Firsts promotion hopes end in tears

Leinster League Division 2
Gorey 22 vs Clondalkin 20
Article by Jonny Stapleton



















A gutsy Gorey broke Clondalkin Rugby Club’s promotion dreams and hearts last Sunday with a hard fought victory that left the Clon players in tears come the final whistle. The relegation threatened Gorey’s desire to remain a Division 2 team seemed greater than promotion chasing Clondalkin’s longing to upgrade to Division 1 and as a result the Wexford natives out battled the visitors to win a tense and exciting game with a lot on the line for both clubs.

With Division 1 status, the biggest prize in Clondalkin Rugby club history, within touching distance Clondalkin had perfect motivation going into the tie. However it seemed the pressure of the occasion got to the side and an abysmal start to the game literally put a finish to their promotion aspirations. To their credit a depleted yet talented Clon side did attempt a miraculous turnaround but unlike Our Lord they couldn’t come back from the dead on Easter Sunday.

A poor start left Clondalkin trailing 19-0 after just 15 minutes. Gorey, who were battling for survival, were winning the early exchanges and helped by some poor visiting fielding and several missed tackles stormed into a three score lead. When Clondalkin did find their bearings and began to impose themselves on the game it became obvious why they reside at the opposite end of the table. After a period of pressure, which saw a Clon pack led by the likes of Dan Fitzpatrick and Paul Nolan make inroads into the opposition half, prop Ciaran Cullen powered over the white wash. The 27 year old front row veteran took full advantage of a powerful Brain Doyle drive to finish from close range.

Chris Jebb, who by that stage had the visitors moving forward, added the extras to reduce the deficit to 19-7. Clondalkin continued to dominate but the hosts seemed determined not to concede and repelled regular visiting attacks. The referee was forced to penalize Gorey for some illegal defending but Clon failed to punish the hosts further thanks to two missed kicks. To their credit Clon didn’t allow the temporary set backs to affect them and they continued their attempt to reduce the deficit.

Michael Ryder and Simon King did the dirty scavenging work that comes with a rugby battle beautifully, Gavin Donnelly looked potentially lethal out wide and the continually competitive Mark Molloy was inspirational in patches. But for all the efforts the Gordon Park side could only register a Chris Jebb penalty, which was cancelled out with the last kick of the first half by a Gorey equivalent.

Clondalkin threatened to follow their first half imploding impression with a poor start to the second period but after an early mistake gave the hosts quality field position Clondalkin went on to dominate the second half in its entirety. The scrum was magnificent and shortened five man line outs enabled Clon’s big ball carriers to test the foundations of the home defensive wall. Simon King came within inches of further reducing the arrears after a sly steal and direct run seconds before Paul Fitzgerald thought he had touched down only for the referee to rule he had put a foot in touch.

Rob Dever was next in line to have an effort disallowed as Clon turned up the heat and just when it looked like the continuous Clon pressure wasn’t going to yield a reward Ciaran Cullen scored again. The man who captained Clondalkin to their only ever win in the prestigious Spencer Cup win showed his leadership qualities giving everything he had to power over again from close range.

Clon had being peppering the home line non stop for five minutes and Cullen with a little help from John Nolan prevailed were Fitzpatrick, Doyle and Dever had failed to register what had the potential to be the most important try in Clondalkin history. The sin binning of Simon King moments later helped Gorey gain temporary relief but it wasn’t long before Clondalkin were pressing once again.

This time Stephen Cunningham came within yards of registering five valuable points after Chris Jebb sent Donnelly scampering clear of the first up cover. Clon eventually got within a score making 22-20 with just 12 minutes remaining via a Jebb Penalty to set up an unbelievably tense finale. However despite an unrelenting effort the visitors couldn’t register the score that would have seen them take on Garda, a side they have beaten in their three previous meetings, in a promotion relegation play off. The one bit of consolation that does come from the game is the knowledge that they will be afforded the chance to have another crack at Gorey next whose 4 points ensured they just about stayed with Division 2.

Added by Murts April 6, 2010 (4:17PM)

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