Tallaght 1sts 23
Try: Aaron Hickey, Rob Hudson, Rob Browner
Penalty: Aaron Shanahan 2
Conversion: Rob Hudson
Ratoath 17
Leinster League Division 3
Tymon Park
25/09/2022
Tallaght kicked off their Leinster League Division 3 campaign by hosting Ratoath in Tymon Park in their first competitive game under new player/coach Matt Gill.
Tallaght started well winning two early penalties at the breakdown and winger Aaron Shanahan kicked a long range effort to give them a 3-0 lead. Ratoath hit back with a try though after working through several phases. They converted to take a 7-3 lead. But Tallaght responded immediately when Niall Mahon took a lineout in the Ratoath twenty two and offloaded to flanker Aaron Hickey who powered his way through for a try to give Tallaght a 8-7 lead.
After the bright start things settled down in the game. Tallaght were dominating territory and possession and had a marked advantage in the scrum. Their defence was aggressive with Simin Collie and flanker Ken Lynch making several big hits. But they could only add another long range Shanahan penalty to the scoreboard to increase their lead to 11-7 at halftime.
Tallaght started the second half well and strong carries from Al Sower, Alan Moore and Adam Nolan gained them a foothold in the Ratoath twenty two. Ratoath were consistently conceding offside penalties and eventually the referee lost patience and showed Ratoath a yellow card. Tallaght took advantage when, after several phases near the Ratoath line, they moved the ball wide and Simon Collie and Rob Browner combined to put replacement winger Rob Hudson over for a try. Hudson converted his own try to make it 18-7 to Tallaght.
Tallaght dominated the next ten minutes but wasted a few good chances to extend their lead. To their credit Ratoath stayed in the game and won a lineout near the Tallaght line. The lineout throw went to ground but Tallaght were slow to react and Ratoath recovered the ball. They sent it wide and the Ratoath winger broke two Tallaght tackles to score a try to make it 18-12. But Tallaght didn’t panic and they worked another chance for replacement out-half Darryl Keogh to break the line and put Rob “The Twerk” Browner in for a try to give Tallaght breathing space at 23-12. Ratoath kept working and scored a try in the final play of the game to earn a losing bonus point from a 23-17 defeat.
Tallaght coach Matt Gill was delighted to start the season with a win. “I’m delighted with the result even though there are lots of things to work on and improve. The scoreline doesn’t really reflect the game and we really should have scored a couple of extra tries. But considering we’ve only had sixty minutes of rugby in our preseason, the lads did really well especially our new players who all made a contribution. Our defence was good and our set-piece was excellent. It was a hard game to pick a man of the match because some many of the lads played well. But we went with vice-captain Al Sower, who was a rock in the scrum and showed up well in the loose. We have a massive game next week away to North Meath who look like they’re going to be one of the main contenders for top place. With only ten games in the league, every one really counts if we want promotion so it’s important we have a great week in training and prepare as well as possible for a tough challange.”
Man of the match: Al Sower
Tallaght RFC
- Alan Sower
- Adam Nolan
- James Carr
- Patrik Toth
- Al Moore
- Aaron Hickey
- Ken Lynch
- Niall Mahon (Captain)
- Andy Rudd
- David Clarke
- Leön Tanfin
- Simon Collie
- Nick McGuinness
- Aaron Shanahan
- Rob Browner
- Matt Gill
- Rosemar Alves
- Graham Timmins
- Mark Keogh
- Daryl Keogh
- Rob Hudson
- Jide Adigun
Photos Alexsandro Sadiku
