It was Bank of Ireland Provincial Towns Cup weekend for the rugby clubs of Wexford.
And while Wanderers and New Ross were able to get wins on the board and advance to the next round, both Gorey and Enniscorthy were scuppered by the weather conditions in the south-east, with their games postponed.
Ciarán Prendergast was the New Ross hero up in Shay Murtagh Park, scoring 13 of side’s points as they ground out a 18-7 win against Mullingar to advance.
With the weather conditions deplorable, the visitors took the lead with an early penalty try, but it was cancelled out by the hosts.
Ross were playing strong rugby in the scrum and their line-out was working a charm to keep them on the front foot.
Prendergast went over and added a penalty before the break to see his side into a 15-7 lead at the interval.
With ‘Player of the Game’ James Ryan in fine fettle and the New Ross line defended superbly by Peter Waters, Seán Whelan and Alex Coyne, the visitors kept Mullingar scoreless in the second period.
The only score after the interval was a Prendergast penalty to bring his tally to 13 as New Ross advanced to the second round.
Joining them in the hat will be Wexford Wanderers, who had a powerful 30-19 success against Ashbourne.
Wexford fell behind to the opening try in the early stages but went on to dominate a good portion of the game thereafter.
Noah Oudemans went over to level the scores from a blocked kick clearance, and Wanderers went ahead with the extras.
Donal Buckley kicked a penalty to make it 10-5 to the visitors, and Wexford went into the interval ten points ahead thanks to Ruairí Fenlon’s try in the corner.
Wanderers continued to increase their advantage with a Buckley penalty after the restart.
A break by Fenlon allowed Richie Waters to score in the corner, and Wanderers added another try when Seán Kelly-Komolafe touched down after a nice kick to the corner by Fenlon to make it 30-5.
Ashbourne did come back into the contest late on and added a pair of converted tries to cut the deficit to eleven, but Wexford held on to take their spot in the second round.
Postponements also hit the women’s game, with the New Ross away game against Mullingar a victim of the weather in Division 1 of the Leinster League.
In Division 3, Edenderry won the battle at the top against South East Lions 25-12.
Bank of Ireland Provincial Towns Cup first round: Mullingar 7, New Ross 18; Ashbourne 19, Wexford Wanderers 30.
Bank of Ireland Schools Senior Girls Cup: St. David’s (Greystones) 21, St. Mary’s Secondary School (New Ross) 63.
Junior Schools friendly: New Ross CBS 15, Ramsgrange Community College 36.
WEDS. JAN. 29
Duff Shield (Junior): Wexford CBS v. St. Columba’s College, 2 p.m.
FRI. JAN. 31
Metro League – Premier B (8 p.m.): Enniscorthy v. Wanderers.
SUN. FEB. 2
Leinster League Division 1B (3 p.m.): Dundalk v. Gorey; Mullingar v. Wexford Wanderers.
Leinster League Division 2A (3 p.m.): New Ross v. Roscrea.
Seconds League (J2) Division 1B (1.30 p.m.): Dundalk v. Gorey; Mullingar v. Wexford Wanderers.
Seconds League (J2) Division 2A (1.30 p.m.): New Ross v. Roscrea.