Aaron Morgan makes another powerful run
COOLMINE R.F.C. 25
TALLAGHT R.F.C. 08
Tries: Niall Casey
Pen: Morgan Farrell
John Madden Cup Group 1
Ashbrook
09/04/16
Tallaght travelled to Blanchardstown to take on Coolmine with a place in the semi-finals of the John Madden Cup at stake. Tallaght started well enough but couldn’t make the most of some good possession and territory. Then Coolmine came alive and their big second row powered through a weak tackle to score the opening try of the game to lead 7-0. Tallaght responded well with flanker Aaron Morgan carrying superbly and Morgan Farrell kicked a penalty to reduce the deficit to 7-3.
Coolmine had a man yellow carded after persistent infringing but Tallaght missed the resulting penalty and Coolmine kicked one of their own to lead 10-3 at half time. Tallaght needed to come out firing but they let themselves down with persistent handling errors. Twenty minutes from time Coolmine effetively won the game with two tries in two minutes to take a 22-3 lead. They tacked on a penalty too and though Niall Casey scored a consolation try for Tallaght, Coolmine won the game well 25-8. Tallafht coach Tom Leigh was disappointed that his team didn’t show their best game.
“I’m disappointed with the result. Coolmine are mid-table in the division above us and they’re a decent team but they weren’t at a level we couldn’t compete with. We just didn’t get our heads in the game early enough and they lived off our mistakes. We didn’t show our best game but next week we’re in the semi-finals of the John Madden Plate and we still have a chance to finish our season with a trophy. We can’t finish our season playing like we did today so we’re going to work hard during the week to make sure we put in a performance we can be proud of.”
Man of the match: Aaron Morgan
Tallaght RFC
15. Simon Collie
14. Ciaran Rudd
13. Dave Clarke
12. Stephen Heaney
11. Alan Bernes
10. Morgan Farrell
9. Niall Casey
8. Adam Nolan
7. Kevin Quinn
6. Aaron Morgan
5. Sean Judd
4. Paul Cunningham CAPTAIN
3. Tony McManus
2. Simon Gaskell
1. Dave Kelly
Replacements
16. Aodhan Tinney
17. Willie Lambe
18. Stephen Kelly
19. Gavin McKeon
20. Karl Seagrave
21. Brian Tyrrell
22. Emil Wyrebiak
Karl Seagrave beats a defender with his trademark “sexy feet”
Report: Jim O’Connor
Photos: David Kelly