Under 14 Hurling - Rice Cup

The under-14 hurlers of Wexford CBS made the lengthy trip to Tipp last Wednesday to participate in the annual Rice Cup tournament for Christian Brother Schools. The tournament is run on a blitz format (15 minutes per half) that includes 20 schools over four days in Dr. Morris Park in the shadow of Semple Stadium.
Round 1: Wexford CBS 2-4 North Monastery (Cork) 2-2
CBS trailed by 2-2 to 1-1 at the interval and just on half-time conceded as bizarre goal as will be seen anywhere. Full-back Kevin Corrigan shepparded a harmless ball over the endline and tapped it back to his goalkeeper Adam Howlin. The ball crossed the line as Howlin changed hurls for the puck-out and the referees amazingly insisted on the goal being recorded for the famous Cork school.
Jordan Hayes availed of a tidy pass from Kristian Bunici midway through the first half and lashed to the net and Cody Murphy added a point but North Mon had registered 1-2 and were leading by the smallest margin going into the break before their extraordinary second goal.
Undeterred, CBS showed tremendous spirit to turn the game around. Kevin Corrigan was moved from full-back to attack and the defence tightened up to keep their opponents scoreless.
Jordan Hayes and Corrigan grabbed points and Corrigan’s late goal following a super catch pushed the Wexford students back in front and CBS wrapped up the scoring in the final minute with a point after a flowing move involving Noel O’Brien and Cathal Kirwan before Jordan Hayes split the posts.
Wexford CBS: Adam Howlin (Shelmaliers); Aaron Smythe (Volunteers), Kevin Corrigan (Blackwater, 1-1), Danny Walsh (Faythe Harriers); Nicky Kelly (Faythe Harriers, Capt.), Shane Pierce (Shelmaliers), Shane Flood (Glynn-Barntown); Jack O’Leary (Volunteers), Cormac Byrne (Faythe Harriers); Cody Murphy (Blackwater, 0-1), Cathal Kirwan (Faythe Harriers), Philip Rawson (St. Anne’s); Kristian Bunici (Faythe Harriers), Jordan Hayes (St. Martin’s, 1-2), Terry Whitty (Faythe Harriers).
Subs: Noel O’Brien (Faythe Harriers) for Bunici, Jack Haughton (Faythe Harriers) for Whitty, Cian Rossiter (Volunteers) for Murphy.
Round 2: Thurles CBS 0-9 Wexford CBS 1-1
Thurles CBS rested some of their big guns for this clash but still had too much guile and skill for a determined Wexford CBS.
Kevin Corrigan started in attack and scored an excellent first half goal when he cut in along the endline and flashed the ball to the net. At the other end, the Tipp boys were racking up the points and keeping Adam Howlin very busy in the goal.
The second half followed a similar fashion. The CBS forwards found it difficult to get scores and the only point came from Cormac Byrne after a delivery from Philip Rawson. This was a tough and tight game but the Thurles students were too strong.
Wexford CBS: Adam Howlin; Philip Rawson, Aaron Smythe, Danny Walsh; Shane Flood, Shane Pierce, Nicky Kelly (Capt.); Jack O’Leary, Cormac Byrne (0-1); Cian Rossiter, Cathal Kirwan, Jack Haughton; Noel O’Brien, Kevin Corrigan (1-0), Jordan Hayes.
Subs: Chris Cowman (Shelmaliers) for Rossiter, Aaron Walsh (Glynn-Barntown) for Haughton, Ryan McLoughlin (St. Mary’s Rosslare) for Hayes.
Round 3: Blackwater CBS (Waterford) 3-7 Wexford CBS 1-2
The Blackwater students got off to a great start and had two early goals following some hesitation in the Wexford defence. By half-time the score was 3-6 to 1-1 and Blackwater were out of sight.
The Wexford lads improved their application dramatically in the second half and both sides registered just one point.
Wexford CBS: Adam Howlin; Philip Rawson, Aaron Smythe, Danny Walsh; Cian Rossiter, Shane Pierce, Nicky Kelly (Capt.); Jack O’Leary, Cody Murphy; Kevin Corrigan (0-1), Cormac Byrne (0-1), Cathal Kirwan; Noel O’Brien, Jordan Hayes (1-0), Ben McMahon (Volunteers).
Subs: Eoghan Mahon (Volunteers) for O’Brien, Ryan Dempsey (Faythe Harriers) for McMahon, Terry Whitty for Murphy.
Round 4: Kilkenny CBS 2-5 Wexford CBS 1-5
Like Thurles CBS, Kilkenny CBS left their big-hitters on the line in this final round match. Kilkenny got the better start and were 1-2 to nil up after five minutes. However, Kevin Corrigan dragged CBS back into the match with two points and Terry Whitty grabbed another after good work by Jack O’Leary.
It was 1-2 to 0-3 at the break and new half was just as tight. Cormac Byrne availed of a nice passing move between Jack O’Leary and Terry Whitty to lash the ball to the net but the Kilkenny students responded with a goal of their own.
Jack O’Leary and Terry Whitty added points for the Boker boys but Kilkenny had a cushion and ran out winners by three points.
Wexford CBS: Adam Howlin; Chris Cowman, Aaron Smythe, Danny Walsh; Cody Murphy, Shane Pierce, Philip Rawson; Jack O’Leary (0-1), Nicky Kelly (Capt.); Jordan Hayes, Kevin Corrigan (0-2 1 free, 1 ’65), Terry Whitty (0-2); Finian Coughlan (Volunteers), Ryan Dempsey, Ben McMahon.
Subs: Cian Rossiter for Kelly, Cormac Byrne (1-0) for Coughlan, Jack Haughton for Dempsey, Eoghan Mahon for McMahon.