Clondalkin 1st XV (27) vs Roscrea 1st XV (3)

Article by Jonny Stapleton

Leinster League Division 2

The failure to grab a bonus point ensuring fourth try took the gloss off a well deserved and impressive Clondalkin victory in Gordon Park last Sunday evening.

With 20 minutes remaining Clon were well on their way to victory thanks to a 24 point advantage and went all out to cross the white wash for a fourth time in the hope of registering a bonus point victory.

However, despite dominating territory and possession and continuously threatening the visiting line that all important fourth score eluded them and as a result the sweet taste of victory was soured somewhat.

A tendency to force the issue and a little bit of panic ensured Clondalkin were the masters of their own downfall in the latter stages but it was a different case in the early exchanges.

The hosts made a bright start and took a deserved lead via the boot of kicking machine Chris Jebb after a great turn over from Paul Nolan.

Roscrea hit back soon after and leveled but Clon were dominating and winning the key battles. The home set piece was strong and Clon were stronger up front with Ciaran Cullen, Big Dan Fitzpatrick and Brian Doyle all making the hard yards and setting up decent platforms of attack.

However, Clon initially failed to take advantage of the scoring opportunities they worked hard to create as the final ball didn’t seem to stick and basic errors prevented the hosts from reclaiming the advantage.

Leinster youth star and Clon underage graduate Niall Nolan did look threatening but he had to carve out his own scoring opportunities. The pressure however finally told when after a solid scrum Jebb took advantage of a lovely delayed Alan Hickey pass and raced under the posts unopposed.

Former Trinity AIL player Jebb, who doubled up as the match commentator, proved he can prevent as well as register scores with a super covering tackle in what was Roscrea’s only significant attack moments later.

Clon proceeded to dominate the rest of the half with tackle junkie Simon King getting his hit fix and excelling in and around the ruck.

Despite the pressure however Clon were struggling to kill of the tie and put Roscrea out the game. Gary Donnelley and Nolan came close but it was Jebb who added to his and Clondalkin’s personal tally.

This time the full back crashed over the line via two would be tacklers after Fitzpatrick and Paul McDermott were denied before converting to make it 17-3 at the turn.

Roscrea did threaten a comeback early in the second half but missed with two penalty attempts and in truth when they tried to move the ball and attack the line Clon never looked like conceding.

The oppositions’ scrum half rugby sins were then punished and he was sent to the line for ten minutes Clon instantly grabbed the jugular and went for the kill. They went for the corner with the resulting penalty and Brian ‘Bruiser’ Doyle benefited from the catch and drive- as well as the super tight nature of the new jerseys kindly sponsored by Bolands of Clondalkin-to finish from close range.

With the result in the bag, Clon went in pursuit of the bonus point and went into all out attack mode. However despite coming close on numerous occasions most notably via Kev Hanlon, Doyle and McDermott the hosts couldn’t register the extra score that would have secured the extra point. Even the introduction of the most consistent Clondalkin player over the past 5 years, Sean Brennan, could not force the fourth try. His first appearance of the season most certainly brought a smile to Paul Fitzgeralds eyes, with Paul cheering his every move for the rest of the game.

Clon huffed and puffed but couldn’t blow the Roscrea defensive wall down. A number of drives fell short as did two potential push over scrums and attempts out wide were felled by handling errors. Then when out half Alan Hickey was sin binned and the clock began to approach 80 panic set in and a rushed approached hindered the host meaning they failed to score again leaving a slightly disappointed air about Gordon Park at full time.

Captain Dan Fitzpatrick had this to say after the game “The result today shows we are heading in the right direction. Like I said last week its going to be a long season so we are not going to get carried away with the result. We need to focus on Clane next week as they are a side who are also improving week on week”.

Player watch this week focuses on Mark Molloy. Molloy who re-united his 9-10 partnership with Alan Hickey for the first time in a number of seasons, played like a fourth back row, albeit a very small one, getting stuck in and clearing out rucks when needed. He was influential in one of the Jebb tries and all in all had a decent day at the office. The moment of the match for many of the fans was his battle with the Roscrea number 8, an encounter that many people would say went the way of the Clondalkin terrier.

Fan watch focuses on Tom Duffy. The injured prop who is biding his time waiting to return for the Towns Cup final was in good form during the match. His commentary on the game was insightful in particular his observation that Kevin Kelly looked ridiculous wearing a scrum cap. The good news for the Clondalkin faithful is that Tom showed that he is still quick off the mark when he ran the whole length of the pitch when he seen some tension developing on the sideline. Unfortunately for those that see Tom as a fearsome warrior it was in the opposite direction to the big lad from Roscrea.

Added by Murts October 12, 2009 (3:19PM)

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