CLONTARF SCRAPE PAST STUDENTS!
06/03/2006
UCD 16 Clontarf 20

I used to have this recurring nightmare…. Generally after a night of overindulgence… I bet some of you know what I mean… a slab of St Agur, bottle of Vintage Port, Carrs Biscuits and slices of granny smith …. Then straight to bed into a stupor….

In the dream I am pursued by a faceless, nameless ghoul ….. no matter where I run ..no matter how many turns I make the beast comes on , slowly , deliberately , apparently reading my every move and knowing my every route, until, eventually I am worn out, caught and cornered!....... Then the drooling beast moves in for the unspeakable coup de gras………AND I WAKE UP!

It took a long time to wake up on Saturday.

For long periods of the game ‘Tarf played like they were drugged. Possession was turned over through schoolboy errors, field position was squandered, and attacking opportunities were recklessly blown through lack of composure. Most of the ‘Tarf support watched this game through their fingers, like people at a public execution.

UCD will be wondering how they lost this game.

The fact is that while ‘Tarf left their usual attacking flair back on the Northside they did bring most of their defensive game and that sufficed for victory. Add some flashes of brilliance from Darragh O’Shea and you have it.

In a day of agonies ..here were the highlights:

9 mins…. UCD steal a ‘Tarf lineout and spread it right to left… Breffni O’Donnell stuffs his man in the tackle and Purdue steals the ball and bursts up the middle under the posts for a 7 pointer.

On 65 minutes we are losing 11 10 after we scored 1 penalty to 2 from UCD no 10 Hickey and a College try that started on their own 22 with a ‘Tarf error and ended with a mix up at a ‘Tarf lineout leading to a home score …. O’Shea fields a long defensive kick from Hickey and drops the sweetest, most timely drop goal from 2 yards inside the UCD half….. 11 13 Tarf!

From the restart ‘Tarf make a dog’s dinner of it and UCD set a maul that Blaney breaks blind from and scores untouched from 12 yards …… 16 13 UCD!

On 75 minutes Purdue cleaned up a creaking ‘Tarf scrum and the ball was moved right to left in the UCD half …… the ball arrived to Keane who, as usual, approached the crowded UCD defense like a bull in Pamplona and scored in the corner.
O’Shea added the glorious, crucial, conversion for a 4 point lead…. 16 20 Tarf!

UCD, forced to chase a try, piled on the pressure and forced ‘Tarf back. Carson was yellow carded after being judged, harshly, to have handled on the ground and the students went to the corner. ‘Tarf halted the maul and we went into scrum mode.
After interminable scrums, and great defence from Dave O’Brien, Anton O’Donnell was introduced to add a little ‘extra’…….. The resulting pressure forced the UCD front row up and after the third attempt the ref awarded ‘Tarf a penalty which Pete O’Brien kicked into Wicklow …… final whistle ! …….

The relief in the crowd was palpable …… I don’t think we are bad losers but to lose in this fashion would have been hard.

The post mortem would have been excruciating ……. Like the Committees during the ‘terror’ of post revolutionary France no one would have been free of blame …. knives in the night ….. tumbrels full of ashen faced condemned ….weeping widows ….. as I said …..A NIGHTMARE!!

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