TARF SURVIVE THE GLOOM!
17/12/2007
Clontarf 17 Terenure 3



I can’t help feeling that this was a bonus point lost and with it a chance to go third in the league.
Any modern rugby game that manages to make it to half time with only one penalty scored needs a little investigation. It requires a multiple of ineptitude from various directions. Also, when you have a match where one side is dominating both territory and possession, as Clontarf did on Saturday, only to finish the half scoreless requires further probing. It would be simplistic to say that Terenure had a golden defensive day. They were committed and brave and made their tackles. Unfortunately, the vast majority of their tackles were made from offside positions which the referee failed to police at any stage in the game. I am not going to drone on about this except to say that marginally better positioning by the ref would have seen Phil Purdue score off the back of a scrum and perhaps a little latitude with advantage would have resulted in a try for Max R Mc D after Phil Howard was taken out on a kick ahead. As it was we didn’t help ourselves either and some of the handling was a let down. It took a superb blindside break at the start of the second half from man of the match Paul O’Donohoe to settle the side and the supporters, and when the pack then decided to negate the opposition tactics by mauling for two tries the game was safe. Even a bonus point was on the cards with the last surge up the right ending with a risky skip which went to ground rather than straight hands which surely would have seen Howard in at the corner. Oh boy, but is Howard quick or what? … I have to think that on either of the two occasions he was put free if he stayed wide he would have made the corner. One thing is certain, no one north of the Liffey is going to blame him for giving it a serious shot the next time. That is the winger’s prerogative …. fxxx the begrudgers, pin the old ears back and go for the corner!

So we are fourth or joint third on points, depending on your bias. Our next game is the Leddin Finance Senior League cup Final in the RDS at 3.00 pm on the 29th of December. 

On behalf of myself and my present wife, Mary, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a happy and prosperous Christmas.

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