CLONTARF BEAT SHANNON !
Author: Peter Walsh
2006-01-23
Clontarf 32 Shannon 18


Well ….. I don’t really know where to start.

Prior to this season I spent 10 years managing Clontarf sides from J2 upwards. I can safely say I have never seen a performance from a Clontarf side to match last Saturday’s demolition of Shannon.
For the record Shannon trooped out at 2.25 pm as current champions, unbeaten league leaders after 8 games and boasting the meanest defensive record in the league with 67 points conceded.
That’s just over 8 points conceded per game.
90 minutes later they stood and applauded their former scrum half as he led in the Clontarf side whose respect for the Champions achievements this season lasted for about 4 minutes of this fixture. That’s as long as it took for Gissing to score after ‘Tarf had recycled quickly in the Shannon 22 after a blistering start.
Delaney made it 5 3 with a penalty and from the ensuing kick off Shannon powered into the home 22 again. This time, however, the ball was turned over and Fiach O’Loughlin seeing his route to O’Brien blocked threw an outrageous dummy and made 15 yards. A quick recycle gave O’Brien room and with everyone in the ground expecting a relieving kick the out half decided to define the day by gunning it wide to Hewitt who flew off down the field. A quick exchange of passes with Keane dealt with the shredded defence and a flip inside to O’Brien finished the score. Delaney again added a penalty for 10 6.
10 minutes later full back O’Shea joined the line and drifted the defence right before ladling a reverse pass to winger Niall O’Brien. He glided into the gap, stood up the cover defence, and hit the turbo button….. Try under the posts.
O’Shea converted for 17 6 and some senior members on the sideline were starting to spontaneously combust !!
Just before halftime ‘Tarf scored again for the bonus point …….. 4 tries in the first half ……against SHANNON! ……………. I was at the pre match lunch …… there must have been LSD in the parsley sauce!!
10 minutes into the second half ‘chops’ Sweeney got in on the act. I suspect Jill (Caterer) may have opened the kitchen door and allowed the aroma of bacon waft down the pitch because ‘Chopper’ took off down the right wing towards the pavilion like a stung bull, sucking in defenders in his wake. The following ruck was like a Serbian ambush with Shannon bodies everywhere. Trenier took it on hard round the side sucking more in, Coetzer took it on sucking in the rest so when the ball went left there were at least 4 Clontarf players unmarked, with enough time to autograph the ball before Breffni O’Donnell scored. O’Shea nailed a superb conversion from the sideline for 29 6 and Shannon’s run was well and truly over.
They did manage two scores; one a solid pushover while Ellison was in the bin and one at the death.
Sandwiched between them was an outstanding 40 yard drop goal from Pete O’Brien.
…………… Jeez we’d be a good side if we had a 10 !!
In retrospect the day was dominated by the Clontarf halves. Their Dublin adventure has seen the two Munster men.sharing a flat and benefiting from the telepathy that occurs when two hungry dudes are sharing a fridge. I suspect that if Pete was hiding in the cricket club hedge Fiach could still hit him on the nose with the ball.

It was a fantastic day, a big crowd, and a great performance against the champions. In dreams all great victories are against the odds: uphill battles against implacable foes. The Clontarf joy at the performance and the result is ,therefore, a direct and genuine compliment to Shannon and the standards they have set. Great victories are only achieved against great clubs. We have no doubt that Shannon will be waiting for our next meeting !……… In the meantime next week they have Blackrock in Thomond….. and we have Garryowen in Dooradoyle.

Aren’t we happy to be us?

P.S. No game for the J1’s this weekend so I spotted O’Sugarcane sipping a Pimms with his flaky mates from the shallow end of the gene pool. I’m not surprised that he would be leading the knacker drinking!!

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