Midland Warriors 17

Tallaght 1sts 19

Try: Daryl Keogh, Aaron Hickey, Orhun Orel
Conversion: Rob Hudson, Rob Browner

Leinster League Division 3
The Sportsground
20/11/2022

Tallaght took on the Midland Warriors in Leinster League Division 3 in a rescheduled match after heavy rain forced the original fixture to be postponed.

In the first half Tallaght had the considerable hill at their backs. They nearly scored a try off the first play of the game but Daryl Keogh’s pass was knocked on with the line begging. Then Tallaght suffered a massive injury blow when prop Andy Grace went off with an ankle injury. Tallaght were camped in the Warriors twenty-two for the first ten minutes but some poor handling and decision making let Warriors off the hook and Tallaght left with no points.

To make matters worst the Warriors then scored off their first real attack when a chip down the wing was regathered and they scored under the posts to take a 7-0 lead. Then Tallaght botched their exit from the restart and gave away a penalty which the Warriors kicked to touch. From the lineout the Warriors mauled the ball over the line for a try and kicked an excellent conversion to double their lead to 14-0.

Then the Warrior’s discipline started to let them down when consistent high tackles earned then two yellow cards in quick succession to reduce their numbers to thirteen men. Tallaght took advantage when Ezequiel Roldan Olivera put half-back partner Daryl Keogh in for a try which Rob Hudson converted to make it 14-7 at halftime.

In the second half Tallaght initially struggled to get out of their own half as the Warriors pinned them back with some accurate kicking. The Warriors won a penalty which they kicked to make it 17-7. However the Tallaght scrum got them back in the game as they dominated the Warriors and won several penalties. This earned them a lineout in the Warriors half and after Ezequiel Roldan Olivera went close with a snipe from a ruck, flanker Aaron Hickey followed up to score a try to make it 17-12 with fifteen minute to go.

Tallaght kept pressing but their handling kept letting them down at crucial moments. But their front row of Alan Sower, Ken McGovern and Matt Gill kept dominating in the scrum, all the more remarkable as due to the lack of replacement props they all played close to eighty minutes. The Warriors were feeling the pressure and earned a third yellow card for a deliberate knock on. Tallaght had a great chance when debutant Ian Holohan made an excellent break but his attempt to link up with the support runners was superbly intercepted by the Warriors full back.

It looked like their chance was gone but Tallaght won a penalty in their own half and ran it out with Daryl Keogh, Niall Mahon and Dave Clarke all making big carries. Eventually the ball was worked to Orhun Orel who showed great agility to get over for a try to make it 17 points all. Full back Rob Browner took over the kicking and nailed the difficult conversion to give Tallaght a 19-17 lead. Tallaght had to survive a couple of nervous moments seeing time out but they held on for a thrilling and deserved win.

Tallaght coach Matt Gill was proud of the character his team showed. “We didn’t make life easy for ourselves or play anything close to our normal standard. But sometimes you get days when things aren’t going your way and the crucial thing was we kept going and found a way to win. We gave them two soft tries but to come back from 14-0 down in the way we did it was amazing. The lads showed some real grit. Because the game was a reschedule we had a few lads away when meant we had to call up a few lads from the seconds team but they all made a great contribution. But at the same time we know we will have to perform a lot better next week as we take on league leaders North Meath at home in a massive game.”

Man of the match: David Clarke

Tallaght RFC

1. Alan Sower
2. Ken McGovern
3. Andy Grace
4. Patrik Toth
5. Alan Moore
6. Scott Hyland
7. Aaron Hickey
8. Niall Mahon (Captain)
9. Ezequiel Roldan Olivera
10. Daryl Keogh
11. Andy Rudd
12. David Clarke
13. Orhun Orel
14. Rob Hudson
15. Rob Browner
16. Matt Gill
17. Colin Morrison
18. Liam Quinn
19. Dylan Quinn
20. Ian Holohan

Photos courtesy of Midland Warriors RFC