Kilkenny end home league run with stunning win over Ashbourne

On a blustery afternoon in Foulkstown, Kilkenny Firsts delivered a hugely impressive 31–14 victory over old rivals Ashbourne in a crucial relegation battle in the Leinster League.

From the opening whistle, Kilkenny burst out of the traps at full throttle, setting the tone with high tempo and physical intent.

Despite early setbacks — losing wing forward Joe Murray to a blood injury and Tommy Murphy to a dislocated shoulder — the home side refused to lose momentum.

It was out-half Aidan McDonald who opened the scoring, slicing through the Ashbourne defence for the game’s first try.

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Scrum-half Aaron Askins added the extras to give Kilkenny a 7–0 lead and lift the Foulkstown crowd.

The Kilkenny scrum once again proved a solid platform, continuing its recent strong form despite the absence of injured prop Brian Howe.

Young Mark Power has stepped confidently into the starting role in recent weeks and impressed again at set-piece time.

Kilkenny’s second try followed after another sustained period of pressure, with Askins crossing the whitewash to extend the lead.

Although the conversion drifted wide, the Noresiders were firmly in control.

Harry Prineas, playing his final game in the black and white jersey, was a constant threat in both attack and defence, carrying aggressively and tackling tirelessly throughout.

The game threatened to turn midway through the first half when second row Wes Carter was shown a yellow card following a collision, and less than a minute later Josh Evans was also sent to the sin bin.

Reduced to 13 men and defending on their own five-metre line, Kilkenny produced one of the defining moments of the match.

In a superb display of collective defence, they held Ashbourne scoreless during the two-man disadvantage.

Kilkenny even managed to turn defence into attack, earning a penalty upfield, though Askins’ effort was pushed wide by the swirling wind.

Still, the hosts went into the break with a commanding advantage.

The second half began as the first had ended — with Kilkenny on the front foot.

Askins, who had switched to the wing during the opening half hour, grabbed his second try of the afternoon, though the difficult conversion attempt drifted off target in the heavy wind.

Ashbourne eventually responded with their first try of the contest to narrow the gap to 19–7, reminding Kilkenny that the job was far from done.

But any hopes of a comeback were extinguished in spectacular fashion.

From the restart, captain Garry Dunne rose highest to claim the ball and launched a powerful surge deep into Ashbourne territory before offloading to his back-row partner Prineas, who crossed for the bonus-point try.

The roar from the sidelines was matched by a visible sense of relief among players and management alike.

Askins this time made no mistake with the conversion, stretching the lead to 31–7.

Ashbourne managed a late consolation try to leave the final score at 31–14, but the outcome was never in doubt.

When the final whistle sounded, players, management, and supporters celebrated a thoroughly deserved and disciplined team performance.

Kilkenny now have one remaining Leinster League fixture, away to Carlow on March 1st, and with other results potentially falling in their favour, hopes are high that they can steer clear of relegation.