Blackrock R.F.C. 10
Tallaght R.F.C. 19
Try: Ken McGovern, Karl Seagrave, Adam Nolan
Con: Willie Lambe 2
Metro League Division 7
Stradbrook Road
26/10/16
Tallaght moved up to second place in division 7 of the Metro League after an excellent 19-10 win over Blackrock in Stradbrook road. On a perfect evening for rugby, the young but very quick Blackrock side took the game to Tallaght looking to run everything with multiple offloads. Tallaght’s defence had to scramble to keep them out but they hit back with a couple of scorching runs by full back Simon Collie which Blackrock only just saved from turning into scores. Then Tallaght flanker Jack Russell was shown a harsh yellow for Tallaght for a high tackle after 25 minutes. Blackrock took advantage and after several phases they showed good hands to put their prop in for a try which they converted to lead 7-0.
Tallaght held out after that though and when Russell returned to the field he played like a man possessed. He made several big runs and from one of these Ken McGovern took on the ball and powered over the line with some help from Declan Malone. Willie Lambe kicked an excellent conversion and the teams were level at 7-7. It was then Blackrock’s turn to lose a man for a high tackle, ironically enough on Russell. Tallaght suffered a blow when Simon Collie had to limp off but he was replaced by Denny McCarthy.
At the start of the second half Blackrock lost another man to the bin for dissent but then McCarthy was shown a yellow for Tallaght, again for a high tackle. Tallaght should have had another score after storming runs by Aaron Morgan and Ciaran Rudd but Ken McGovern was correctly denied a second try for offside. Blackrock hit back and were deep in Tallaght’s twenty two but they knocked on and Adam Nolan put wing Karl “Moonbeam” Seagrave away with a superb pass. Seagrave showed his pace by skinning his man and roaring home for the try from 80 metres out. Lambe kicked another sweet conversion and Tallaght led 14-7.
Blackrock kept playing their game and they were rewarded with a penalty which they kicked to reduce the deficit to 14-10 with over twenty minutes left. Then Tallaght attacked off the blindside with a smart run from Andrew Rudd which was then taken up powerfully by Denny McCarthy. The ball was switched back to the other side of the pitch, where Adam Nolan was down on the ground in apparent distress. However the chance of a try brought about a Lazarus-like recovery and he took Dave Clarke’s smart pass and powered through two tackles to score an excellent try in the corner. Lambe missed the conversion but Tallaght were two scores ahead at 19-10 up.
Still the drama wasn’t over for Tallaght as first Dave Clarke and then Declan were shown yellow cards in quick succession, both, yet again, for marginal high tackles. Six yellow cards in a game that was anything but dirty was bizarre but in fairness, the ref set out his stall early with regard to high tackles. So Tallaght had to play out the last ten with 13 men, but they tackled ferociously and intelligently to hold on and deny Blackrock even a losing bonus point.
Tallaght coach Tom Leigh was delighted with his team’s performance. “This is never an easy place to win and they are a bloody good team, so I’m thrilled to get our first away win of the season here. All the squad were immense from 1 to 22 and there were so many contenders for man of the match like Ken McGovern, Adam Nolan and Aaron Morgan. But we had to go with Jack Russell because he was just immense and led by example throughout. We’re in great shape in the league now with 10 points from four games, three of which were away from home. We know we can play even better though and we can’t wait until our next game at home to Seapoint in 10 days.”
Man of the match: Jack Russell
Tallaght RFC
15. Simon Collie
14. Gavin McKeon
13. Stephen Heaney
12. David Clarke
11. Ciaran Rudd
10. Willie Lambe
9. Andew Rudd
8. Adam Nolan
7. Alan Sower
6. Jack Russell
5. Paul Cunningham (Captain)
4. Joe Ivers
3. Tony McManus
2. Ken McGovern
1. Declan Malone
Replacements:
16. Aaron Morgan
17. Nigel Foster
18. Simon Gaskell
19. Mark Keogh
20. Mitchell McGrath
21. Denny McCarthy
22. Karl Seagrave
Jim O’Connor ©