Lansdowne v Clontarf, 31st March 2023

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It is widely accepted that, in this league, the last six fixtures decide the placements for the final round of playoffs.

The league swings from a league to a cup structure and so these final games decide the route from possibly to probably and on to definitely.  Last night Clontarf definitely secured a home semi-final for this year’s competition. In the final six fixtures Clontarf have recorded a perfect 25 out of 25 points, so far, with one game to go V UCD in two week’s time. That is a phenomenal achievement and hearty congratulations go out to the team, the coaches and the management.

I have to admit, at 7.30 on Friday night, I looked at the brutal weather and looked at the lovely bottle of Redbreast on my shelf and made the emotional decision to watch the game on the live stream.

In the battle between me and the bottle, I definitely won but I may have taken a bang to the head in the process!

Clontarf had a dream start with a knock on from the kick-off resulting in a scrum 10 yards outside the home 22. Matt Darcy took in on from the scrum and after some probing on the right, tight head Ben Griffin made the telling surge for the line allowing Angus Lloyd to make use of a penalty advantage, to throw a big pass to the left which was gathered in by full back, Mark O’Sullivan, for the opening score.

This was not a great start for the hosts but, to their credit, they did not wilt and took full advantage 10 minutes later when a cheeky blindside box kick developed a life of its own and evaded every Tarf defender until a home hand touched it down.

Tarf scored their second from a lineout maul and Lansdowne replied in equal fashion when Tarf fumbled the kick-off and conceded a penalty at the ensuing ruck. The game continued its tit for tat keystone cops theme as we approached half time when a speculative territorial  kick from Tarf smacked a Lansdowne player in the ear and rebounded deep behind the away defence for the home winger to gather and score. Clontarf’s response was immediate and defining. They won back the ball at the kick-off , drove deep into the home 22, won a scrum at the ensuing lineout and pounded the home line for a try by the posts. A perfect and chilling example of how to respond to adversity and a rare and glorious try to Tony Ryan.

That took us to half time with a score of 15-17. Needless to say, as the score indicates it wasn’t a night for goal kicking.

As if to celebrate his new-found white line skill, Tony Ryan did it again to open the scoring in the second half and a little  daylight began to appear between the scores.

Lansdowne wouldn’t fold and added a penalty to bring the score to 18-24 and when Clontarf failed to clear their lines the home side camped under the Tarf posts until they overcooked a tap penalty and got held up for a Tarf dropout. Lansdowne added a penalty after a Tarf infringement at the ensuing scrum and the game moved towards the final 15 minutes with the score at a tense 21-24.

At this point fatigue began to assert itself and it became a question of who would lose focus under the pressure. Lansdowne conceded a penalty for sealing while driving into the Tarf half and promptly conceded another at the lineout on their 22. They defended the Tarf maul brilliantly, forced a scrum and brought play to just outside the 22. Tarf applied the screw again and forced another penalty which was, again, dispatched to the corner. The following maul was sacked illegally for a penalty try and 21-31. Lansdowne still refused to lie down and were full value for the two points they earned with a late surge and a try on full time.

Final score was 28-31 and full marks to both sides for a sterling game in awful weather. A big shout out to Mark O’Sullivan who dug deep into his bag of skills to play 15 on a dirty night for cats, otters and any rugby player never mind a full back.

So, the final league placing are taking shape. It is a credit to the league that with one game to play all is not yet fully sorted. The top 4 clubs are done with home advantage confirmed for Clontarf. Our opponents are yet to be settled as, despite our 5 point lead at the top, we could still be overtaken by Terenure on points difference.

What a competition!

P.S. Congratulations to City of Armagh who will compete in Div 1A next year!