Newbridge dig deep to defeat North Kildare in thrilling clash

Newbridge 31 - 24 North Kildare

Newbridge and North Kildare played out an exhilarating contest in Rosetown on Saturday in near-perfect conditions, with the home side edging a dramatic late victory in a game that swung repeatedly in momentum.

North Kildare arrived having won the reverse fixture earlier in the season, and once again the sides proved closely matched. However, it was Newbridge who burst out of the blocks and had the visitors under immediate pressure. That early dominance told when North Kildare winger Jack Garland was shown a yellow card for illegally stopping what looked a certain try.

From the resulting lineout, Newbridge went close before number eight Shane Treacy powered over for the opening score. John O’Brien added the conversion to make it 7–0.

A Newbridge scrum inside their own half was shifted quickly to midfield, and slick handling put Darragh Whyte into space. Drawing the final defender, he released Zack Meehan, who raced in at the corner. O’Brien’s excellent conversion extended the lead to 14–0 after just 15 minutes.

North Kildare responded well and began to use their impressive backline to good effect. Garland made amends for his earlier yellow by finishing well in the corner, and an outstanding conversion cut the deficit to seven points.

Newbridge replied almost immediately. A clever blindside move from a scrum created space for Stephen Cooke to finish in the corner, with O’Brien again nailing a difficult kick to restore a 14-point cushion.

The visitors refused to go away, and on the opposite wing Patrick Casey finished a fine move, with out-half Dylan Morrow converting superbly to leave the score at 21–14.

North Kildare continued to apply pressure, but resolute Newbridge defence ensured the hosts took that advantage into the break.

The tide turned early in the second half as Morrow kicked a penalty to reduce the margin to four, before North Kildare struck again through full-back Christopher Sheils, who crossed to give the visitors their first lead of the game at 24–21.
Newbridge struggled to gain a foothold as North Kildare grew in confidence, and matters were made more difficult when O’Brien was shown a yellow card with 15 minutes remaining. The home side, however, dug deep and were rewarded with a penalty just as O’Brien returned to the field. He made no mistake to level the scores at 24–24 with just two minutes left.

From the restart, Newbridge showed real composure. The ball was moved through the hands, with centre James Parkinson linking with substitute Jamie Smith, who broke clear before releasing Riain Murphy out wide. Murphy showed pace and poise to finish from over 40 yards, sealing a memorable victory.

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O’Brien again delivered under pressure, adding the conversion. It was an outstanding home performance from Newbridge against a high-quality North Kildare side.

Attention now turns to the Home Towns Cup, with Clondalkin visiting Rosetown this coming Sunday.

Newbridge: 1. David Morgan, 2. William Jennings (vc), 3. Brendan Commane, 4. Steven McElligott, 5. Jack Moore, 6. Cameron English, 7. Denis Clarke (c), 8. Shane Treacy, 9. Robert Waters, 10. John O’Brien, 11. Zack Meehan, 12. James Parkinson, 13. Riain Murphy, 14. Stephen Cooke, 15. Darragh Whyte, 16. Aaron Donnelly, 17. Max McLoughlin, 18. Chris Leech, 19. Jamie Smith, 20. Fergal Doyle.