Seapoint R.F.C. 12

Tallaght R.F.C. 38

Tries: Gavin McKeon, Declan Malone, David Clarke, Willie Lambe, Morgan Farrell, Ciaran Rudd
Con: Morgan Farrell 4

Metro League Division 7
Kilbogget Park
21/1/2017

Tallaght travelled to Killiney to take on Seapoint looking to reclaim their place at the top of the table. Tallaght got a perfect start with a try from the first play. There was two strong carries from the forwards and then the ball went wide and the hands were sharp enough to put full back Ciaran Rudd away and he put wing Gavin McKeon in the corner for the try. The conversion was missed but Tallaght were looking dominant. However this Seapoint team was a big improvement on the team Tallaght beat earlier in the season. After a series of quick taps, they put Tallaght under severe pressure and eventually they got over for a try to tie that game at five all.

There was no more scoring for the next twenty minutes as Tallaght got caught in their half and they were annoyed with themselves for some poor passing and tactical kicking. They were defending well though and when they eventually got back into the Seapoint half, they made it count as the forwards took responsibility with series of powerful carries from the likes of Jack Russell, Adam Nolan and Ken McGovern. Eventually prop Declan Malone showed great power to barrel his way over for his first try for the club. Malone has been described by some as the new Simon Sweeney, but on this evidence he may be a new and improved version of that club legend. Morgan Farrell kicked the conversion to make it 12-5 to Tallaght. It wasn’t long before Tallaght scored again. Off an attacking scrum, number eight Adam Nolan lined up in the out-half spot and he carried powerfully and offloaded superbly to David Clarke who went in under the posts for a try. Farrell converted to make it 19-5 and Tallaght could have finished the game as a contest off the next play. Centre Owen Tyrrell burst through powerfully but he ignored two free men outside him and went himself and paid the price when he was hauled down and the ball went loose, so it remained 19-5 to Tallaght at half time.

Seapoint came back strongly at Tallaght in the second half and Tallaght were trapped in their own half again for long periods. They didn’t help themselves by giving away a succession of penalties and Seapoint eventually took advantage of a gap in the midfield defence to score a try which they converted to make it 19-12. Seapoint were back in the game and things weren’t getting any better for Tallaght when Joe Ivers was shown a yellow card after the referee lost patience with Tallaght’s high penalty count. The card seemed to focus Tallaght’s minds though and scrum-half Willie Lambe nearly scored a try after a mazy run from a scrum. Lambe wasn’t to be denied for long though, Jack Russell tapped a quick penalty near the line and after a couple of carries from the pack, Lambe burrowed his way over for a try. Farrell converted to make it 26-12 and Tallaght were determined to finish Seapoint off.

They did so in style with two more tries. First Owen Tyrell made up for his earlier error with a barrelling run straight through the Seapoint defence before offloading to Morgan Farrell who scored under the posts and then converted his own try. Then, after a great pass from Jack Russell, Kevin Quinn put Ciaran Rudd away and the full back did well to catch the pass and fall over the line for the final score of the match. Seapoint put up a brave fight but in the end Tallaght showed their quality to reclaim their spot at the top of the table.

Tallaght head coach Tom Leigh was delighted with his players’ efforts. “It’s always tough to win on the road but overall I thought the lads were excellent today, both the fifteen who started and the lads who came in off the bench. Our discipline wasn’t great at times and we need to work on that and a few other things, but I’m very pleased overall. Seapoint were well up for it today and caused us some problems, but we rode out the tough periods in the match and took our chances very well when they came. Our next two league games are away to the teams in second and third place, DLSP and UCD. They will present a serious challenge but we’re going to work very hard over the next few weeks to meet that challenge”.

Man of the match: Willie Lambe

Tallaght RFC

15. Ciaran Rudd
14. Gavin McKeon
13. Owen Tyrrell
12. David Clarke
11. Karl Seagrave
10. Morgan Farrell
9. Willie Lambe

8. Adam Nolan
7. Jack Russell
6. Alan Sower
5. Paul Cunningham (Captain)
4. John Burke
3. Tony McManus
2. Ken McGovern
1. Declan Malone

Replacements

16. Kevin Quinn
17. Andew Rudd
18. Joe Ivers
19. Simon Gaskell
20. Sean Judd
21. Nigel Foster

Report: Jim O’Connor
Photos: Anne Kavanagh