Having progressed from a very tough semi final against Skerries, Clontarf U17s took to the field on Saturday 4th Ferbruary against Seapoint RFC. The final was hosted at a neutral venue – Coolmine RFC in wet and soggy conditions.

A bright start from Clontarf and a sustained 15 minutes or so of pressure in the opposition 22 failed to secure any score. Seapoint countered and earned a penalty kick within range. Their kicker failed to make it count and soon after ‘Tarf were out of the blocks with a superb try. Clontarf missed the conversion but added a penalty to make it 8-0 at half time.

The second half was as tough as the first but Clontarf’s No. 12 Harry Keeley added his second try on about 60 minutes. Winger come full back Conor Harty scored a superb third try for Clontarf with 10 minutes remaining.

It was one of those matches which was impossible to pick out a man of the match. The pack were immense. The backs were superb. Team: 1. Olivier Gillet, 2. Jack Hutchinson, 3. Tim Nieuwenhuizen, 4. Robert Cooley (C), 5. James McGauran, 6. James Doyle, 7. Charles Piquet, 8. Gareth Kyne, 9. Keith Boucher, 10. Mark White, 11. Eoin O’Connell, 12. Harry Keeley, 13. Sean McCullagh, 14. Mark Glennon, 15. Conor Harty, Subs: 16. Luke Scullion, 17. Enda Kelly, 18. Patrick Foley, 19.Daragh Irwin, 20. David O’Byrne, 21. Gavin Duff, 22. Ronan Duffy

Additional Squad Members: Duffy Sean, Condon David, Connolly Adam, Betsunaiedze Beka, Callanan Luke, Nazaruk Kamil, Arnold  Nicolas, Byrne Shane, Emile Prior, Whelan Darren, Trench Luke, Power Gary, Sweeney Bernard

Leinster League U13s

The U17 success was preceded two weeks earlier by the under 13s winning the Leinster League. The A team came through their programme unbeaten while the B team were pipped in the last game having had a clean sheet to that point. There are more than 70 boys spread across three squads at under 13 level (players born in 1999) in the club, the most Clontarf have ever had at that level.

What an odd start to a game. The ref had barely taken the starting whistle out of his mouth for a breath when he was blowing it again for the opening try to Dolphin who scored to the left of the posts after some weak alignment in the home defence. Out half Barry Keeshan failed with the conversion. Clontarf, stung by this impertinence, went one better with a surging maul for a score followed by a second try after Richie Lane pulled two defenders to the right and popped a lovely pass inside to Mick McGrath whose change of angle allowed him to stroll in untouched. So, three tries in seven minutes.

The game then settled into a pattern which was dominated by the sloppyness of the pitch which, having recently thawed, had a surface like a brick with a generous coating of butter icing. Clontarf added another mauled try which Lane converted brilliantly from the touchline and Dolphin popped two penalties from Keeshan for 22 – 11 to Clontarf at half time.

In the second half Clontarf added a fourth try after multiple phases were rewarded with a penalty which was sent to the corner. In the ensuing drive Tarf lost control of the ball which shot out the back. Out Half Dufficy gathered it superbly and found McGrath coming on a surging support run from the wing. He barrelled across the posts and was stopped just on the line where Crawford was on hand to take advantage of quick ball for the score.

Dolphin then laid siege to the home line and were afforded scrum superiority by an untimely yellow card to the home side. They forced their advantage well and were awarded a penalty try followed pretty quickly by another after multiple phases in the Tarf 22. Thankfully Richie Lane was on hand to pop over a calming penalty which pushed Clontarf to the finish. Actually, now that I think of it, Richie Lane is doing more for the stressed heart valves in Clontarf than Lipitor. On Saturday he was calmness personified as he has been in quite a number of games. It must be a sickener for the opposition to see him standing over the ball. Just like an undertaker in the A and E department he just isn’t good news .

And its not just the the solid kicking stats, it’s the timing; Richie has the knack of landing the critical kicks, the ones that put you two scores ahead, that relieve the pressure, that slip the knife into the opposition’s ribs , beautiful …… typical Corkman!

So we take our win and we move on to Anglesea Road next week to take on a wounded Old B. They are suffering at the moment but are still the champions.

Let’s get this out of the way first: it wasn’t a penalty, never mind a yellow card. Ferris picked and drove his man back, rather than down. The key here is if the tackler lifts the player and either drives him into the dirt, or else dumps him without any attention to how he comes down. Ferris didn’t do either.

Bradley Davies on the other hand did exactly that. He picked up Donnacha Ryan – who did very well when he came on for Donncha O’Callaghan – flipped him over and then dropped him. Unlike the Ferris incident, it was dangerous. The mystery was how touch judge Dave Pearson didn’t recommend red to referee Wayne Barnes.

At the post-match press conference Warren Gatland was asked if he thought Davies was lucky to escape red. Normally coaches equivocate when put on the spot like this. Gatland dealt with it head-on. “Yes,” he said. Simple as that.

It was every bit as dangerous as the tackle that cut short Sam Warburton’s World Cup. Welsh fans will see it as apposite that the final act swung on an incident like this.

This will dominate the rugby media over the coming days, and it would be useful to have IRB refs manager Paddy O’Brien on hand rather than in Invercargill. Whatever, we have seen glaring inconsistency in how a health and safety issue – one that is supposed to be top of refs’ agendas – is being applied.

The debate is worth having but it shouldn’t be carried out in the context of how it cost Ireland the game. Ireland cost Ireland the game. Having played with 35% territory in the first half, they recovered to get into a winning position only to blow it in the last 10 minnutes.

Two things will linger. First there is the amount of space afforded the Welsh attack when it is already clear that they are very comfortable with ball in hand. Paul O’Connell accepted afterwards that conceding ground so easily hadn’t been a great idea. It should make for an interesting defensive debrief on Tuesday.

I remember during the World Cup game in Wellington, from our vantage point high in the stands, being impressed with the structure of the red shirts in phase play, how quickly they got shape on their attack, how they maintained depth and had good options depending on how Ireland were defending. It was exactly the same yesterday. So why give them so much room?

The second is how Ireland attacked. Unlike Wales, it only took a few phases for Ireland’s shape to suffer, at which point you felt that the ball could go anywhere, or to anyone, whether they wanted it or not. They were hugely reliant on the outstanding ball carrying of Jamie Heaslip for territory. And if he wasn’t breaking tackles then Ireland weren’t going forward. Given that making real improvement in attack was top of Declan Kidney’s to-do list, this was not good for business. In the absence of that shift in quality, Paris on Saturday could get ugly.

end

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ULSTER BANK LEAGUE RESULTS: Saturday, February 4
Ulster Bank League Results Service: Send UBL to 51444. To unsubscribe send the word STOP to 0876445950

DIVISION 1A:

LANSDOWNE 17 SHANNON 22, Aviva Stadium back pitch
Scorers: Lansdowne: Tries: John Cooney, Mark Roche, Ross McCarron; Con: Mark Roche
Shannon: Try: Stephen Keogh; Con: Tadhg Bennett; Pens: Tadhg Bennett 5
HT: Lansdowne 12 Shannon 16

BLACKROCK COLLEGE 18 OLD BELVEDERE 11, Stradbrook
Scorers: Blackrock College: Tries: Michael McKeever, Darragh Fitzpatrick; Con: Darragh Fitzpatrick; Pens: Darragh Fitzpatrick 2
Old Belvedere: Try: Leo Auva’a; Pens: Eamonn Fitzgerald 2
HT: Blackrock College 8 Old Belvedere 6

CLONTARF 32 DOLPHIN 23, Castle Avenue
Scorers: Clontarf: Tries: Turlough Considine 2, Michael McGrath, Simon Crawford; Cons: Richie Lane 3; Pens: Richie Lane 2
Dolphin:Tries: Ryan Murphy 2, Penalty try; Con: Barry Keeshan; Pens: Barry Keeshan 2
HT: Clontarf 22 Dolphin 11

ST. MARY’S COLLEGE 13 GARRYOWEN 12, Templeville Road
Scorers: St. Mary’s College: Try: Mark Sexton; Con: Ray Crotty; Pens: Ray Crotty 2
Garryowen: Pens: Declan Cusack 4
HT: St. Mary’s College 13 Garryowen 3

YOUNG MUNSTER 9 CORK CONSTITUTION 7, Tom Clifford Park
Scorers: Young Munster: Pens: Willie Staunton 3
Cork Constitution: Try: Niall O’Driscoll; Con: Johnny Holland
HT: Young Munster 6 Cork Constitution 7

DIVISION 1B:

BALLYMENA 17 BRUFF 8, Eaton Park
Scorers; Ballymena: Tries: Andrew Kerr, Luke Marshall; Cons: Luke Marshall; Pen: Luke Marshall
Bruff: Try: Cathal O’Regan; Pen: Brian Cahill
HT: Ballymena 3 Bruff 3

BELFAST HARLEQUINS 19 GALWEGIANS 13, Deramore Park
Scorers: Belfast Harlequins: Try: Penalty try; Con: Ian Porter; Pens: Ian Porter 4
Galwegians: Try: David O’Hara; Con: Matthew Jarvis; Pens: Matthew Jarvis 2
HT: Belfast Harlequins 13 Galwegians 6

UL BOHEMIANS 8 UCC 3, Annacotty
Scorers: UL Bohemians: Try: Sean Rennison; Pen: Ben Martin
UCC: Pen: Luke Duffy
HT: UL Bohemians 0 UCC 0

UCD 15 BUCCANEERS 16, Belfield
Scorers: UCD: Tries: David Lynch 2; Con: Niall Earls; Pen: Niall Earls
Buccaneers: Try: Alex Hayman; Con: Jack Carty; Pens: Jack Carty 2; Drop: Jack Carty
HT: UCD 12 Buccaneers 0

BALLYNAHINCH 22 DUNGANNON 22, Ballymacarn Park (played on Friday)
Scorers: Ballynahinch: Tries: Chris Napier, James Simpson, David Nicholson; Cons: James Lash 2; Pen: James Lash
Dungannon: Tries: Chris Cochrane, James McMahon, Mark O’Shea; Cons: Michael Lawton 2; Pen: Michael Lawton
HT: Ballynahinch 7 Dungannon 17

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Clontarf will be disappointed that they failed to follow up on the first half performance to seal the bonus point, however, a win in Shannon is never to be sneezed at and while ‘Tarf pursue the ‘perfect performance’ we will take the wins as they come.

On Saturday Clontarf entertain Dolphin and have an opportunity to exorcise one of their more flimsy efforts of the year. That is the beauty of this years home and away league structure, there is always an opportunity to atone for some quieter away performances at home in Castle Avenue.

CORK CONSTITUTION 19 LANSDOWNE 13, Temple Hill
Scorers: Cork Constitution: Tries: Cathal Quinn 2; Pens: Gerry Hurley 3
Lansdowne: Try: Matt Healy; Con: Craig Ronaldson; Pens: Craig Ronaldson 2
HT: Cork Constitution 9 Lansdowne 6

GARRYOWEN 19 DOLPHIN 13, Dooradoyle
Scorers: Garryowen: Try: Paul Neville; Con: Declan Cusack; Pens: Declan Cusack 4
Dolphin: Try: John Quill; Con: Barry Keeshan; Pens: Barry Keeshan 2
HT: Garryowen 19 Dolphin 3

OLD BELVEDERE 10 ST. MARY’S COLLEGE 27, Anglesea Road
Scorers: Old Belvedere: Try: John Kennedy; Con: Aidan Wynne; Pen: Aidan Wynne
St. Mary’s College: Tries: Darren Hudson, Colm McMahon, Philip Brophy; Cons: Ray Crotty 3; Pens: Ray Crotty 2
HT: Old Belvedere 10 St. Mary’s College 7

SHANNON 14 CLONTARF 22, Thomond Park
Scorers: Shannon: Tries: Kevin Griffin, David Quinlan; Cons: Tadhg Bennett 2
Clontarf: Tries: Barry O’Mahony 2, Timmy McCoy; Cons: Richie Lane 2; Pen: Richie Lane
HT: Shannon 0 Clontarf 22

YOUNG MUNSTER 25 BLACKROCK COLLEGE 10, Tom Clifford Park
Scorers: Young Munster: Tries: Mark Doyle, Shane Hassett; Pens: Willie Staunton 4; Drop: Willie Staunton
Blackrock College: Try: Darragh Fitzpatrick; Con: Darragh Fitzpatrick; Pen: Darragh Fitzpatrick
HT: Young Munster 17 Blackrock College 3

Shannon suffered their fourth straight defeat in the Ulster Bank League, going down to a clinical Clontarf outfit at Thomond Park on Saturday afternoon.

A true gentleman and a legend, admired by generations of members not just from Clontarf, but by those from clubs far and wide, Harry served Clontarf Rugby Club in a voluntary capacity, on and off the field, for fifty-eight years. He was a true ambassador for sport and for volunteering,

Harry served as Club President in 1981/1982 and was made an Honorary Life Member of the Club in 1986.

In his time, Harry took scores of new players “under his wing”, especially those who had arrived from overseas. Testament to this was the fact that many former players maintained contact with him years after their playing days were over and their association with Clontarf gone.

While Harry was best known to many generations of players for “running the line” Harry’s “behind the scenes” grounds maintenance activities, at one stage on his own, but in more recent times, with a hand-picked crew of “volunteers”, contributed hugely to the successes of Clontarf.

In recognition of his contribution to the game of rugby, Harry was awarded Leinster’s “Rugby’s Volunteer of the Year” in 2006, to be followed with the inaugural “National Sports Volunteer of the Year Award” in 2007.

Harry was a pleasure to know, a hero to many and a legend that will live on, for many years to come.

May he rest in peace.

Removal on Tuesday, 24th January, at 10.30am to St. Mary’s Parish Church, (Church of Ireland), Deerpark, Howth, arriving for 11am service followed immediately thereafter by cremation in Glasnevin Crematorium. Family flowers only – donations if desired to a Charity of your choice.

Needless to say after that hapless performance, strong words were spoken, emetics delivered, and heads etc. were cleared for the impending visit of the Champions Old Belvedere.

And boy did Belvo suffer the proverbial backlash. Frankly, had Clontarf been a little more accurate in the first half they would have been out of sight by half time. As it was they delivered a fearsome battering to Old B which forced the defending visitors into a massive tackle count and the attrition on bodies and minds that accompanies full on defence.  The half time score of 6 nil to Tarf gave no indication of the home dominance serving merely to keep the home supporters nervous that the Tarf efforts had not been reflected on the scoreboard.

They need not have worried because the second half had barely started when Belvo, not surprisingly, fell apart under the renewed Clontarf assault and in the first 15 minutes after half time conceded 3 tries to a now overpowering home attack.

The first came from Noel Reid after man of the match Killian Lett snapped up a ball at the back of a ruck and charged around the side into open space, the second and third came after the visitors failed to defend their own kick offs which were returned through some weak tackling by Ben Reilly and Adrian Darcy in to the secondary defence which was shredded by fast hands for Sam Cronin and Killian Lett to make the line. Noel Reid added his second and Tarf’s fourth at the death for the bonus point.

So a satisfactory bounce back after Cork and a display of intensity and aggression that was, in the end, overpowering.

Peter Walsh

As we have now reached a break in the season, it is worthwhile to review the first half.

We have had a significant number of new playing members join the club at all levels and they are all very welcome. I hope that they are enjoying rugby in Clontarf as well as the social side of the club.

Our social activities are driven this season by our new Marketing and Commercial Committee led by Willie Ball.  Many of you will have been at a new function in our calendar – the White Collar Boxing – which was a great success due to the efforts of Willie and his hard working committee (not omitting the committed boxers themselves). It is hoped to make this an annual event.

I am sure that you will have also noticed the many new pitchside signs around the senior pitch—many of these sponsors are new to the club and hopefully we can enjoy a longterm relationship with all of them. Again our gratitude is due to Willie Ball and his committee for their work in this regard

There has been a drive to get membership subscriptions paid by all members and a number of messages have been sent to all reminding them of the outstanding amounts. The club committee recognise that we are all in difficult economic times and cutbacks have to be made. We would ask you to try to recognise what is being done in the club for the members, the local community and the future of rugby in the area. The full support of our members is a vital part of the process.

I would plead therefore with all those who have not yet paid their subscriptions to include this in their New Year resolutions.

There are many functions scheduled for the New Year including pre-match lunches before all our home games in the Ulsterbank AIL League. The cost of these has been reduced so if you are free, do not hesitate to ring Mary Walshe in the club office in the couple of weeks before a game and book a place. The lunches are no longer considered only for corporate groups and Mary will facilitate any number of places that you and your friends may require.

There will be a joint Cricket and Rugby Club sponsored walk to raise funds for the renovation and redecoration of the clubhouse itself and hopefully there will be more news of this early in 2012.

From a rugby perspective there have been some successes and many of our teams are performing well in their leagues although there have been a few disappointments also which have tempered the successes.We are fielding teams in all divisions down to J5 which is a great achievement and hopefully this can continue despite the fact that many other clubs are having difficulties in fielding teams at various levels and games are being cancelled as a result.I would urge all our players to continue their commitment to training and playing even if they do suffer the disappointment of losing games or worse, having their weekend game cancelled.

1sts
The 1st team are performing well in the AIL and are lying second after 5 wins and 2 losses. It is fair to say that performances have been a little inconsistent with tremendous performances such as Shannnon followed by dissapointing ones such as St Marys. The fact that we are having such relative success when not always playing to our full capacity augurs very well for the second half of the season. A second place position in the AIL and expectations of further improved performances means we have an excellent opportunity  to defeat all other teams, whether home or away and win the ultimate prize that has been so tantalisingly close in recent years..The support of all members and their friends, at the next 11 games, but particularly the home games, will be of critical importance to our success.
The performance of the 1st team in the semi-final of the Leinster Senior League Cup was disappointing.We had an opportunity to win this trophy this season and indeed Old Belvedere ,who defeated us in the semi-final ,went on to win the final comfortably.
We did win the Senior 2nds League Cup in a final against Old Belvedere at the end of October and it would have been very satisfying to have made it a double .We will of course have two opportunities early in 2012 to get revenge in the AIL fixtures and hopefully we can avail of those, the first being on 14^th January in Castle Avenue.

J1s

The J1s have already won the first two trophies of the season for the club. In addition to the Senior Seconds League Cup, they won the Frank Kennedy/Harry McCann Trophy in the semi final against Terenure College.

The team lies 3^rd in the J1 League having won 4 and lost 2 games.Interestingly the two teams that defeated us in this league—St.Marys and Old Belvedere-had been defeated by us in the Senior Seconds League Cup so that we should have a good chance of reversing the recent defeats and catching them before the end of this league.

J2s

In Phase 1,Pool 2 of this league ,we played 5 games and won 5,finishing top of the pool and progressing to Phase 2 Section A.However we have not done so well since then and have lost the first 3 games but with relevant points carried forward from Phase 1 ,we are lying 4^th  and again should be able to improve on this in the 2^nd half and hopefully challenge for overall victory

J3s

The J3s are playing in Section B and are top of this league at the moment with 27 points having won the 6 games that they have played.They have a double header at home on 6^th January against Naas and then all the remainder of their games are at home.These games are played on a Friday night and are worth going along to watch before having a drink or two in the bar.

J4s

The J4s started Phase 1 in Section A,Pool 1 where they won 2 and lost 3 games.They then went into Phase 2 in Section A Division 1 where they are top of the table with 16 points after 4 games

J5s

The J5s have played 8 games ,have won 5 and have 23 points to lie second in their table at this stage.This team has many new members and so their performances to date are particularly satisfying.

U21s

The U21s have played 6 and won 2 in Phase 1 of the JP Fanagan Premiership league.They have 2 games left in Phase 1 and it is unclear whether they will be in Section A or B for Phase 2.This team has improved significantly since the start of the season and have played some great rugby in the last few weeks but there are 3 teams in the league that are stronger than the remainder and it is likely that one of that three will win and succeed us as JPFanagan winners

U19s

The U19s have recently started training and although they have not participated in the Schools/Youths league they intend to compete in the Cup competition when it commences early in 2012.

U17s

Our U17s compete in Section A of this league and have won 5 out of their 6 games to top the section with 20 points. They have earned a home semi final which against Skerries early in January 2012.

Minis

The minis continue to thrive and the U13s in particular have had a few very notable successes already in their games.

Overall therefore we have had a good start to the 2011/2012 season at all levels and all aspects of the club and we can look forward with enthusiasm to the rest of the season in 2012 and indeed the future.

Best seasonal wishes to all players,coaches managers and supporters and I look forward to meeting all of you in the new year.

John Glackin

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