BGF Ravens 23

Tallaght 37

Tries: Craig O’Brien, Nick McGuinness, Rob Hudson, Mick Corrigan
Conversions: Rob Hudson 3, Adam Nolan
Penalties: Rob Hudson 3

O’Connor Cup
Castle Avenue
29/03/2025

Tallaght took on BGF Ravens in the O’Connor Cup in a game played at Clontarf RFC.

The Ravens got off to a flying start scoring three tries and converting one in the first fifteen minutes to take a 17-0 lead. Tallaght hit back with two Rob Hudson penalties either side of a Ravens penalty to make it 20-6. Tallaght also survived a yellow card for player/coach Adam Nolan for a high tackle.

Then the Ravens discipline started to desert them. They were shown two yellow cards in quick succession for high tackles. With a two man advantage, Tallaght found space out wide to put Craig O’Brien in to score his first senior try for Tallaght. Rob Hudson kicked a superb touchline conversion into the wind to reduce the deficit to 20-13. The Ravens kicked a drop goal to make the half-time score 23-13.

In the second half, Tallaght began to dominate possession and territory. The Ravens were attacking deep in Tallaght’s half, but the ball broke loose and when it was hacked up the field, Alex Sadiku collected it and raced away. He then offloaded to Nick McGuinness who was running a great support line to score a try. Hudson converted to make it 23-20 to the Ravens. Then Hudson made a great break to beat several tacklers and score a fine try. He converted his own try and tacked on another penalty to make it 30-20 to Tallaght. Hudson was substituted shortly afterwards but he left the field with twenty points to his name in an excellent all round display on his birthday.

Tony McManus was turning back the clock with an all action display in the front row. But then he suffered a dislocated elbow that had to be reset on the pitch and everyone wishes Tony a swift recovery. Tallaght kept dominating and they scored a fourth try when Adam Nolan’s cross-field kick was collected by Mick Corrigan to score an excellent try. It was a deserved reward for another hard-working by Corrigan covering both the back row and the wing. Nolan converted to make the final score 37-23 to Tallaght.

Head coach Nolan was delighted to see the team bounce back from the bad start. “We were 17-0 down and it looked like it was going to be a long, tough day. But once we started playing and really showing our skills, we started finding gaps out there. Our lineout was as good as it’s been all season and Kev Quinn’s lineout throwing was exceptional. Our pack was fantastic and really gave us the platform to play. It just shows that when you train together, playing together is so much easier and in the second half, we were really enjoying ourselves out there. We’ve Lansdowne at home in two weeks and we’re really looking forward to that now.”

Joint man of the match: Rob Hudson/Mick Corrigan

Tallaght RFC

1. Sean Judd
2. Kevin Quinn
3. Tony McManus
4. Alan Moore
5. Alan Sower
6. Mick Corrigan
7. Tumelo Nkoko
8. Jordan Corrigan (Captain)
9. Nick McGuinness
10. Adam Nolan
11. Alex Sadiku
12. Craig O’Brien
13. Rob Hudson
14. Felix McCabe
15. Daryl Keogh
16. Darragh Hosey
17. Antonio Cunha
18. Joe Ivers

Photos: Mark Luttrell