Longford Rugby Club win U-17 Leinster League title

Longford RFC . . . 36 Carlingford Knights . . . 17 

All the season’s hard work and commitment put in by the players and coaches of the Longford U17s squad led them to last weekend’s Leinster League Division 1 Final and it is well earned and deserved.

As is the case with all Finals this was going to be a tough contest and Longford were more than aware of the level they would have to perform at to come out on top against Carlingford Knights. 

Right from the kick off you could see the Longford lads were more than ready for the battle, driving the ball in hard, forcing Carlingford to commit numbers to the tackle and ruck. 

Carlingford were equally invested in the game and fought hard to stop the Longford lads’ progress up the field. Carlingford were quick in the rucks and managed a couple of steals to help relieve the early pressure. 

The play continued in the middle of the park with both sides holding great defensive lines and playing some great rugby. When it came to set pieces the Longford scrum was solid and they had the better of the Carlingford pack, out-powering them and holding strong. 

It was at the 10-minute mark when Longford’s efforts bore fruit. A  solid scrum from 22m out allowed scrum half Conor Clarke to push the ball out to 10 Joel Gyasi who made ground and passed out to centre Aiden Kelly who again made ground slipped a pass out to centre Conor Meadows who straightened up into the Carlingford defence and offloaded to wing David Osabuehien who powered over with 2 defenders around him for the first score of the game which was converted by Conor Clarke to put Longford into the lead 7-0. 

The restart was collected well but then a loose pass forward gave Carlingford a scrum just outside the Longford 22m giving them a platform to pressure the Longford line. 

The Longford defence held strong and big hits from flankers Ryan Egan and Brian Mulvihill dislodged the ball in the tackle and Conor Clarke kicked the ball down field giving chase with two Carlingford defenders, a second kick saw the ball roll into the Carlingford in goal whereby the closest of margins Carlingford touched the ball down. 

The drop out was collected well but a penalty given away at the ruck allowed Carlingford to escape their lines and make progress up the field. A further penalty saw Carlingford with a lineout on the Longford 5m line which they collected and drove to the line, great defence from all the lads keeping Carlingford out as they pressed from a yard out to get the score.

 Longford pulled lads across to keep Carlingford out and gave them no way to power over the line when, finally, Carlingford saw they had men over on the wing and passed the ball out to eventually go over for a try in the corner 7-5. 

The game was tough, tackling hard and a great spectacle for the crowd to watch. The game continued the same way at the same fast pace with both sides showing great skill, commitment, and strength, all of which you would expect in a Leinster League Final. 

Then from a turnover second row Krzysztof Mielczarek powered through 3 defenders and offloaded to Joel Gyasi who sprinted down the line evading tackles and defenders only to be pulled down a metre from the line but prop Aaron Walsh was on hand to grab the ball and dive over for a second score in the corner which was again converted by Conor Clarke stretching the lead back out to 14-5.

 The Longford lads were on top and in control of what was a hard battle, the defensive effort and line was dominant giving the opposition little chance to break or make gains. 

The restart was collected well by Carlingford giving them a chance to attack inside the Longford half but massive defensive efforts from John Waters saw him put the attackers down 3 times in a row with Diarmuid Hanly and JJ Reilly equally hard hitting to keep the opposition at bay. 

The sheer power and strength of the Longford defensive efforts stalled any progress Carlingford attempted and ultimately ended with a ball steal or a penalty for holding on. Then from a stolen ball by Daire Finnegan, Conor Clarke cleared the lines into touch inside the Carlingford half. 

The lineout ball was stolen by John Waters and gathered up by Brian Mulvihill who turned and drove deeper into the Carlingford half slipping a pass to Aiden Kelly who straightened and passed on to Conor Meadows who ran closer to the line again offloading to David Osabuehien who spun out of a tackle and forced his way over for his second try: 19-5. 

With the Longford lads in control their effort did not drop; they were committed to the task in hand and that was nothing less than a victory. 

Carlingford although behind did not drop their heads and kept fighting for every inch of the pitch they could gain but this was a tough ask against the Longford defence, even their attempted territory gains through kicks were thwarted by fullback Adam Dunworth who ably collected the ball and ran it back with pace. 

Then with only minutes remaining in the half a couple of minor ruck infringements allowed Carlingford back into the Longford 5m for a lineout. In what was almost a mirror of their earlier try Carlingford pressured the line with their forwards but were never going to break through as the determination and numbers kept them at bay.

 Passing the ball out quickly allowed the Carlingford backs to push into the corner with a man over on the wing for their second score and closing the half at 19-10 to Longford. 

The second half started in the same way with Longford kicking off and hitting the Carlingford player hard as he collected the ball forcing him back and piling on the pressure straight away. 

With this incessant pressure Carlingford lost possession to some great jackaling and Longford inside the 22m pressed forward with forwards and backs alike hitting the defensive line hard making small gains each time then the ball was thrown out wide to Aironas Andriuska who chipped through and chased but the Carlingford full back gathered the ball but had to take it back over the line and touch down giving Longford the 5m scrum. 

From the resultant scrum Daire Finnegan at Number 8 gathered the ball and took for the line, Ryan Egan ran in the next and Brian Mulvihill the next then Conor Clarke pushed it out and Aiden Kelly ran in hard the pressure and speed was never ending and then from the base of a ruck under the posts, Aaron Walsh popped up again to dive over for his second try of the game which was converted by Conor Clarke pushing the Longford lead out to 26-10. 

With the game under control and the fitness and strength of the Longford team showing they continued to dominate in defence and make good gains attacking. Carlingford were noticeably feeling the pressure and lost a player for an illegal tackle which certainly did not help their cause. 

But even with a man down they did not drop their heads and when allowed, which was infrequent, made some good ground only to be halted by the massive defensive efforts from all the Longford lads. 

As Longford moved into the Carlingford half Krzysztof Mielczarek powered through needing multiple tacklers to bring him down, the forwards rucked well and protected the ball with Carlingford finally illegally blocking the ball from coming out and giving away a penalty in front of the posts which Conor Clarke converted to move the lead out to 29-10. 

With the Carlingford side restored to 15 they made grounds into the Longford 22m, but the defence held well and turned over the ball despite the opposition’s best efforts. 

Unfortunately, a loose clearance kick gifted the ball back to the Carlingford lads and they ran in hard and with multiple drives eventually made the breakthrough to go over for a try which they converted 29-17.

 The restart, gathered by the Carlingford side, was thrown out wide and the winger set off down the line and looked to be free but a massive effort from Aiden Kelly saw him sprint across the pitch and put the winger into touch with a perfect tackle.

 The winger took a dislike to this effort from the Longford centre and threw the ball at him and was subsequently yellow carded for his actions putting Carlingford on the back foot again and down to 14 men. 

The penalty placed Longford back down into the opposition half and they continued to pile on the pressure and now with their eyes firmly set on silverware set about closing out the game. 

Another attacking ship through from Aironas Andriuska almost saw Aaron Walsh get his hat-trick, but the ball just ran out of play. 

The two Longford substitutes were introduced with 10 minutes to go when Cathal O’Reilly replaced Aironas Andriuska and Immanuel Aibangbee replaced David Osabuehien. 

Longford continued to dominate the game from now on in and the lads never faltered, piling on the pressure attacking at every opportunity. Another scrum inside the Carlingford half set up another attack with Daire Finnigan getting close, Brian Mulvihill next, Conor Meadows next then the ball out to Aiden Kelly to drive in then Ryan Egan with the final move seeing Aaron Walsh power over for his third try and putting the game well out of reach and Conor Clarke converting to put Longford ahead 36-17. 

With the game won neither side gave up, but Carlingford did lose their composure and saw them losing another player with a red card for dissent. With only a few minutes left Diarmuid Hanly took a hit to the head and had to leave the pitch after putting in a solid effort all day, replaced by Aironas Andriuska. 

The final few phases were in the middle of the park and Longford were dominant, their defensive effort and line was textbook all day and was certainly a massive contributor to their victory as the whistle blew and Longford became the 2025 Leinster League Division 1 champions. 

Congratulations to all involved in the Longford U17s success, this was a massive effort and well-deserved victory for the Lads and Coaches in what has been a fantastic season which is not over yet as this game was a “Double Header” for the Leinster Plate Semi-Final and the Longford lads now go on to face Edenderry in the Final.

LONGFORD: 1. JJ Reilly, 2. Aaron Walsh, 3. Diarmuid Hanly, 4. Krzysztof Mielczarek, 5. John Waters, 6. Ryan Egan, 7. Brian Mulvihill, 8. Daire Finnegan, 9. Conor Clarke,10. Joel Gyasi,11. David Osabuehien,12. Aiden Kelly,13. Conor Meadows,14. Aironas Andriuska,15. Adam Dunworth,16. Cathal O’Reilly,17. Immanuel Aibangbee.