High-flying Co Cavan make it six wins from six

Following a few wins on the road in the past few weeks, Cavan’s first 15 were glad to be back at home to face a Derry side which have been performing consistently well since the beginning of the league campaign. Poor weather conditions were always going to dictate the type of game that would be displayed as ball handling and accurate passing would be crucial if either side was to claim victory. Cavan started brightly in the first 10 minutes after enjoying the most possession and through good line-out work from Pauric Keogh and Shane McCormick, Cavan edged their way close to the Derry try-line. Following a penalty offence Cavan scrum half Salesi Tuipolotu was quick to tap and go himself and managed to shrug off three tackles and touch down for Cavan to lead 5-0. Ciaran Crowe stepped up to slot over a difficult conversion kick in fierce weather conditions to edge Cavan further ahead. Cavan forwards continued to display excellent scrummaging which has been crucial in giving Cavan backs some solid go-forward ball. As the half continued, Cavan remained dominant in the set-pieces and open play. Cavan’s outside centre Lorcan Mulvey was a constant threat and carved up the Derry defence on numerous occasions and was well-supported in the rucks by number eight Gary Browne and Gary Gillesspie. Just before half-time Derry began to grow into the game and showed why they are league contenders when their forwards cleverly reverted to good basic forward rugby as they picked and drove and kept the ball tight and were rewarded for their efforts after some poor indiscipline resulted in a converted penalty, leaving the score 10-3 at half time. The second half began with no change in weather conditions and Derry held possession for majority of the first 15 minutes. Excellent defense from David Beattie and Myles O’Reilly in open play constantly frustrated the away team as the home side were not willing to throw away their early lead. When Cavan forwards gained possession of the ball there was some excellent line breaks as Man of the Match Gary Gillespie was a constant thorn in the side of the Derry forwards. Adverse weather conditions meant continued breaks in play, but Cavan forwards particularly Gerard Mulligan held up well in the scrummaging as on many occasions Cavan turned over Derry ball. A lapse in concentration from the Cavan backs resulted in a penalty being awarded to Derry which their outhalf easily slotted over to narrow the margin. Although Derry continued to enjoy possession on many ocassions they chose to kick back at Cavan rather than run at them. Garreth Corrigan displayed excellent handling skills and repeatedly counter-attacked from inside his own half and linked up well with wingers Neil McCann and Steven Ivers. Robert Beattie, demonstrating huge commitment whilst playing through an injury, managed to put in some thunderous tackles on Derry’s ball carriers. Equally in the Cavan back line Darren Smith tackled constantly on the attack, displayed good passing skills and linked up well with fellow centre Lorcan Mulvey. Against the run of play the opposition’s outhalf attempted a drop goal just inside the Cavan half, which clearly appeared to players and supporters alike to have dropped short of the cross bar however, the referee deemed it to be a score and in the last 10 minutes of the game grew in intensity. In Cavan’s last few games they have showed a lapse in concentration in the closing moments of games however, on this occasion Cavan were determined to hold out and get the win. This came in the last two minutes when once again Lorcan Mulvey received the ball just inside the Derry half following some excellent forward play, Lorcan side stepped and shrugged off two tacklers to touch down and put the result beyond doubt. This now means six wins in six games from Cavan and this Saturday sees them at home to Belfast’s Civil Service, where they will look to improve on certain parts of their game and continue their unbeaten run.