In a fiercely contested encounter at Lansdowne Road, Clontarf looked to have the upper hand for much of the afternoon, but a late surge from the home side saw Lansdowne pull away to claim a 37–21 victory. For Tarf, it was a game that promised much but ultimately slipped away in the closing stages.
Lansdowne FC, founded in 1872, are the doyens of Irish Club Rugby. Scratch the surface of the Leinster game and you will find Lansdowne men at all levels and Lansdowne success across all decades.
Games between our two clubs have been taking place since March 1879 and, while it might have been a somewhat different story in the early days, certainly in recent times, have become great rugby events. For the last few decades, it has been close to impossible to predict what is going to happen. This intense rivalry is also unusual because on-pitch intensity rarely spills over to the spectators, who have become so familiar and respectful of each other, that public displays of triumph or despair are managed so as not to upset the opposition. Privately we may all dance in victory or chew the carpet with defeat, but publicly everyone recognises that some games are occasions to be respected beyond the binary nature of winners and losers.
On Saturday, the intense rivalry was given extra fuel by Leinster’s decision to release all their players into the AIL. For Lansdowne it meant their pack was lifted by Dooley and Deegan and their backline was liberally sprinkled with stardust from Charlie Tector, Hugo McLoughlin, Cormac Foley, Todd Lawlor and Ciaran Mangan. For Tarf, the massive presence of Harry Goslin, Brian Deeny, Alan Spicer, and Alex Soroka in the pack were joined by Dan Hawkshaw and Connor Fahy in the centres. So one for the ages I hear you say ….. El Classico maybe?
In the end it was a very cagey first half as both sides proceeded to feel each other out with box kicks the tactic of choice and defence dominating every phase.
Opening penalty score went to Charlie Tector after Tarf were penalised at their own scrum, with the ball at the Tarf 8’s feet. 3 0.
The game then fell into a pattern of Lansdowne attack failing against some superb Clontarf defence. After 25 minutes a Lansdowne offside brought Tarf to the home 22 and the maul did the rest from 18 metres for Harry Goslin to score. 3 7.
Lansdowne responded immediately with a penalty for not rolling 6 7
With 35 gone Tarf attacked the blindside from a scrum and a lovely dink through was regathered brilliantly by Alex O’Grady despite the barely legal attention of the home backrow. The ball was moved right where both Noah Sheridan, then Dan Magner, looked certain to score but the phase was held at the line for the forwards to take it up and Alex Soroka shunted in for 14 6.
Tector added another penalty after Tarf were penalised again at their own put in. That was it to Half Time and 9 14.
The second half was going to be all about how Tarf could maintain an iron grip on the Lansdowne backline, so when Connor Fahy intercepted on the edge of the home 22 for 9 21 it looked very positive for the visitors.
However, as in all tight games, you need a bit of good fortune. From the kick-off Tarf failed to deal with the high ball, Lansdowne regathered, went left to Beukes who made a great break down the middle and was odds on to go all the way but Noah Sheridan capped a superb match performance with a try saving tackle. The ball then looked to be knocked on in the following melee but the ref decided otherwise and Lansdowne were in for a fortuitous try and 16 21.
That reinjected oxygen into a Lansdowne team, that up to that point looked to be drowning. Clontarf then earned two penalties and went to the corner with both, only to be thwarted by a challenge to the first and a knock on in the second. Again Tarf came and another lineout maul, this time on the other side, was defended chaotically for a home scrum and the safety of a Tarf lineout 19 yards beyond the 22. That was a crucial group of defensive phases for Lansdowne.
As we moved into the final quarter the momentum started by an opportunist score, followed up by some heroic defence against Clontarf power, had swung to the home side.
From a scrum outside their, 22 Lansdowne went blind and a superb break by Todd Lawlor broke down in the Tarf 22 but the home side were there in numbers to score on the left for 21 23.
As the game moved into the twilight zone, control became a premium , interceptions and missed tackles added to the frantic activity and in the chaos Lansdowne’s maestros came to the fore. For most of the game Tarf had contained the home backline but as the action became frenetic Charlie Tector and Todd Lawlor began to find time and space. As we moved into the last 10 Lansdowne centre de Klerk found a gap off first phase and put centre partner Mangan in for the match winning score. It was left to Michael Maloney to add insult to injury with an intercept in the centre and he put his winger in for 37 21 which held until FT.
So…… Congratulations to Lansdowne but for Tarf, not a great day at the office. I’m afraid we let that game slip away.
As predicted the league is turning into a cavalry charge with 4 points covering 6 teams at the top of the division. We now have a break and a reset until a chilly trip to Young Munster on the 28th.
Peter Walsh
