Horgan try proves decisive score

It was a lottery to spin the ball wide. A side step was a high risk ploy. Kicking was at the mercy of the mud, wind, rain and cold. Everything added up to make this match more of a sporting purgatory than an All-Ireland League spectacle.

Cork Constitution put their heads down in the first half and felt the sting of every rain cloud that crossed Dublin Bay. When they were finally able to look up at halftime it was of some relief to find that they actually led the home side Clontarf by a 3-5 margin.

That the normal high velocity boot of Clontarf outhalf Richard Murphy was disrupted by the cross winds blowing around Castle Avenue was all Cork Constitution could have hoped for in the first half. One hit from three attempts added up to the bald fact that the 16th minute is where Clontarf began and ended their scoring in this game.

A match dominated by two packs slugging it out on the 22. The side that was playing into the wind made their back play almost non-existent.

In such a mire basic tactics came into play and with the wind on their backs in the second half Cork Constitution coach Ray Coughlan played it simple and got it right.

"The try in the first half really made the second easy from our point of view. It meant that we could very much play the game in their territory. Obviously they were going to find it very difficult to get out of their own 22 and in truth it was an awful blow for them to concede the try at that stage of the match. It really did come against the run of play. We were disappointed that we didn't score in the second half but the points are important and a relief to us," said Coughlan.

Anthony Horgan's try-scoring run was one of those heroic efforts that inflicts terrible damage on the confidence of the opposition.

Fifteen metres into the Cork Constitution territory, Brian O'Meara saw a little light, looked around and intelligently made a half-break into the Clontarf cover which were sucked across.

Horgan, charging up the right wing, collected from his scrum half and continued his sprint. It looked as if the space was not available as he kept to the right touchline.

But the Clontarf cover never arrived. Murphy splashed his way over and perhaps got a finger nail to Horgan's shirt. Full-back Mark Woods belting across the mud had too much ground to make up as Horgan slid over for a score that shook the meagre Clontarf support.

At that stage the home side had kicked three points and were deservingly heading to the break ahead, although, their vast territorial advantage should have yielded more.

Horgan's try then set a trend for the second period that was relentless for all but a short phase when Clontarf made ground late in the half. Constitution Prop John O'Driscoll was sin-binned for deliberately obstructing a tap penalty and for a while Clontarf were pressing. But like the first 40 minutes, they gained nothing as the Constitution defence held well.

The visitors simply kept kicking with the wind and sending Clontarf back to their own line.

At that stage Ronan O'Gara had landed two penalties to add to Horgan's try, his second coming after 57 minutes when Constitution led 3-11.

As the final whistle blew both teams were filing into the club house before any of the support had even left the stand. That perhaps summed up the day that was in it.

SCORING SEQUENCE: 16 mins: R Murphy penalty, 3-0; 40: A Horgan try, 3-5. Half-time. 45: R O'Gara penalty, 3-8; 57: R O'Gara penalty, 3-11.

CLONTARF: M Woods; R Noble, M Smith, G Ahearne, M Fitzsimons, R Murphy; S McCarthy, T Hannigan; B Jackman, P McQuillen, M Coughlan, M Meredith, A Dignam, P Ward, C Brownley. Replacements: P Noble for R Murphy 54 mins. N Barry for R Noble 60 mins. C Carr for Meredith 75 mins CORK CONSTITUTION: K Murphy; A Horgan, M McLoughlin, A Byrne; R O'Gara, B O'Meara; I Murray, F Sheahan, J O'Driscoll, S O'Connor, K Murphy, U O'Callaghan, J Canning, C Kehelly. Replacements: K Mullen for Murphy 35 mins. J Murray for O'Callaghan 56 mins. C Twomey for Sheahan 76 mins. Referee: J Coles (MRA)