Tallaght took on Division Six side Coolmine on a Thursday evening in the final of the John Madden Plate in Malahide.
Coolmine scored an early try and then kicked a penalty to take a 10-0 lead. Rob Hudson kicked a penalty to make it 10-3 at half time. Tallaght started the second half well but couldn’t convert that possession into points and Coolmine kicked two further penalties to increase their lead to 16-3. They then finished the game as they started it by scoring a converted try to make the final score 23-3.
Head coach Tom Leigh was disappointed with the scoreline but proud of his team’s performance. “We were up against a Division six team today and we were missing a number of key men. We struggled at the set-piece and this meant we couldn’t get our game going. But the lads never stopped fighting so I can’t fault the effort. While it’s disappointing to finish on a defeat, I want to thank all the players on both the firsts and seconds team who came out to play this season.”
Tallaght 1sts
15. Simon Collie
14. Aaron Shanahan
13. Ciaran Rudd
12. Daryl Keogh
11. Karl Segrave
10. David Clarke
9. Rob Hudson
1. Alan Sower
2. Andrew Grace
3. Andy Caswell
4. Joe Ivers
5. Mark Keogh
6. Kevin Quinn
7. Daniel Pomares
8. Jack Russell (Captain)
Replacements:
16. Aaron Morgan
17. Simon Gaskell
18. Stephen Heaney
19. Gavin McKeon
20. Alan Moore
21. Ciaran Stewart
22. Andy Rudd
The annual club awards were held at the Plaza hotel on Saturday the 26th of May. First up were the women’s team and Megan Fogarty was given the award for try of the season for her superb effort against Portlaoise where she showed great balance, pace and power to dance down the line for a great score.
Megan Fogarty with Adam Nolan
Then Aisling Pyke was given the award for Best Newcomer after she only took up the sport this season. Aisling’s physical approach in both attack and defence was a huge addition to the squad.
Aisling Pyke with Aoife Davoren
Finally Cíara McLoughlin was named player of the year. McLoughlin, along with Pyke and Fogarty, was the joint-top try scorer and was also one of the most consistent defenders in the team. She also showed great leadership on the field and in training.
Ciara McLoughlin with Adam Nolan and Mark Keogh
Then it was the men’s turn and Robbie Hudson was given the award for the try of the season for his effort in the cup against Bective. It was a great team try started by a powerful run from Aaron Morgan, continued by Simon Collie who put Aaron Shanahan free with Hudson and Ciaran Rudd in support. The trio combined superbly with Shanahan offloading to Rudd who drew the last defender before offloading in turn to Hudson who went over for the try.
Robbie Hudson with Luke Tyrrell
Then head coach Tom Leigh presented Adam Nolan was the player of the year award. Nolan has been a force of nature at number eight this season and was the joint-top try scorer with Simon Collie on thirteen tries. He also took over the place-kicking on several occasions to great effect and was the main talisman for the team.
Adam Nolan with Tom Leigh
Then Director of Rugby Luke Tyrrell presented Dave Clarke with the player’s player of the year award. As retirements and injuries had left Tallaght without a recognised out-half, the man for all seasons Clarkey stepped up from the centre and made the position his own. A hugely dependable and consistent player, he’s also a great club man refereeing the women’s home games and also helping coaching the minis on Sundays.
Dave Clarke with Luke Tyrrell
The club person of the year award was awarded to club photographer Anne ‘Kavo’ Kavanagh. Kavo travels far and wide to take great pictures of both the men’s and women’s games and the club is very fortunate to have such a talented lenswoman documenting our journey. As Kavo was away on holidays her friend and former team-mate Martina Fitzpatrick accepted the award on her behalf.
Martina Fitzpatrick accepts Anne Kavanagh’s award for club person of the year
Finally thanks to all the staff and to Aoife Davoren for organising a great night in the Plaza and also to Mark Luttrell who came out at short notice to take some great photos of all the winners.
The Tallaght men’s first team take on Coolmine in the final of the John Madden plate this Thursday evening the 10th of May. The kick off is at 7.30PM in Estuary Road in Malahide RFC. It’s a rematch of the John Madden Cup final of last season, a terrific game which Tallaght were unfortunate to lose by a single score.
It’s the final game of the club season so please come out and support the lads.
John Madden Plate Final (J4) – Final
Thursday 10th May 2018
Coolmine v Tallaght 1st
Estuary Road, Malahide RFC
Kick-off 7.30PM
Tries: Adam Nolan, Rob Hudson, Simon Collie 2
Con: Rob Hudson 3
Pen: Rob Hudson 2
C.Y.M. R.F.C. 12
John Madden Plate Semi-final Tymon Park 01/05/2018
Tallaght took on Division five side CYM on a windy Tuesday evening looking for a place in the final of the John Madden Plate. Tallaght started positively and it earned them a kick at goal that Rob Hudson put just wide. However they didn’t have to wait long to score as Adam Nolan rode a high tackle and pushed through regardless to score a fine try and Hudson was on target with the conversion to make it 7-0.
CYM were giving away constant penalties and this earned them a yellow card and Tallaght took advantage when Hudson broke through a gap to score an excellent individual try. Hudson converted his own try to give Tallaght a 14-0 lead. CYM’s discipline problems continued though when their openside flanker was first shown a yellow card and then that was upgraded to a red for backchat that the ref found unacceptable. Despite their one man deficit CYM actually played some of their better rugby and had Tallaght under some pressure at times with their dangerous backs, but Tallaght got to half-time 14-0 up.
With a strong wind behind them Tallaght started playing for territory in the second half with Adam Nolan and David Clarke kicking very well. This got them into a good position and strong carries from Ken McGovern and Mark Keogh earned them a penalty which Hudson slotted to make it 17-0. However those dangerous CYM backs were running everything back now and they eventually scored a fine try to bring it back to 17-5. However Tallaght hit back straight away when Adam Nolan fed full back Simon Collie straight from a scrum and the Aussie stepped his way through three tackles to score a try to make it 22-5.
CYM still weren’t giving up though and after constant pressure their out-half went through a gap to score a try which he converted to make it a ten-point game at 22-12. Once again Tallaght didn’t panic though and they worked their way down the pitch with some powerful running from centres Ciaran Rudd and Padhraig Jones to earn another penalty which Hudson nervelessly converted to make it 25-12. That eased the nerves and Simon Collie put the finishing touch on the performance with another excellent try which Hudson converted to make the final score 32-12.
Head coach Tom Leigh was delighted with his team’s performance. “We were up against a Division five team today but we showed that when we play our game, we’ll more than able for these teams. I’m delighted that we’ve made a fourth final in the last two seasons. This time, we’re determined to bring home the silverware”.
Man of the match: Ken McGovern
Tallaght 1sts
15. Simon Collie (Captain)
14. Ciaran Rudd
13. Padhraig Jones
12. Stephen Heaney
11. Karl Segrave
10. David Clarke
9. Rob Hudson
1. Alan Sower
2. Stephen Kelly
3. Andy Caswell
4. Joe Ivers
5. Paul Cunningham
6. Mark Keogh
7. Daniel Pomares
8. Adam Nolan
Replacements:
16. Ken McGovern
17. Tony McManus
18. Andrew Grace
19. Gavin McKeon
20. Daryl Keogh
The Tallaght men’s first team take on CYM in the semi-final of the John Madden plate this Tuesday evening the 1st of May. The kick off is at 7.15PM in Tymon Park.
Tallaght’s women team travelled to Clontarf in the semi-final of the Paul Cusack plate. They started well but the Division 3 team overpowered them and won 58-0. Tallaght player Aisling Pyke suffered a head injury in the second half and Tallaght RFC want to express their gratitude to the members of Clontarf RFC and the paramedic service that came to Aisling’s aid. Aisling is recovering well.
Coach Adam Nolan wanted to thank all the players for their efforts throughout the season. “We started the season just wanting to fulfil all our fixtures. Plenty of teams conceded against us, but the Tallaght RFC women always showed up! We got great new players in, scored a lot of tries and won a load of games. It got tougher in the latter half of the season, but that’s the way rugby goes. I’m very proud of the fact we got to the cup and league semi-finals.
“We started today with fifteen a side, which is the first time that happened since the team was originally formed about five or six years ago. We’ve advanced an incredible amount this year and if we stay together, we’ll advance a huge amount next year too!”
Tries: Ken McGovern, Simon Collie, David Clarke, Aaron Shanahan
Con: Rob Hudson 3
U.C.D. R.F.C. 32
O’Connor Cup (J5) Semi-final Tymon Park 21/04/2018
Tallaght took on UCD looking for a place in the final of the O’Connor Cup. Having beaten UCD comfortably the two times they played in the league, Tallaght were favourites but UCD were unrecognisable from the team they played in the league.
Literally unrecognisable!
The team that lost in the league had been replaced by a much fitter looking and more technically adept bunch of players. It’s a remarkable case of good fortune for UCD to have happened up such a fine group of players with a trophy up for grabs. They took the game to Tallaght from the start and scored a converted try after three minutes to take a 7-0 lead. But Tallaght hit back well and from an excellent maul from a lineout, hooker Ken McGovern touched down for a try to make it 7-5.
Tallaght followed that up with one of their best team tries of the season. Nearly every member of the team was involved as Tallaght took the ball up the field powerfully through a series of impressive phases. Eventually the ball was moved to centre Simon Collie who darted through a gap to score a try under the posts. Rob Hudson converted to make it 12-7. It looked like Tallaght would gain momentum from such a fine score but instead their performance crumbled on the back of a series of unforced errors.
The defence was porous and they let UCD in through the middle for a soft try which they converted to make to 14-12 and then they kicked a long range penalty to make it 17-12. Tallaght were looking to get to half-time to regroup but a loose ball was gathered up by the UCD winger and he sped away down the line. Karl Segrave looked to have saved the day by tackling the winger into touch. However then Tallaght lost the lineout and the vastly experienced UCD number eight Kevin Croke, a former under-20 international who played AIL for both UCD and Marys, gathered the ball and went over for a try to make the half-time score 22-12.
Things didn’t get much better for Tallaght in the second half despite having the wind behind them. They began to dominate possession but every time they got the ball into the danger zone, either a poor option was taken or the ball was knocked on. Then the UCD centre took the ball in his own twenty two and ran through at least four Tallaght tacklers to score a terrific try which they converted to make the score 29-12.
To Tallaght’s credit they began to fight back and after good carries from Adam Nolan, Jack Russell and Ciaran Rudd, fly-half David Clarke slipped through a gap to make it 29-19 with the Hudson conversion. UCD hit back with another long range penalty to make it 32-19 but still Tallaght kept on coming. Eventually they worked the space to set winger Aaron Shanahan free and he cut back inside and raced away to score under the posts. Hudson converted and it was now 32-26. Tallaght were now within a converted try of winning the game and they won a penalty which they kicked to touch to attempt one final attack to try to steal the game. However the lineout was botched and the ball was knocked on and that was the final play.
Head coach Tom Leigh was disappointed with the result but proud of his player’s efforts. “We were up against a very strong and experienced UCD team today but there was only a score in it at the end. They built a big lead but we showed real character to come back at them and with a bit of luck we could have snatched it at the end. I’m proud of each and every member of the squad.”
Man of the match: Simon Collie
Tallaght 1sts
15. Ciaran Rudd
14. Aaron Shanahan
13. Simon Collie
12. Padhraig Jones
11. Karl Segrave
10. David Clarke
9. Rob Hudson
1. Alan Sower
2. Ken McGovern
3. Andrew Grace
4. Joe Ivers
5. Paul Cunningham
6. Jack Russell (Captain)
7. Daniel Pomares
8. Adam Nolan
Replacements:
16. Stephen Kelly
17. Tony McManus
18. Mark Keogh
19. Sean Judd
20. Stephen Heaney
It’s cup action for both the men’s and women’s team this weekend.
After comfortably beating Trinity College last week the the Tallaght men’s first team now face UCD (who they’ve beaten twice this season in the league) in the semi-final of the O’Connor Cup. Kick-off on Saturday is at the early time of 12.00PM in Tymon Park.
Then on Sunday the women’s team are back in action after a four week break. They take on Clontarf in the semi-final of Paul Cusack plate. Kick-off is 1.00PM in Castle Avenue.
In the youths, the Bisto’s girls have training on Friday night. Training for everyone else in Firhouse Community Centre on Sunday. 10am start and 10.30 for the older youths.
Please make your best effort to get out and support all our teams.
Dr Kieran Foley Cup Playoffs Three Rock Rovers 14/04/2018
The Tallaght men’s second team travelled to Rathfarnham with just fifteen players as the firsts were playing at the same time. It was a big ask considering they were playing a division nine team. It was a scrappy affair from start to finish and even though the sun was out the ground was very heavy under foot. It was a very even game for the first ten minutes but eventually Stillorgan’s persistence created an opening and they scored in the corner. Tallaght hit back and made some great breaks but after a knock on by Tallaght, Stillorgan gained control again. Tallaght failed to clear their own lines and Stillorgan reacted quickest to a loose ball to charge over for their second try which they converted to lead 12-0.
For the final ten minutes of the first half Tallaght dominated and the referee was getting more and more frustrated with Stillorgan resulting in them conceding a penalty that Daryl Keogh converted to make it 12-3. With minutes to go beore half-time Stillorgan made some good breaks with consistent offloads to go over for their third try to make it 17-3 at half time.
The second half was pretty much the same with Stillorgan making persistent yards through their forwards and then out wide with their backs. But Stillorgan consistently conceded penalties too and Daryl Keogh kicked two more penalties. Eventually Stillorgan’s bench and Tallaght lack of one took it’s toll and Stillorgan scored four more tries. Tallaght kept plugging away and in the last minute Daryl Keogh broke through the centre to score a try which he converted to make the final score 39-16.
Director of rugby Luke Tyrrell was proud of the performance in the circumstances. “It was a very big ask for the 2nds to travel to Three Rock with just 15 players but they played with massive heart and commitment. There were a number of players who had not played in a while including new signing Justin Wedlock. It was also great to see Ciaran Stewart and Jonny Allison back playing. It’s the last game of the season for the B’s but they’ve been massively important this season in growing the club.”
Man of the match: Daryl Keogh
Tallaght 2nd
15. Gary Doyle
14. Tony O’Loughlin
13. Daryl Keogh
12. Ciaran Stewart
11. John Cowan
10. Owen Keenan
9. Aodhan Tinney
1. Dave Kelly
2. Simon Gaskell
3. Nigel Foster
4. Jonathan Allison
5. Ed O’Brien
6. Kevin Quinn
7. Arran O’Loughlin
8. Justin Wedlock
Report: Luke Tyrrell & Jim O’Connor
Photos: Anne Kavanagh
Try: Simon Collie, Karl Segrave, Rob Hudson, Aaron Morgan, Ciaran Rudd, Jack Russell, Stephen Kelly
Con: Rob Hudson 4
Dublin University R.F.C. 7
O’Connor Cup Quarter-final Tymon Park 14/04/2018
Tallaght took on Trinity College in the quarter-final of the O’Connor Cup looking to bounce back from the disappointing loss in the league final last week. Tallaght started brightly and were getting the ball out wide with some simple but smart passing. Jack Russell and Adam Nolan combined to put centre Simon Collie into space and the centre torched the Trinity defence for an excellent try.
It wasn’t long before the next try came down the same flank. Dave Clarke, Russell and Nolan again started the move with good passing and prop Al Sower was put away down the line. He showed good composure to put wing Karl “Moonbeam” Segrave away and he scored a fine try under the posts. Rob Hudson converted to make it 12-0 to Tallaght.
As a division 9 team Trinity were always up against it but they showed some spirit and came back hard at Tallaght. They forced Tallaght to concede a large number of penalties and eventually made the pressure pay by scoring a converted try to make it 12-7. Tallaght hit back almost straight away though when Rob Hudson chipped ahead and then regathered his kick to race away for an outstanding individual try.
He converted his own try to make it 19-7 and he was on target again five minutes later when he converted Aaron Morgan’s try after the flanker burst through from a scrum. Full back Ciaran Rudd then finished the scoring for the half with a superb score that started in his own half to leave the half-time score at 31-7.
With the game effectively won, Tallaght lacked intensity in the second half which was a much scrappier affair. Andy Caswell made several big carries with the ball but Tallaght were lacking the same accuracy in their passing to take advantage. Finally skipper Jack Russell lost patience and just smashed his way through four tacklers for a try which Hudson converted. Then with the final play of the game the Tallaght pack mauled the ball over the line and hooker Stephen Kelly emerged with the ball after scoring his first try of the season. This made the final score 43-7.
Head coach Tom Leigh was pleased with his team’s performance. “We were a little stretched for numbers today with the seconds playing away at the same time. But the lads won the game early and we were always comfortable. We’ve now got UCD next week in the semi-final at home. If we win that we’ll likely get another crack at Old Wesley in the final. It will be a step up next week so we know there are areas that we’ll need to improve on but we’ll work on them during the week.”
Tallaght take on UCD next Saturday at Tymon Park. With the big Leinster game at the Aviva, there is an early kick-off time of 12.00 noon.
Man of the match: Andrew Caswell
Tallaght 1sts
15. Ciaran Rudd
14. Aaron Shanahan
13. Simon Collie
12. Padhraig Jones
11. Karl Segrave
10. David Clarke
9. Rob Hudson
1. Alan Sower
2. Stephen Kelly
3. Andy Caswell
4. Joe Ivers
5. Paul Cunningham
6. Aaron Morgan
7. Jack Russell (Captain)
8. Adam Nolan
