Sean as rugby player 3

Sean's under-14 'Player of the Year' trophy

Report on match played 23 October 2004

Enniskillen 24, Virginia 22

Virginia under-14s played the last of their pre-season friendlies in Enniskillen last Saturday, and were unlucky to lose after their best performance so far.

When Enniskillen’s out-half scored a try in the first minute, which was converted, it looked like being a bad afternoon for Virginia. However, their captain Sean O’Brien soon ran the ball almost to the Enniskillen line before being held up; his pack drove him over for a try. Niall McEnroe then went close to scoring after a strong run.

Several of the Virginia players were playing their first ever rugby match, and inexperience showed at times as tackles were missed, which led to another Enniskillen try. O’Brien then scored with a fine solo effort, to leave the score at 14–10 to Enniskillen at half-time.

After Enniskillen scored the first two tries of the second half, Virginia put them under intense pressure, which led to a third try for O’Brien and near misses from Mark Finnegan, Eoin McMahon and Owen Healy. When Virginia were awarded a penalty on Enniskillen’s 22-metre line, Barry Cooney tapped the ball to himself and barged through the cover for an excellent try, which Ultan Carolan converted with the last kick of the game.

VIRGINIA: Damien Brady, Barry Cooney, Ultan Carolan, Sean O’Connell, Niall McEnroe, Mark Finnegan, Kieran Wilson, Owen Healy, Sean O’Brien, Enda Brady, Conor Keating, Gabriel Sheridan, Eoin McMahon.