North Meath senior men got their season off to a winning start on Sunday with a five-try victory against Ratoath in the first round of the Jenkinson Cup.

The team were ahead from the early minutes and never looked back. Last year's player of the year Andy Dowds was the first to cross the tryline. This was followed by the rarer occurrence of a try by front-rower Padraic McGurl, his first in North Meath colours.

Coach Simon Deevy was also able to blood plenty of new players, including Sam Bashford and Curtis Hunter, both of whom got on the scoresheet. The final try was scored by Senan McDermott.

Other new players to feature included Johnny Lyons, Ben Wiseman, Luke and Andrew Kenny. Wiseman had an especially strong game but it was a returning veteran Paul Butler who got the coach's nod as man of the match.

The team is back playing as North Meath after last season's temporary amalgamation with Athboy and Deevy is looking forward to the season ahead and the prospect of promotion as well as a strong showing in the various cup competitions.

In a fortnight, North Meath will face Boyne in their next Jenkinson Cup game and their first home match of the season.

Tries: A Dowds; McGurl; Bashford; Hunter; S McDermott

Pen: Wiseman

Con: Wiseman