Tallaght 26
Try: Rob Hudson, Alex Sadiku 2, Penalty try
Conversion: Rob Hudson 2
Old Wesley 31
Metro League Division 6
Tymon Park
20/01/2024
Fifth placed Tallaght took on seventh place Old Wesley in Metro Division 6.
In very windy conditions, both teams initially struggled to find any fluency in the game. But after fifteen minutes Wesley broke through a gap to score and take a 5-0 lead. Tallaght tried to come back and Sean Judd was making big carries but an intercept try by Wesley put them 12-0 up.
Tallaght started getting some phases going though and Old Wesley were shown a yellow card for a high tackle. Wing Rob Hudson took a quick tap near and line and forced his way over for a try to make it 12-5. Then Tallaght’s other wing Alex Sadiku scored one of the tries of the season. He got the ball just outside his twenty two and took off on an arcing run. Then some clever footwork confused the Wesley defenders and when the space opened up in front of him, Sadiku just kept going. He touched the ball down near the posts and Hudson made the conversion to level the game at 12-all. However a lapse of concentration let Wesley in for a try which they converted to make the half-time score 19-12 to the visitors.
Tallaght started well in the second half. A backline move saw Hudson make a break and feed full back Luke Deegan who put Alex Sadiku away for his second try of the afternoon. Hudson kicked an excellent conversion to tie the scores again at 19-all. Then when a kick was dropped by the Wesley full back, Hudson looked certain to take advantage to score. But he was hand-tripped before he could get to the ball which led to another yellow card for Wesley and a penalty try for Tallaght to take the lead for the first time at 26-19.
There was still a long way to go in the game though and Tallaght began to tire and Wesley got their off-loading game going again. They scored two tries and converted one of them to take a 31-26 lead. Leon Tanfin looked to have scored a try under the posts for Tallaght but it was called back for a forward pass. Tallaght kept fighting to the end but they couldn’t get the score they needed and had to settle for a losing bonus point in what was another entertaining contest between the two teams.
Tallaght head coach Adam Nolan said he was disappointed to lose narrowly but appreciated his team’s effort. “I’m proud of the lads today. There were some strong performances all round. There were a few stand outs like Sean Judd, Al Sower and Brian Lacey but we got another big performance from Alex Sadiku who was man of the match. We are a team in transition but we’re developing! It was a much improved performance from where we were before Christmas.”
Man of the match: Alex Sadiku
Tallaght RFC
1. Sean Judd
2. Brian Lacey
3. Alan Sower (Captain)
4. Colin Morrison
5. Graham Timmins
6. Mick Corrigan
7. Jordan Corrigan
8. Kevin Quinn
9. Luke Worrall
10. David Clarke
11. Rob Hudson
12. Karl Segrave
13. Leon Tanfin
14. Alexsandro Sadiku
15. Luke Deegan
16. Simon Gaskell
17. Anthony Gaffney
18. Daryl Keogh
19. Andrey Tsapenko
20. Mark Meaney
Photos: Mark Luttrell
