Backline shuffle reaps rich dividends for Garryowen

Tactical masterstroke or good fortune, Garryowen coach John Hall would probably subscribe to the former in deciding to shuffle his backline prior to Saturday's crucial AIB League visit to Kilternan. Switching Killian Keane to out-half and Jeremy Staunton to outside centre reaped a handsome dividend, manifest in their respective performances.

Aside from the practical value of 15 points, Keane controlled the game intelligently at out-half, exercising fine tactical acumen in his kicking game and also recognising the opportunities to pursue a more expansive approach.

Staunton relished the freedom of his new role, scoring a try and providing left wing Kevin O'Riordan with a gentle canter to the line for another.

This duo were easy on the eye but it was the Garryowen pack which provided the platform, defying the difficult conditions to produce a high tempo continuity game after a slow start. There was nothing shabby about their set piece work either, systematically dismantling the DLSP scrum and creating all manner of problems for DLSP hooker Stephen Cullen out of touch. Referee Bertie Smith cracked down assiduously on the crooked delivery despite the blustery conditions.

The accuracy of Garryowen's general performance - the opening 20 minutes aside - belied the pressure under which they entered the match. Keane explained: "The pressure for us to win this match was ferocious. I was literally afraid to meet people in Limerick during the week. We knew that we had let ourselves and everyone else down badly in the way we played last week.

"A defeat here would have seen us struggle to even make the playoffs. We spoke about improving the basics, hitting rucks and upping our work-rate. "We needed to ensure a high intensity game not the stop-start affair that would have suited DLSP. We are more dangerous when there is fluency to a match. I thought the pack were outstanding." What Keane was too polite to mention was that their victory was facilitated by a truly awful DLSP performance. Losing prop Nigel Condron after 11 minutes was a mitigating factor but hardly an excuse for a scrum that disintegrated, twice shoved off their own put-in. The lineout was no better, Stephen Cullen's wayward delivery compromising promising attacking situations.

The excellent Declan O'Brien and equally influential Bruce Wood aside, the home pack seemed resigned to their fate from an early stage, rarely managing to string two or three phases together. On the occasions that they did, basic handling errors carelessly tossed away the initiative.

Behind the scrum DLSP were equally laboured, save for the occasional cameo from full back Shane Stephens. Instead it was left to O'Brien and Wood to cut a swathe through the visiting hordes: denied the support, it proved a futile exercise.

The Garryowen pack in contrast were conspicuously abrasive, taking the tackle on their own terms and varying the rucking and mauling patterns to great effect. The tight five crafted most of the hard yards while young number eight Paul Neville was the pick of an equally hard working back row. Concerns regarding the fitness of David Wallace were largely assuaged: he might not have been as high profile as he normally would but he got through the workload.

The absence of Keith Wood was not as keenly felt as it might have been. Pat Humphreys proved a very capable deputy shining in the loose if occasionally errant in his lineout delivery. The first 20 minutes were dreadful; a morass of errors but once Keane had settled the visitors with a penalty they quickly warmed to the task.

The out-half dummied his way over for a fine try, converted it and added a penalty before Staunton stepped his way through the traffic for his side's second try. Keane converted.

Neville's try a minute into the second half ensured that Garryowen's only preoccupation was securing the bonus point for scoring four tries. They had to wait until the last 10 minutes before achieving that ambition through O'Riordan, embellishing victory with a fifth try, when replacement Mark Connolly crossed.

Garryowen face a huge test when hosting Shannon in their next outing and are aware that the benchmark for victory will be raised considerably. DLSP are unlikely to play as badly again but for the moment that is their only consolation.

Scoring sequence: 21 mins: Keane penalty, 03; 29: Keane try, Keane conversion, 0-10; 36: Keane penalty, 0-13; 41: Staunton try, Keane conversion, 0-20. Half-time: 0-20. 42: Neville try, 0-25; 65: Maher try, 5-25; 73: O'Riordan try, 5-30; 79: Mark Connolly try, 5-35.

DLSP: S Stephens; D McCabe, N O'Riordan, M Cunningham, E Devitt; D Clancy, B Hogan; K Condron, S Cullen, N Condron; K Wheelock (capt), R Frost; T Giles, D O'Brien, B Wood. Replace- ments: C O'Molloy for N Condron (11 mins); D Maher for Giles (half-time); S O'Donnell for Cullen (51 mins).

Garryowen: D Crotty, M McNamara, J Staunton, K Hartigan, K O'Riordan; K Keane, T Tierney; N Hartigan, P Humphreys, R Laffan; S Leahy (capt), D Peters; P Hogan, P Neville, D Wallace. Replacements: M Connolly for McNamara (38 mins); C Botha for Laffan (57 mins); R Leahy for Peters (57 mins).

Referee: B Smith (ARMB).