Tallaght 36
Tries: Jordan Corrigan, Jonah Hurley, Raheel Hussain 2, Daragh O’Donoghue
Conversions: Raheel Hussain 4
Penalty: Raheel Hussain
Emerald Warriors 22
Metro League Division 8/9 Phase 1 Group B
The High School, Rathgar
8/11/2025
Tallaght took on the Emerald Warriors in their final game of the Metro League Division 8/9 Phase 1 Group B. Tallaght needed to win and stay ahead of fourth place Athy in terms of points to qualify to play in Division 8. Despite it being a beautiful, dry and sunny day, South Dublin County council once again declared Tallaght’s Tymon Park pitch unplayable. So the game was moved to the 4G pitch in the High School in Rathgar.
Tallaght started the game well and Raheel Hussain kicked a penalty to give them a 3-0 lead. However there were a few high tackles and the referee acted quickly to stamp them out. The referee first showed a yellow card to a Warriors player and that was quickly followed by a yellow card for Tallaght flanker Jonah Hurley, both for high tackles. The Warriors took advantage when they burst through the Tallaght line and finished off a fine try out wide and kicked the conversion to make it 7-3.
Tallaght were putting themselves in good positions with some fine tactical kicking from Daryl Maxwell. However, too often they wasted overlaps by going for crossfield kicks when they had numbers out wide. Finally from a scrum near the Warriors line, number eight Jordan Corrigan showed his strength by bursting through a couple of tackles to score in the corner. Hussain kicked a superb conversion from the touchline to briefly give Tallaght a three point lead. But the Warriors scored a penalty to make the half-time score ten points a piece.
In the second half, Tallaght made a bright start and Jonah Hurley took the ball near the halfway line and broke away for a superb try under the posts. Hussain converted to make it 17-10 to Tallaght. Then Daryl Maxwell made a great break and offloaded to Simon Collie who put Hussain in for a try, which he converted to make it 24-10. Tallaght then suffered a setback when Jonah Hurley was shown another yellow card for a high tackle. It seemed a touch harsh as there was no real impact in the tackle, but the referee showed a red card for the two yellows and Tallaght were down to 14 men for the rest of the game.
But Tallaght responded well to adversity and a big carry from Jack Russell got Tallaght deep into Warriors territory and when the ball went wide, Hussain showed great balance to score his second try under the posts. Hussain converted his own try to make it 31-10 and he ended the match with a personal points tally of 21. The Warriors didn’t throw in the towel, to their credit. They scored a try to make it 31-15 but Tallaght hit back strongly again and this time Hussain was the provider, setting up winger Daragh O’Donoghue for a fine try. The Warriors scored a converted try with the final play of the game to make the final score 36-22. Athy beat Terenure 17-14 but Tallaght’s superior points difference mean they finish third and will contest Division 8 for the rest of the season.
Assistant player/coach Ciaran Rudd was delighted with his team’s performance. “We struggled a little in the first half to impose our gameplan on the Warriors. But in the second half, we got the ball through our hands better and scored some excellent tries. It was a blow to lose Jonah to the red card but the lads stuck together and responded really well to win the game comfortably. Last week, we finished the game with only 13 fit players. But we put up the Bat Signal and a lot of club legends like Alan Moore, Tony McManus, Jack Russell, Sean Judd and Willie Lambe gave us a dig out today and we’re very grateful to them. Division 8 is going to be tough but we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Man of the match: Darragh O’Donoghue
Tallaght RFC
1. Billy O’Hara
2. Kevin Quinn (Captain)
3. Alan Sower
4. Daithi Mooney
5. Darragh Hosey
6. Mick Corrigan
7. Jonah Hurley
8. Jordan Corrigan
9. Willie Lambe
10. Daryl Maxwell
11. Daragh O’Donoghue
12. Ciaran Rudd
13. Simon Collie
14. Alex Sadiku
15. Raheel Hussain
16. Alan Moore
17. Paul Callaghan
18. Jack Russell
19. Tony McManus
20. Craig O’Brien
21. Sean Judd