Clondalkin RFC 3rd XV (40) vs Blackrock College RFC 3rd XV (21)

Article by Mark Quinlan



Clondalkin Saturday firsts kicked off their league campain in style with a revenge demolision job on Blackrock RFC. Scoring 4 tries, with 2 either side of half time from Ciaran Jones, Stevie Cunningham, Mark Quinlan and Peter Fitzgerald, along with an outstanding kicking display from full back Ciaran Jones, Clondalkin dominated the contest with the score line flattering Blackrock slightly after Clondalkin took the foot off the gas in the last 15 minutes to allow Blackrock in for two soft scores.

Unsurprisingly Blackrock could not field the prerequisute number of front row forwards and the game was forced into uncontested scrums, a move that may not have suited Clondalkins powerful front row combination containing Ken McMahon and last years club captain Conor Maloney, but the big Clondalkin front row covered a massive ammount of ground and played like loose forwards with no signs of slowing down even late in the game.

The early exchanges were tightly contested with each team having registered a couple of penalties a piece after the first twenty minutes. But by this time the Clondalkin back row of Sean Brennan, Paddy Burke and Colm McHugh were starting to dominate their opposition and as a result Clondalkin started getting quicker ruck ball and began punching holes in the Blackrock defense. This pressure led to a Clondalkin scrum in the middle of the field. No 8 Paddy Burke picked from the base of the scrum and made some good yards before feeding center Stevie Cunningham who cut the defense up with a show and go before feeding full back Ciaran Jones in support. Jones rounded the last defender and touched down to finish a very well worked try. Jones then converted his own score.

Clondalkins' excellent kicking game consisting of Dave Shirley and Stevie Cunningham blasting the ball from deep, coupled with an effective lineout ensured that Clondalkin were playing the game in the right areas of the park. More hard work from the Clondalkin forwards kept the pressure on Blackrock pack and massive hits from Chis (Farmboy) Kelly and Sean Brennan inspired Clondalkin to push on, while reminding the Blackrock lads that they were in a game. All of this pressure resulted in a Blackrock defensive lineout on their 22. An outstanding steal from 2nd row Bren Ward led to the ball coming back on the Clondalkin side. Scrum half Mark Quinlan pounced on the loose ball and broke up the middle before feeding the outstanding fly half Dave Shirly who fired another pass to center Stevie Cunningham to score under the posts. Jones again duly converted leaving Clondalkin ending the half with a healthy lead,

Clondalkin started the second half as they finsihed the first with more dominance up front and trademark physical defense from captain Dave Gilmore and COLLY. Blackrock were not helping themselves with uncharacterstic handling errors in midfield. As a result of one of these handling errors Clondalkin received a scrum in the middle. Paddy Burke picked and went on the rampage up the middle of the field getting before held up 7 yards short of the line. Scrum half Mark Quinlan was in support and barged over despite the attentions of the Blackrock defense. The ever reliable Jones kicked the conversion.

Clondalkin were still not content though and continued to dominate the Blackrock pack. Big carries from captain Dave Gilmore and replacement GIF jr continued to make inroads. And after great work in midfield, super winger Peter Fitzgerald received the ball wide before stepping inside leaving the opposition winger to wonder what just happened, to finish another well worked score. Again Jones converted.

Sensing that the job was done Clondalkin took their foot off of the pedal and Blackrock began to enjoy plenty of possession and territory. Slick work from the Blackrock backs, along with tired Clondalkin tackling led to them score in the corner. With a couple of minutes still to go Blackrock registered another score through their lively full back but by this time it was only a consolation score.

Special mention must go to Conor Maloney's break in midfield before sending a beautiful grubber kick that Dan Carter would have been proud of into the corner resulting in a five meter line out.

Article by Mark Quinlan

Added by Murts October 12, 2009 (3:27PM)

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