Clontarf blast Ballymena
Author: Peter Walsh
2005-11-07
Clontarf 27 Ballymena 17

Clontarf stormed out of the blocks in Castle Ave on Saturday and blew Ballymena away with a stunning display of attacking rugby. Ballymena had no answers to the home sides pace and angles of running and by half time 'Tarf had four tries to Ballymena's one.
The Clontarf coach made some positional changes for this game which saw full back Peter O'Brien come in at 10 and Breffni O'Donnell come in beside him at 12. This put three Munster men at 9 , 10 and 12 and they fairly bristled with intent in that dramatic first half.Congrats to Peter O'Brien who capped his debut at 10 with a glorious score and put in some huge line kicks when required. At 13 Niall O'Brien was at his evasive best and capped his display with some very alert defensive work. Darragh O'Shea returned at Full Back and was bravery itself under some towering high balls. In the pack Niall Carson was everywhere in probably his most dynamic performance to date. Andy wood in the row gave one of his usual 100% performances ,driving his pack by example and with a few ferocious bollockings thrown in when concentration lapsed. The backrow performed extremely well with returned Irish Rugby league international Phil Purdue adding superb technique at the back of a twitchy scrum.
Clontarf are currently fourth after four games with 2 wins and 2 losses. They have earned 5 bonus points and scored 13 tries. For a team in transition this is a great performance by all involved and augers very well for the future.

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