U20 Match Report – Old Belvedere R.F.C. 21 – Clontarf R.F.C. 33

Old Belvedere R.F.C. 21 – Clontarf R.F.C. 33

Sunday 8th November, St. Michael’s College.
KO: 14:00

There are no points for “moral” victories, but if there were, the boys in Black & White would have gained maximum points this afternoon. Reduced to 14 men for an awkward challenge in the air, Old Belvedere were pushing for a winning score and an epic victory before a try under the posts in the last play of the game gave Clontarf the bragging rights in this classic contest.

It was a monster Belvo pack that took the field in St. Michael’s College this afternoon, and Clontarf were dominated at both scrum and lineout. It’s seldom that one can say that about the Northside team. The Belvo forwards were bolstered by the return from injury of the trio of Captain Jake McInerney and back-rowers Seán Killeen and Eugene Isong.

It was Clontarf who drew first blood in the 3rd minute. A clearing kick was fielded by Clontarf’s swift left wing who immediately switched the point of attack and linked up with support. Ground was gained after Clontarf’s centre spun out of a tackle, and from the ensuing ruck, the Red & Blues went down the short side where their right winger outpaced the defence to score in the corner. The tricky conversion was good, and Clontarf had a 7-point lead.

It didn’t take long for Belvo to get on the scoresheet. A strong carry from Belvo’s right wing James Verdon set up an attacking ruck. Seeing the defenders stray offside, Belvo’s bright scrum half Andy Norse exploited a gap in the defence and moved the ball wide. Clontarf were penalised in their ’22 and the ball was dispatched to touch, giving Belvo an excellent attacking position. The Belvo lineout was immense all afternoon. From the lineout, the ball was secured and the maul trundled towards the Clontarf line. Hooker Joe Kennedy, fresh from completing 30 minutes in the AIL yesterday, burrowed over the line for a try. The difficult conversion was missed, bringing the score to 5 – 7.

The 15th minute saw Belvo score their second try in almost identical fashion. A penalty brought a line-out into the ‘Tarf ‘22. The ensuing maul bulldozed over the tryline with Kennedy emerging for his second try. The conversion was missed to leave the score at 10 – 7.

In the 22nd minute, defending their line, Belvo saw yellow for an infringement at the breakdown. It seemed inevitable that Clontarf would punish the infraction, but Belvo defended their line heroically and repelled the Blue & Reds.

It was the Black & Whites who scored 3 minutes later after Clontarf were penalised for a high tackle 5m inside their half. Up stepped the lively No.10 Zenon Chambers who struck a peach of a kick that brought the score to 13 – 7.

Clontarf scored next from a quick lineout after a relieving box kick. The ball was spread wide, and a grubber kick was sent deep into the Belvo ’22 for Clontarf’s left wing to chase. However, he hadn’t accounted for the pace of openside Seán Killeen who ate up the meters to gather the ball inches from the Belvo line. Unfortunately, the ref pinged Belvo for holding on. Reacting quickest, ‘Tarf took a quick tap and dived over to score in the corner. The difficult kick was missed: 13 – 12.

It was on the stroke of halftime that Belvo were penalised after a collision in the air resulted in Clontarf’s fullback falling badly. There was no malice or intent in the challenge, but the referee’s choice of card was the correct colour, and the Black & Whites were down a man for the second half.

It was backs-to-the- wall stuff from the boys in Black & White, but Clontarf’s scored again in the 48th minute after the ball was moved wide off a scrum to the left wing. The winger carried well and the ball went through 3 phases before Belvo ran out of defenders and Clontarf scored under the posts. The easy conversion brought the score to 13 – 19.

Down, but not out, Belvo struck back in the 68th minute. A relieving kick was fielded in the middle of the pitch and moved left to the powerful and tireless No.8 Eugene Isong who bounced a couple of defenders before finding left-wing Jake Dolly with a skip pass. There was no stopping the pacey Dolly from 20m out as he outsprinted the cover to the corner. The conversion was missed and Belvo trailed 18 – 19.

Clontarf’s fourth try came in the 75th minute after sustained pressure on the Belvo try-line. Despite driving back the initial attacks over several phases, the ‘Tarf out-half stepped back against the grain to score under the posts. The conversion was successful bringing the score to 18 – 26.

There was still time to salvage something from the game. A penalty was awarded to Belvo in the 77th minute, 35m out from ‘Tarf’s try-line. Belvo opted for the 3 points with the thinking that a score would bring them into bonus point territory, and they would have one last chance at victory from the restart. Chambers’ kick was true and the score narrowed to 21 – 26.

Unfortunately for the boys in Black & White, it was Clontarf who scored with the last play of the game after their scrum-half fed a smart reverse pass after a break from the scrum to score under the posts. The conversion brought the final score to 21 – 33.

The scoreboard certainly didn’t tell the full story, but the defeat hurt. After all, as Vince Lombardi, the legendary Green Bay Packers coach quipped, “If winning ain’t important, why do they keep score?” However, the performance of the boys in Black & White today, was inspiring. They lads knew they were up against it, but they never gave up, dug deep, and played some of their best rugby all season. Their coaches are proud of their performance and are sure they will continue to improve.

Finally, and importantly, there was no serious injury to the Clontarf No.15. Both players involved in the collision shook hands at the final whistle to show there was no ill-feeling.

Man of the Match: Eugen Isong.

Match Report: A. Mac Nulty.