Seapoint R.F.C. 18

Tallaght 1st R.F.C. 12

Tries: Rob Hudson, Ciaran Rudd
Con: Rob Hudson

Metro League Division 7
Kilbogget Park
18/11/2017

The Tallaght men’s 1st team missed the chance to go top of the table when they lost to Seapoint. Things had started well for Tallaght and after a fine maul from the pack the ball was spun wide. Padhraig Jones, Ciaran Rudd and Aaron Shanahan showed sharp hands to put Rob Hudson away down the line. With the Seapoint defence closing in, Hudson chipped ahead and showed great pace and skill to touch down for a superb try. The conversion was missed but Tallaght led 5-0.

Seapoint had some strong ball carriers and they won a couple of kickable penalties in the Tallaght half, the second of which they converted to make it 5-3. Overall the quality of rugby was fairly poor from both sides, with multiple knock-ons and turnovers. Seapoint’s lineout was also struggling and Joe Ivers was creating havoc with it, applying huge pressure at the front.

When Tallaght kept it simple and got their backline moving they were still dangerous though. They created a couple of good chances but the handling let them down with the final pass. However they got their second score of the match when Dave Clarke put Ciaran Rudd away and the centre showed great pace to race away for the try. Hudson converted and Tallaght led 12-3 at halftime.

In the second half Tallaght nearly had a third try when Hudson kicked a loose ball ahead and raced clear. However he was adjudged to have knocked on when touching down and the chance was gone. This was a crucial moment as the score would have put Tallaght clear. Instead with only a nine point lead Tallaght became increasingly nervous and their play became fractured and ill-disciplined. The Tallaght pack played into Seapoint’s hands by getting drawn into a tight forward battle when they clearly had the advantage out wide.

Tallaght got trapped in their own half and eventually Seapoint took advantage with fifteen minutes to go when they busted through for a try which they converted to make it 12-10. Tallaght were now in full panic mode and were getting increasingly ratty with one another which never helps. Seapoint’s tails were up and they earned another penalty to go 13-12 up. Tallaght still had time to get a winning score but they were turned over yet again and Seapoint broke through for another try in the final play to make it 18-12. The conversion was missed so at least Tallaght got a losing bonus point from the game, but they will be gutted to lose the match after leading at half-time.

Tallaght coach Tom Leigh was hugely disappointed with the result and the performance. “We got a big win last week but we haven’t backed it up today. Fair play to Seapoint, they didn’t give up, but we threw that game away today. We were missing a few important players but we still had more than enough quality on the pitch to win. We got a good lead and should probably have been out of sight but when you don’t kill a team off, you’re always susceptible to a comeback. The turnout for training during the week was very poor and that manifested itself in a sloppy performance all round. The good news is that we’ve seen the best teams this league has to offer and we know we can beat them all when we play to our normal standards. However, it won’t just happen, all the squad needs to put the work in and that means getting to training. I can’t fault the effort of any of the lads today and I’m confident we can bounce back from this, but I hope this is a watershed moment for the season. If we don’t put the work in, we won’t get the trophy we want and that’s all there is to it!”

 

Man of the match: Rob Hudson

 

Tallaght 1sts

15. Aaron Shanahan
14. Rob Hudson
13. Ciaran Rudd
12. Padhraig Jones
11. Gavin McKeon
10. David Clarke
9. Andy Rudd

1. Alan Sower
2. Andrew Grace
3. Andy Caswell
4. Joe Ivers
5. Paul Cunningham
6. Kevin Quinn
7. Jack Russell (Captain)
8. Mark Keogh

Replacements:

16. Simon Gaskell
17. Sean Judd
18. Jonathan Allison
19. Stephen Kelly
20. Willie Lamb
21. Aodhan Tinney

 

Report: Jim O’Connor
Photos: Anne Kavanagh (Welcome back!!!!)