Bann Under 14s come of age with a superb win

The first half saw both teams try to move the ball wide quickly. Poor handling prevented Bann from taking an early lead but in the 11th minute a break by out-half and skipper Sam Kidd saw him off-load to centre Dara Havern whose try just to the right of the posts went unconverted.

The rest of the half saw Bann continue to attack the Monaghan line and only a combination of indecision, poor handling and good defensive work prevented the score from remaining 5-0 at the break.

In the second half both teams continued to play running rugby but came up short through good defensive work.

Bann scored their second try after 39 minutes when a Monaghan defensive kick was gathered by Bann full back Ryan Cookson who skipped past four defenders to score in the corner.

This was magnificently converted by Kidd.

Thereafter Bann tried hard to increase the score but again anxious handling prevented this.

As the final whistle sounded, the Bann Squad celebrated a very well deserved victory with gusto.

Head coach Noel Irwin was delighted to get the win.

“It was really good to see the benefit of all the hard work the squad have put into training during the past number of weeks”, he said.

“Our rucking was superb, set pieces well completed and our running with ball in hand as good as it’s been all season.

“Congratulations go to our three debutants - James Clarke, Josh Bailie and Louie Magill - who made fantastic contributions during their time on the pitch. Seanie Hoskins had his best game at scrum half, Ryan Cookson continues to improve with every appearance and our back row of Daniel Wilson, Ethan Parks and Rory McCaffrey continue to gel well in every game.”

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