Clontarf booked another day out in the Aviva Stadium with a thrilling 39–28 victory over Lansdowne at Castle Avenue. A devastating spell across the middle two quarters laid the foundation, before a fierce defensive stand saw Tarf home in a gripping finale.
And so the travelling circus of Clontarf heads for another day out in the Aviva. There’s been a great focus on recent statistics since the last match report, and rightly so. It is fully justified to look on the Club’s record over the past few years,with a great sense of group pride. Everyone is part of this; so be proud! However, I would point out the words of Henry Ford, “ History is Bunk” in reading too much into historical achievement. The fact is, it means absolutely nothing to what will happen on Sunday. It’s like nostalgically browsing through photos of past girlfriends while your current partner stands over you with a kettle of boiling water!
Memories are great, but reality bites next Sunday!
On Saturday, Lansdowne came to Castle Avenue and confirmed their deserved reputation as a class act – both on and off the pitch. Our last meeting, on the Aviva back pitch, saw a win for Lansdowne, but Clontarf showed enough in that loss to make even the most partisan Lansdowne man a little apprehensive of this clash.
Clontarf, on any rugby day, are loaded for bear, but have the alarming ability to shoot themselves in the foot, which they did with depressing regularity in the Aviva. On Saturday, they overcame an indifferent start,which gifted Lansdowne cheap entry into the home 22 for 2 tries and then produced the war hammer for the middle section of the game, where they became close to unplayable.
Tarf opened the scoring when Peter Maher hit a huge gap off a lineout. The ball was carried on at pace and, when released left, Fionn Gilbert went in untouched for 7 0.
Lansdowne replied after multiple penalty concessions invited them into the home 22, where more concessions kept them there until Juan Beukes scored for 7 7.
Lansdowne secured the kick-off and a long kick invited Peter Maher to run again and his kick ahead resulted in an away penalty for the visitors on their own line. Tarf fouled the ensuing lineout and Lansdowne were back at the home 22. Another penalty for offside was put for a throw-in at the five, and Bobby Sheehan got in after a close drive for 7 14.
Clontarf then decided to close the free bar!
After some fast phases, Tarf won a penalty at a scrum and brought play to the visitors 22, where Lansdowne’s Redmond got a yellow for a deliberate knock on. Jordan Coghlan charged around the back of the lineout, where some huge carries from Dylan Donellan and Dan Hawkshaw resulted in a powerful score from Coghlan and 14 14.
Despite making a horlicks of the kick off, Clontarf defended their 22 and, after a breakout, were forced blind to Peter Maher who slalomed through the away defence, was tackled, and received a nasty whack which ended his game. Meanwhile the ball went right and Hugh Cooney went in untouched for 21 14. That was it for the first half, apart from a fabulous run from Dylan O’Grady, which came to nothing as his pace took him acres beyond the support.
The second half saw continued dominance from Tarf, with a superb scrum and a pin-sharp lineout driving them forward.
The half opened with Lansdowne conceding penalties and, from a lineout in the away 22, Tarf mauled it left a bit, right a bit, left again and, when it came out, Con Kelly dabbed it over the defence and super sub Dan Magner flopped on it for his second try in two games and 28 14.
A few minutes later Tarf were back when a high hit in the centre resulted in a home lineout in Lansdowne’s 22. The result was an away knock on, a scrum, and a penalty for 31 14. At the kick-off Lansdowne’s out half was agonisingly short with the drop and, from the home scrum, Con Kelly threaded a beauty for a 50 22. The lineout maul was fouled for a penalty and the follow-up was driven home for a score from Dylan Donellan and 36 14.
From the kick-off Tarf attempted a breakout, but lost control of the ball and Lansdowne attacked down the right and great work by Bobby Sheehan put Barry Fitzpatrick in at the corner for 36 21. We were now moving deep into the final quarter and, true to their heritage, the visitors proverbially went for it and the game broke open with some frantic action. Tarf put some superb phases in, down the right hand side, which resulted in a scrum at the Lansdowne 22 and a penalty for a high tackle in the following phase. Con Kelly landed it for 39 21, with 10 minutes to go. The last 10 minutes were frenetic, with Lansdowne brilliantly keeping the ball alive and shifting the point of breakdown left and right with frantic pace. Juan Beukes added another try with time running out and was tap tackled at the finish, when he looked certain to complete a hat trick to cap a superb defiant individual performance. In the end time and the Clontarf defensive resolve put an end to the excitement. Final score was 39 28 and sweet relief for the home supporters.
What a game !!
Clontarf’s performance in the middle two quarters of this game and their defence in the final quarter was at a standard not seen to date this year. Every critical phase of the game was top drawer and there were so many powerful individual efforts that it is impossible to pick a stand out performer. Sam Owens and Con Kelly were imperious at 9 and 10…. Outside them, centres Hawkshaw and Cooney shut down the Lansdowne attack and, outside them, wingers Maher and O’Grady fizzed with intent. Replacement Conor Gibney put in a hugely calm defensive performance when everything was going off around him. The pack was, true to their hard-earned reputation, immense.. no names to mention …. all immense. Every scrum was greeted with snorting relish and the lineout was nailed at the back and the middle every time.
The AIL is a long competition with many twists and turns. Getting a squad to peak for a big finish is quite a juggling act. On Saturday we got a look at what a well-oiled machine looks like. Let’s rumble on to the Aviva !!
Peter Walsh
Chronicler of scrums, storms, and all the beautiful chaos at Castle Avenue
