TALLAGHT RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB

Clondalkin 6

Tallaght 1sts 21

Tries: Rob Hudson 2
Con: Rob Hudson
Pen: Rob Hudson 3

Metro League Division 7
Kingswood
13/10/2018

After their opening league fixture of the season was conceded by Navan, Tallaght finally got to take the field for the first time in the league this season awaY to local rivals Clondalkin. On a day of constant rain in Kingswood it was tough to play attacking rugby but the home side started well and took a 3-0 lead with a long range penalty. However it wasn’t long before Tallaght full back Rob Hudson levelled the scores with a penalty of his own.

Then from a crossfield kick from Clondalkin the home winger just missed the ball but instead Hudson took the ball just inside his own half. He took off and showed great pace to score in the corner to give Tallaght an 8-3 lead. He extended the Tallaght lead with another penalty to make it 11-3 and Clondalkin lost a man after one of their forwards was given a yellow card for leading with the forearm. Tallaght’s pack were exerting pressure in the lineout through Joe Ivers and Colin Morrison and they were carrying strongly through Ken McGovern and Andy Grace. Skipper Adam Nolan was also kicking very intelligently to put his team in good field positions.

Tallaght won a lineout in the Clondalkin twenty two and after a decent maul the ball went wide and Dave Clarke, Padhraig Jones and Simon Collie showed great handling skills in the conditions to put Rob Hudson through the gap for his second try of the match. Hudson converted his own try and Tallaght led 18-3 at half-time.

As the rain worsened the second half was an extremely scrappy affair with countless handling errors. Tallaght should have had another try when Tony McManus kicked though under the Clondalkin posts. But in a moment of high comedy Jack Russell was ahead of McManus as he kicked it and couldn’t resist catching the ball which meant an immediate penalty for Clondalkin and no try. Tallaght really should have sealed the game with another try but they wasted numerous chances and in the end the only scores in the second half was a penalty from each team’s kicker to make the final score 21-6 to Tallaght.

Tallaght coach Tom Leigh was happy enough to get the win. “It was a challenging game for a number of reasons. It was a local derby, it was lashing rain and we hadn’t played a game in four weeks. So in the circumstances I was delighted with the win and the performance. We kept our cool and got the scores at the right time through Rob Hudson who was outstanding for us today. We said before the game how important the squad would be today and every single one of the lads who came in off the bench made a great impact to help us see the game out. We now need to focus on Clontarf next week which we know will require a step up in performance from today.”

Man of the match: Rob Hudson

Tallaght RFC

15. Rob Hudson
14. Ciaran Keane
13. Simon Collie
12. Padhraig Jones
11. Karl Segrave
10. David Clarke
9. Andrew Rudd

1. Tony McManus
2. Ken McGovern
3. Andrew Grace
4. Colin Morrison
5. Joe Ivers
6. Daniel Pomares
7. Alan Sower
8. Adam Nolan (Captain)

Substitute Positions

16. Alan Moore
17. Andrew Caswell
18. Kevin Quinn
19. Daryl Keogh
20. Jack Russell

Report: Jim O’Connor
Photo: Anne Kavanagh

Terenure 8

Tallaght/DLSP 45

Tries: Stephen Heaney, Ian Walker, Peter Kinnevey, Dave Kelly, Lee Dawson, Barry Killoran, Michael Lebharr
Conversion: Daryl Keogh 5

Metro League Division 11
Lakelands
10/10/2018

The Tallaght/DLSP combined team played their second match together on a Wednesday night in Terenure. Tallasalle again started the game slowly. It was scrappy from both teams for the first half hour and it took 30 minutes before Terenure opened the scoring with a penalty to make it 3-0. Tallasalle hit back though when scrum-half Ian Walker made a great break and put centre Stephen Heaney in for a try to make it 5-3. Terenure had the last laugh of the half, scoring a try of their own to make it 8-5 to the hosts at half-time.

In the second half Tallasalle started to grow stronger against a spirited but young Terenure side. The excellent Walker broke through against on a counter attack and this time he finished the try himself with Daryl Keogh converting to make it 12-8. Terenure hit back and had Tallasalle under pressure and Stephen Heaney was shown a yellow card for getting into a scuffle in front of the ref after he objected to how scrum-half Walker was being treated by a Terenure player. But Tallasalle tackled strongly and held their line. Once they got back in the Terenure half, they had Terenure under immense pressure and eventually Peter Kinnevey broke through for the try to make it 17-8. The game was sealed when Dave Kelly glided through a gap for a fine individual try. Keogh converted to make it 24-7 and with the home side rapidly tiring Tallasalle were ruthless.

They ran in three more tries in the last five minutes through Lee Dawson, Barry Killoran and Michael Lebharr and Keogh converted all three to make the final score 45-8. To be fair, the last few tries gave the game a one-sided look in what had been a very hard fought match for sixty minutes.

Man of the match: Ian Walker

It’s another busy weekend of action for Tallaght rugby.

On Saturday the Tallaght men’s first team take on Clondalkin away in the Metro League Division 7. Kick-off is 3pm in Kingswood.

Then on Sunday the women’s team host Naas in Division 4 of the women’s league. Kick-off is at 1PM on pitch 100 opposite Firhouse Community College.

In the youths the under twelves are playing at half-time on Friday night at the Leinster-Wasps match at the RDS.

As usual the Bisto’s girls have training at St. Mary’s at 6.30 Friday. On Sunday there is training as normal in Firhouse Community College starting at 10am for the minis (under 8’s and under 10’s) and all older youths training at 10.30am.

Please make your best effort to get out and support all our teams.

The Tallaght/DLSP combined team play their second match of the season tomorrow evening in Division 11 of the Metro League. Tallasalle take on Terenure in Lakelands with an 8PM kick off. 

Please try to come out and support the lads

Athy R.F.C. 39

Tallaght R.F.C. 5

Try: Ellen Crotty

Women’s League Division 4
The Showgrounds, Athy
30/09/2018

The Tallaght women’s team went to Athy with a team decimated by injuries and unavailability. They were duly hammered by seven tries to one, Ellen Crotty getting Tallaght’s only score.

Tallaght coach Adam Nolan was disappointed with the result. “It was a tough learning curve and we had to ask some very inexperienced players to play the whole game. But when we play this team again, hopefully we’ll be back to full strength and it will be a very different game.”

Woman of the match: Cíara McLoughlin

Tallaght

15. Megan Fogarty
14. Ellen Crotty
13. Cíara McLoughlin (Captain)
11. Angelika Gertz
10. Caoimhe Hogan
9. Audrey Fulham

1. Melissa Luttrell
2. Karen Corrigan
3. Lisa Kennedy
4. Martina Fitzpatrick
5. Seana Greenhalgh
8. Vicky Cobbe

Photos: Anne Kavanagh & Mark Luttrell

Tallaght/DLSP 11

Tries: Joe Ivers
Pen: Johnny Connors 2

Swords R.F.C. 5

Metro League Division 11
Kirwan Park
29/09/2018

The Tallaght men’s second team’s have merged for the season with DLSP’s fourth side to compete in Metro League Division 11 as both sides were short of players and were unable to field full teams for fixtures. “Tallasalle” started the game slowly, which was understandable given a lot of the players didn’t even know each other’s name. Swords took advantage of the confusion and scored an early try to take a 5-0 lead.

After ten minutes Tallasalle started to gel though and Dylan Paisley made a fine run through several defenders before being put into touch. Out-half Ciaran Keane was looking dangerous and in the pack Ben O’Leary and Sean Judd were making strong carries. After Gavin McKeon made a strong run to get them close to Swords line, the forwards took over and eventually skipper Joe Ivers forced his way over for a try to tie the game at 5-all.

Tallasalle spent the rest of the half camped in the Swords half but they wasted several scoring opportunities. Scrum-half Paul O’Hara came closest when he broke through a gap and got over the line but he lost control of the ball when trying to touch down and the half finished level.

In the second half with multiple changes happening, Tallasalle again struggled to take their chances. Ciaran Keane made an excellent break from deep but the Swords full back made the last ditch tackle to deny him a try. Tallasalle kept working though and they earned two penalties which were superbly converted by Johnny Connors to give them 11-5 win.

Tallasalle coach Damien Deegan was delighted with the win. “This was our first match together and lads were only getting to know each other. But they came together really quickly and played some good rugby. I thought Joe Ivers led the team very well and both Ben O’Leary and Sean Judd carried the ball very well. Christian Madsen came off the bench in the second half and had a big impact. In the backs Dylan Paisley and Ciaran Keane were both very good but my overall man of the match was Gavin McKeon who carried well and made several big tackles and kept performing well even when we moved him around in the backline. It was a fine start and hopefully we’ll get even better as the season goes on and the lads play together more.”

Man of the match: Gavin McKeon

Tallaght/DLSP

15. Tony O’Loughlin
14. Barry Kiloran
13. Dylan Paisley
12. Gavin McKeon
11. Michael Lebharr
10. Ciaran Keane
9. Paul O’Hara

1. Ben O’Leary
2. Simon Gaskell
3. Luke Valentino
4. Adam McCarthy
5. Joe Ivers
6. Dave Kelly
7. Con Lyons
8. Sean Judd

16. James Malony
17. Sean O’Riordan
18. Ed O’Brien
19. Christian Madsen
20. Lee Dawson
21. Jason Conboy
22. Philip Keane
23. Ian Walker
24. Dave Murtagh
25. Liam Kavanagh
26. Will Kavanagh
27. Barry Murphy
28. Johnny Connors

Report: Jim O’Connor

Tallaght R.F.C. 19

Tries: Ellen Crotty, Aisling Pyke 2
Conversions: Caoimhe Hogan, Aisling Pyke

Portlaoise R.F.C. 36

Women’s League Division 4
Pitch 100, Firhouse
23/09/2018

In their second league game of the season, the Tallaght women’s team hosted Portlaoise who they lost to in last year’s semi-final. Tallaght took the game to them this time and in the first twenty minutes they were dominant and they deserved more that the 5-0 lead Ellen Crotty’s excellent try gave them. Out-half Nadine Thompston was gliding through gaps beautifully and when she and her outside backs improve their understanding and link up better they will become a serious attacking threat. After twenty minutes wing Eileen Shanahan made a superb run that should have led to a try but the chance was wasted after she was brought down near the line.

However, from the resulting scrum the Portlaoise number eight ran through some weak tackles and put their winger away to run the length of the field for a try which they converted to make it 7-5 to Portlaoise. Two minutes later the powerful Portlaoise prop ran through for another try to make it 14-5. The Tallaght heads went down and Portlaoise helped themselves to another try from a maul to make it 19-5 at half-time.

In the second half Portlaoise continued their dominance of the game and scored another try to make it 26-5. The worst thing for Tallaght was that Portlaoise were losing players and had virtually no backline to speak of. Any time Tallaght got running at them out wide there was acres of space as number eight Aisling Pyke showed when she ran into space off a scrum to score a try under the posts that Caoimhe Hogan converted to make the score 26-12.

Unfortunately Tallaght’s efforts to target Portlaoise out wide by launching their dangerous runners were undermined by the forwards losing the ball at the rucks and handling mistakes by the backs. Portlaoise scored two more unconverted tries to make it 36-12 and the result was a foregone conclusion. However Aisling Pyke had the last say of the day with a superb individual try which she converted herself to make the final score 36-19 to Portlaoise.

Tallaght coach Adam Nolan was disappointed with the result but wanted to focus on the positives. “We had a really good first twenty minutes but then perhaps our fitness failed us and we started tackling too high. They’re a very experienced team and they forced us into the type of forward battle they wanted to play which suited their strengths. However we showed we could hurt them out wide when we ran at them and we’ll remember that the next time we play them.”

Woman of the match: Aisling Pyke

Tallaght

15. Megan Fogarty
14. Ellen Crotty
13. Cíara McLoughlin (Captain)
11. Eileen Shanahan
10. Nadine Thompston
9. Caoimhe Hogan 

1. Lorraine McManus
2. Lisa Kennedy
3. Aileen McGovern
4. Martina Fitzpatrick
5. Vicky Cobbe
8. Aisling Pyke

Replacements

16. Audrey Fulham
17. Angelika Gertz
18. Roisin Doyle
19. Karen Corrigan
20. Melissa Luttrell

Report: Jim O’Connor
Photos: Paul Cronin

Emerald Warriors R.F.C. 40

Tallaght 2nd R.F.C. 26

Tries: Robert Hudson 2, Karl Segrave, Sean Judd
Con: Robert Hudson 2, Tony McManus

Dr Kieran Foley Cup (J5) – Group B
Park Avenue
23/09/2018

Tallaght’s 2nd team took on Emerald warriors in the Dr Kieran Foley Cup in Templeville Road. The Warriors scored the first two tries of the match to take a 12-0 lead. But then Rob Hudson hit back with two excellent individual tries. He converted both of them to give Tallaght a 14-12 half-time lead.

The Warriors were better organised though and had more players available and as Tallaght tired in the second half, they began to dominate and scored four converted tries to take a 40-14 lead. However Tallaght didn’t give up and Karl Segrave got over for a try. With Hudson off the field injured and none of the backs putting their hand up, prop Tony McManus stepped up to the plate and slotted the conversion with aplomb. Then in the final play of the game, Sean Judd got over in the corner for a fourth Tallaght try. McManus took on the much tougher conversion and though it was a fine effort, it fell just short to make the final score 40-26.

The Warriors were deserved winners but Tallaght showed great fighting spirit, especially considering the team had been thrown together at very short notice.

Man of the match: Robert Hudson

Tallaght 2nds

15. Tony O’Loughlin
14. Owen Tyrrell
13. Gavin McKeon
12. Karl Seagrave
11. Mark Conway
10. Stephen Heaney
9. Robert Hudson

1. Alan Sower
2. Simon Gaskell
3. Sean Hanlon
4. Brian Donnelly
5. Paul Cunningham
6. Dave Kelly
7. Arran OLoughlin
8. Sean Judd

16. Tony McManus
17. Daniel Pomares
18. Edward O’Brien
19. David Clarke
20. Simon Collie
21. Luke Tyrrell
22. Brian Tyrrell

Report: Jim O’Connor

Photo: Jim O’Connor

It’s another busy weekend of action for Tallaght rugby.

On Saturday the 22nd September the Tallaght men’s second team take on Emerald Warriors in the Dr. Kieran Foley Cup. Kick-off is 3pm in St. Mary’s home ground of Templeville Road.

Then on Sunday the women’s team are back in league action when they host Portlaoise in Division 4 of the women’s league. They will be looking to build on their fine win over Longford last week and kick-off is at the slightly later than normal time of 1.30PM on pitch 100 opposite Firhouse Community College.

In the youths the Bisto’s girls have training at St. Mary’s at 6.30 Friday. On Sunday there is training as normal in Firhouse Community College starting at 10am for the minis (under 8’s and under 10’s) and all older youths training at 10.30am.

Please make your best effort to get out and support all our teams.