North Meath 26
Tallaght 1sts 12
Try: Aaron Hickey, Nick McGuinness
Conversion: Rob Hudson
Leinster League Division 3
Tymon Park
02/10/2022
Tallaght took on North Meath away in Leinster League Division 3. Tallaght started strongly but an early shot at goal strayed wide. Then North Meath exploited some slack Tallaght defending near the ruck to bust through and two offloads later they were in for a fine try to lead 7-0.
Tallaght didn’t take long to hit back though. After strong carries from new recruit Andy Colclough and Rosemar Alves, Aaron Hickey broke through for a try which Rob Hudson converted to make it 7 points a piece. However shortly after Tallaght suffered a massive blow when Hickey shipped a knock which ended his game. North Meath’s powerful ball carriers continued to exploit Tallaght’s defence near the ruck and busted through twice more. The first break was finished after some pick and drives near the line and the second was polished off by a fine backline move. Both tries were expertly converted and North Meath led 21-7 at half-time.
In the second half Tallaght shored up their defence and started to put together some good attacks of their own. A struggling lineout hampered their momentum though as did losing James Carr, Simon Collie and Aaron Shanahan to injuries. But Tallaght were finding gaps out wide and substitute scrum-half Ezequiel “Eze” Roldan Olivera put through an excellent grubber kick which Nick McGuinness chased up to touch down for a try in his final game (for now) for the club. This made it 21-12 and when Eze Olivera won an excellent penalty at the breakdown, North Meath were reduced to 14 men for illegal activity in the ruck.
Tallaght were almost in again when Olivera put in another superb grubber kick but the ball was knocked on and the chance was gone. Tallaght’s chances weren’t helped when Olivera was shown a yellow card for holding a player back after a quick tap penalty. Tallaght kept attacking but from a breakaway North Meath kicked ahead and were able to recover the ball and score a try to make it 26-12. Tallaght fought to the end to even get a last converted try to give them a losing bonus point but their handling and option taking let them down at the crucial moments and the final score was 26-12 to North Meath.
Tallaght coach Matt Gill was disappointed with the result but proud of the team’s second half fightback. “The first half really cost us. North Meath had some strong ball carriers but our defence wasn’t coming up to meet them and their offloading was very good once they got in behind us. In fairness we fixed that at half-time and in the second half we defended better and their only try came off a speculative kick down the line that bounced right for them. We actually attacked a lot better in the second half too and created several good chances. So we actually have a sense of frustration coming away from the game because we know we left three or four tries behind us. We’ve no game next week, but we need to work hard in training to improve our skills to be able to take advantage of these kind of chances. It was also great to see some new players make their debuts for the club today and they all contributed to a fine performance.”
It was Nick McGuinness’s last game for the club before moving abroad and skipper Niall Mahon paid tribute. “Nick has been an excellent player for us over the last few years. But he’s also been a great clubman behind the scenes helping to coach the juniors. We’ll all miss him but we wish Nick and Megan all the best in their move abroad but hope to see them both back at Tallaght RFC one day.”
Man of the match: Nick McGuinness
Tallaght RFC
- Alan Sower
- Adam Nolan
- Rosemar Alves
- Patrik Toth
- Mark Keogh
- Aaron Hickey
- Alan Moore
- Niall Mahon (Captain)
- Andy Rudd
- David Clarke
- Leön Tanfin
- Simon Collie
- Nick McGuinness
- Rob Hudson
- Ciaran Rudd
- Ken McGovern
- James Carr
- Matt Gill
- Andy Colcough
- Aaron Shanahan
- Ezequiel Roldan Olivera
- Orhun Orel
Photo: Mark Luttrell