St Mary’s College RFC claimed the AIL title with a deserved 46-31 victory over Clontarf in a thrilling final at the Aviva Stadium. While defeat stings for Clontarf, the result does little to diminish a season that still offered silverware, progress and strong signs for the future.
“You are not defeated when you lose a battle.
You are defeated when you give up the struggle.”
– Mouloud Benzadi
“We choose to go to the moon in this decade, and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard”
– JFK
First , heartiest congratulations to St Mary’s College RFC, who are worthy AIL Champions. For me it was the best display from a non-Tarf winning team in any final I have attended.
Mary’s were superb from the 5th minute, when Tarf went 7 ahead, to the finish, matched Tarf blow for blow and in the third quarter managed to get a vital couple of scores in front, that gave them space on the scoreboard, which allowed their back line to show their true class to the finish of the game. Hats off to their coaches who had done their homework and dominated us in the air for all of the final. In particular, the work of Myles Carey in his kick-off chase was critical in pinning us deep in our own half and allowed Mary’s to respond quickly to Tarf scores. He was a worthy man of the match. He was pushed close by his mercurial no 10 Conor Dean, whose distribution, both short and long, mesmerised the Clontarf defence. It was a masterclass of passing. Any aspiring young out-half should take time out to watch this performance and learn how good passing utterly dominates a defence.
Clontarf battled gamely, scored 5 tries and lost 1 tooth. Con Kelly broke a tooth on a clash with Myles Carey and picked up a yellow to add to the indignity. On the day we were always playing catch up and, as the game progressed, the gap in the scores widened relentlessly. Mary’s rarely looked troubled. Even the chink of light provided by Hugh Cooney’s interception was snuffed-out almost immediately by Carey’s ruthless pursuit of the kick-off, which resulted in Blue ball deep in Tarf territory and a 2 plus score lead quickly established.
So , there we go …… those of us who see winning and success as an addictive drug will be suffering withdrawal at the moment. The reality is, that as painful as this defeat was, it is a footnote in a much larger agenda. Despite this defeat, Clontarf senior rugby remains in rude good health. Agreed, we will be doing much less silver polishing this year, but we can be proud of our Bateman Cup win, our Metro League win and the performance of the under 20’s who overcame multiple long-term injuries and stayed competitive to the end of their competitions.
The focus on our development pathway will see many younger players coming into the AIL squad next year and our success at U18’s is a great signal for the future.
Have a great off-season. Don’t get sunburned on your holidays. Don’t put your back out on the tee box. And when you’re lying on the beach contemplating life, spare a thought for the fanatics at home poring over depth-charts and recruitment lists to maintain squads that are fierce and competitive.
All to give you a Club to be proud of …… Again !!
Peter Walsh
Chronicler of scrums, storms, and all the beautiful chaos at Castle Avenue
On behalf of all us readers of the highly anticipated and hugely entertaining Match Reports, throughout the season, a huge thank-you, Peter, for your unique game-by-game take on our great season.
The Editor
