Dara Cill off 2nds Season

Provincial Seconds Towns Plate Quarter Final
Cill Dara 31 vs Clondalkin 6
Article by Jonny Stapleton
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The famous adage states ‘all good things come to an end’.

And that was certainly the case for Clondalkin seconds last Sunday, as another impressive season petered out to a somewhat disappointing conclusion with a quarter final defeat in Ireland’s oldest cup competition.

A depleted and injury hit second string produced a performance that was a lot more perspiration than inspiration.

This time out however, an abundance of fight wasn’t enough to compensate a lack of flair, and despite a valiant effort the visitors eventually succumbed to some sever second half pressure and exited the competition at the hands of a quality first division side.

With a strong breeze behind them Clondalkin dominated territory in the opening half but never really threatened the home line. The Gordon Park sides set piece was superior thanks to some brilliant scrumaging by the tight five and very effective line out.

As a result of the aforementioned set piece dominance Clon set up camp in the home half. They couldn’t however breach the Dara defense. The Kildare side was more canny and ruthless at the break down and severely slowed and disrupted any Clondalkin go forward ball.

And despite the visiting pressure it was the division 1 side who took the lead with a slick break away try.

Clondalkin continued to press but were reliant on some fine cover tackles from the likes of Ronan ‘Donal’ Cooper, captain Derek Murtagh and Gary Geoghan to prevent them from essentially been caught on the break again.

Clondalkin eventually got reward for their pressure via an Andy Tyndall penalty moments before the talented youngster was carted off injured. This meant the introduction of a jet lagged Jonny Stapleton who had just stepped off the plane from Thailand three hours before kick off. Captain Derek Murtagh had the following to say of this writers game "The performance that Hips subsequently delivered was of vintage standards and had all in attendance admiring his trickery around the breakdown".

Another penalty this time by John Nolan saw Clon get within one before the visitors very nearly snatched the lead. Rob Dever, who excelled throughout, pounced on an inspirational if somewhat fortunate scrum half break but was held up just short seconds before the half time whistle.

Indeed if the second row, who should certainly push for a first team berth next season, had support rather than distant admirers Clon would have taken a lead to defend going into the second half.

A home kicking game was predicated during the half time break but it was via a slick running and clever support game that the hosts opened up a comfortable lead within minutes of the restart.

The hosts moved the ball effectively, got joy out wide and looked continually dangerous.

Clon did do well in parts and as per usual did continue to fight. When the play was slowed down the Big Tyndall used his bulk and ball carrying skills to good effect. Chris Gunning, Finbarr Butler and Dever also made the hard yards in the tight when given the chance.

Butler, who has recently promoted to “club legend” by a national paper and veteran front row prop Paul Gifford senior, used all the combined 70 years of rugby experience to ‘discourage’ any illegal home rucking.

Indeed some of the Dara forwards must have been grateful the referee ensured Butler changed his studs before the tie. Being more competitive come ruck time saw the visitors attain more ball and the backs began to make an impression.

John Nolan came close with an intercept but defensive interventions in the latter stages are all that is worth highlighting. Murtagh made a welcome return to form and registered a large volume of tackles including a much acclaimed and highlighted- albeit by himself- triple tackle. The tackle of the game, however, came from Darrach Finnegan as he buckled Cil Dara’s very impressive open-side. But despite Clon’s best efforts Dara eventually finished off the hosts season with a comfortable win.

One disappointing result doesn’t make for a disappointing season and on refection it has been another brilliant year for the second string as captain Derek Murtagh pointed out.

"Todays match brings the end to my reign as 2nd team captain. This year the team finished third in Division 2 of the Leinster League. This is quiet a remarkable achievement considering the fact we shipped three heavy losses in our pre-season games and came out of the Lalor Cup as the bottom placed team. Its all the more remarkable considering the fact that this time 2 years ago we were winding down a season where we had finished 8th in Division 3.

A number of things contributed to the changing fortunes of this team, one of the main drivers being the professionalism that Dan Fitzpatrick brought to the outfit last year. The key change this year came when Tiggy, Eamonn Stapleton and Finbarr Butler became heavily involved with the coaching and development of the 2nd team following the Lalor Cup. The players also must take a lot of credit for stepping up to the mark following our preseason nightmare in particular Brian Berry and Ken McMahon who brought a huge amount of leadership to a very young team. We took some massive scalps this season which spreaks volumes for where we have come to as a club.

The final mention must go to Conor Steed who has done a lot of the less glamourous work behind the scenes for the team always being there with jerseys, balls, water bottles and team sheets. There might even have been a game or two where he showed up on time which was of great benefit to our preparation on these rare occassions."

Added by Murts April 6, 2009 (2:38PM)

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