-trick) in the first half laid the foundation for this win, while Lewis Morris added a third to hand Virginia a healthy half-time lead.