Clondalkin 1sts (31) vs Ashbourne 1sts (3)

Click on continue readin for full article by Derek Murtagh



Clondalkin 1sts answered the questions of the Gordon Park faithful at the weekend with a compelling 31-3 victory over fellow promotion contenders Ashbourne RFC. Clon got the scoreboard ticking over early on after Andy Dixon made a burst from inside his own 22 all the way into the opposition 22 before passing neatly to a nearly sober Gary Donnelly who went in under the posts to allow Chris Jebb an easy conversion. It was almost instant pressure again from the restart with Clon being awarded a penalty directly under the posts after Ashbourne brought down a 5 metre scrum that looked to be moving towards the line. Chris Jebb made it 10-0 after only 15 minutes.

Poor discipline from Clondalkin and good pressure from Ashbourne meant that Clon struggled to get out of their own half for the remainder of the first half. Ashbourne missed two relatively easy penalties before their scrum half finally got them off the mark. Jebb answered with a penalty of his own and Clondalkin went into the break 13-3 up.

Coach Paul Haycock was happy with the teams first half performance and demanded that they keep the score board ticking over. An early period of domination allowed veteran first centre Stevey Cunningham slot of drop goal from just outside the 22 to take the score to 16-3.

More pressure from Clondalkin followed and their ever impressive forwards were rewarded for their hard work after Paul McDermott touched down for a push over try from 5 metres out. Minutes later Clon were back in the same situation but this time it was diminutive scrum half Mark Molloy who pushed McDermott out of the way to touch down for a try of his own. Another Jebb penalty brought the score to 31-3.

Clon now sensed blood and thought it was the time to introduce their talismatic captain Dan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatricks first impact was notable when he took the ball from the restart and burst through 5 Ashbourne forwards, one of whom was heard stating afterwards that he has never been hit so hard before. Clon now pushed hard for the bonus point with the substitute front row of Conor Caslin and Sean Dunne making hard yards to put Clon into attacking territory. Sean Brennan and Simon King sucked in most of the Ashbourne defense with their pick and go’s before Dan Fitzpatrick managed to cross the line. Unfortunalty Dan was struck down with a little known illness during the week, called Butter Fingers, and he duly let the ball slip out of his grasp just as he turned to celebrate. Final score 31-3.

Player watch this week focused on Mark Molloy. The scrum half who was criticized for his show and go tactics last week was intent on showing people that he is more than a one trick pony this week. He delivered numerous quality box kicks and fed the backline well but opted for two show and go’s that ended up with him being hammered into ground in much the same way Athy caught him last weekend. He also showed his ruthless streak when he deprived Paul McDermott the glory of two tries in the one game when he dived into the scrum to touch the ball down.

Stand in captain Brian Doyle had this to say to clondalkinrugby.com “I’ve been involved with the senior team for a little over three years now. When I first started playing here, a tie with Ashbourne would have been seen as a glamourous fixture against top quality opposition that in truth we’d of had little chance of winning. However, its testament to the efforts of the players, coaches and fans in recent years that we could stand here as equals with a powerhouse in Leinster Junior Rugby such as Ashbourne and for that matter emerge victorious. We’ve three tough games coming up in the next few weeks against North Kildare, Gorey and Longford. Last year we slipped up against Arklow because we seen them as an easy game but this year we are keen to learn from our mistakes. These games are key to our promotion chances”.

Click here to view photos from this game

Added by Murts November 10, 2009 (3:52PM)

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