By Daire Walsh

A strong opening half performance set the foundations for Mullingar at Donnybrook on Monday afternoon, as the Westmeath club claimed the McAuley U15 Cup with 12 points to spare over a determined Tullow.

The Barrowsiders kept the victors on their toes for much of the second period – a 38th minute try from replacement Ryan Dobbs reduced their deficit to ten points (22-12) – but with hooker Taylor Daly and inside centre Eoin Commins brilliantly leading their charge, Mullingar were deserving winners on the day.

In a dress rehearsal to this decider, Mullingar and Tullow faced each other last Saturday (April 26), with the former emerging victorious on a scoreline of 32-19.

Another high-scoring affair was expected when the two teams renewed acquaintances for the second time in the space of nine days and in a very intense beginning to the contest, Jonny Butler’s side were attacking Tullow with ferocious intensity.

Although strong defensive work by Cillian Redmond and Bill Eustace was keeping them at bay, it seemed like only a matter of time before the Tullow line was finally breached.

And do it proved after a well-worked move across the opposition line inevitably led to an opening score for Mullingar on the stroke of ten minutes and it was flamboyant centre Alexandru Dinu who found room to break over on the left side. Out-half Mikie Mullen’s bonus effort drifted past the near post, but this only provided brief respite for Tullow.

A strong drive on the right-flank by the Mullingar pack almost produced a second try and just four minutes after the deadlock was broken, left-wing Sean Whelehan applied the finishing touches to a sweeping passage inside the Tullow ’22’.

The Carlow boys were struggling to cope with the pace and power of their impressive opponents and with Mullingar in rampant form, it came as no surprise when another five-pointer followed moments later.

It was the industrious Daly who added his name to the scoresheet on this occasion by racing underneath the posts at the end of a run from deep and with Mullen adding a conversion for the first time in the game, Mullingar had opened up a considerable 17-point cushion.

Even at this relatively early stage, there were a number of ominous signs for Tullow, but they did give themselves a fighting chance courtesy of a superbly-manufactured try in the right-corner by the speedy Robert Gahan.

This looked like being a confidence-building score for John Rogers’ outfit and approaching the mid-way point, they were threatening to add even further to their tally. Mullingar held firm in defence during this juncture and on the half-hour mark their defensive effort was further rewarded when number eight Dylan Hunt dotted down for an unconverted try.

As a result, Mullingar brought a 22-5 buffer into the interval and a strong start was needed from Tullow upon the resumption if they were going to forge a dramatic fightback.

To their credit a powerful burst over the line by the bustling Dobbs did add a new lease of life to their challenge just eight minutes into the half and thanks to a routine bonus attempt from back-row Darragh Murphy, there was some cause for concern amongst the Mullingar camp.

A 41st minute penalty just inside enemy territory raised the possibility of Tullow cutting their arrears to seven but despite unleashing a firm strike of the ball, it was ultimately just out of Murphy’s range. Yet, this missed opportunity failed to concern Murphy and his team-mates, who continued to put Mullingar on the back-foot moving into the final-quarter.

In stark contrast to a devastating opening 30 minutes, Mullingar’s attacking options were limited after the restart, but it is here that their defensive credentials were counted. They managed to shackle the Tullow attack before securing the game’s decisive score seven minutes from the end. Full-back Joe Moran was the architect for his own try in this instance and his break-away score (easily converted by Mullen) helped to restore their half-time lead in the process.

This effectively put the tie beyond Tullow’s reach, but although Mullingar were not to be denied a well-earned triumph, scrum-half David Tobin did cross the whitewash for a much-deserved consolation try on 57 minutes, as the Carlow club left south Dublin with their heads held high.

MULLINGAR SCORERS: A. Dinu (try), S. Whelehan (try), T. Daly (try), D. Hunt (try), J. Moran (try), M. Mullen (two conversions).

TULLOW SCORERS: R. Gahan (try), R. Dobbs (try), D. Tobin (try), D. Murphy (one conversion).

MULLINGAR: Joe Moran; Cillian Fagan Eardley, Alexandru Dinu, Eoin Commins CAPTAIN, Sean Whelehan; Mikie Mullen, Sean Rock; Brian McHugh, Taylor Daly, Oisin Fitzgerald; Alex Quinn, Jamie Fitzgerald; William Ashmore, Aleksa Mitic, Dylan Hunt.

Replacements: Stephen Sheridan, Padraig Heffernan, Eric Fitzpatrick, Daniael Fazekas, Rian Kelleher, James Bannon, Emmet Farrell, Joran Coll, Matthew Doyle, Dean Thornton.

TULLOW: Cillian Redmond; Robert Gahan, Dean Cassells, Bill Eustace, Shane Birmingham; Garrett Fitzgerald Rogers, David Tobin; Colm Moran, Jim Sharry, Charlie Ward; Jack McDonald CAPTAIN, Keane Doyle; James Curry, Jay Leonard, Darragh Murphy.

Replacements: Conor Murphy, Ryan Dobbs, Cian O’Connor, Emmet Coleman, Padraic Roche, Dean Hennessey, Barry Hickey, Francis Whelan, Keelan Cunningham, Matthew Mulhall.

Referee: Willie Murphy.