Clontarf withstand late Terenure push to take home AIL crown

Clontarf 29 Terenure College 23

Clontarf are worthy champions, capping a remarkable season in which they lost just a single match, to claim their third All Ireland League Division 1A title before a record crowd of 5,788 for an Aviva stadium final.

In the end it was a little more fraught than it appeared it would be at various stages during the game and that is due to the tenacity of a Terenure College team that rallied superbly to ensure a nerve-shredding end game.

Scrumhalf Alan Bennie’s try on 58 minutes, brilliantly converted by right wing Caelan Dooley - he chipped in with a flawless 13-points from the placed ball - made it a one score game at 29-23 and from that salvo Terenure derived energy and enthusiasm to fuel their drive going into the final quarter. As a source it very nearly sufficed to rescue an unlikely victory in their first final.

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The pivotal moment as the clock ticked down to single figures saw Clontarf defend a scrum close to their own posts. The re-introduction of Ivan Soroka, coupled with a slight nudge, allowed a posse of Clontarf tacklers to corral Terenure number eight Jordan Coghlan behind the gain-line and force a knock-on in the process.

Clontarf coach Andy Wood admitted: “It came down to a couple of moments, that (Terenure) scrum with about nine minutes to go (was pivotal); it (the momentum) sort of turned on that scrum. Thankfully, our boys dug deep and came out the right side of it.”

It still required two crucial penalty turnovers from the indefatigable duo, Adrian D’Arcy and Dylan Donnellan, to ensure that there was to be no nasty late surprise in a game which Clontarf controlled for large periods.

Terenure in contrast relied on rather appropriately colour-wise, purple patches in scoring terms but were left to rue the concession of a plethora of penalties that undermined ambition and intent. Head coach Sean Skehan said: “For those second and third quarters we came on the wrong side of the discipline.

“Around the breakdown area we struggled a little bit, on our ball we probably weren’t as accurate as we needed to be and defensively, we went after a few. Clontarf capitalised on those (errors), and Conor (Kelly) kicked very well,” the latter a reference to the Clontarf outhalf, who landed five penalties and two conversions in a 19-point haul.

Whistle

The first half was dominated by the whistle of referee Eugene Cross, which ensured that the rugby was of a staccato nature, short bursts that were bookended by penalty offences. Terenure were deemed the more frequent transgressors and that indiscipline allowed Kelly to plug away after Terenure had jumped out to a 13-6 lead thanks to a try by the excellent Peter Sylvester.

Kelly and Dooley traded penalties subsequently until Clontarf tighthead prop Ben Griffin muscled over for a try from close range. It gave Clontarf a 22-16 lead at the interval and when hooker Donnellan crossed for his 19th try of the season eight minutes after the re-start, with Kelly tagging on his second conversion, the expectation was that Clontarf’s dominance at the breakdown and in the collisions would allow them to increase that advantage.

Mick Kearney was outstanding in every facet of the game, ably supported by Tony Ryan, Cormac Daly and Adrian D’Arcy - the pack were good to a man - while Michael Brown and Michael Courtney both made some telling plays.

However, that acceleration on the scoreboard never materialised and when Terenure brought props Adam Tuite and Conor McCormack from the bench it changed the nature of the scrum contest in their favour. Jordan Coghlan’s carrying was a significant factor - so too that of captain Harrison Brewer and Sylvester - while Conall Boomer was another to make a pronounced difference.

Bennie’s try brought it back to a one-score game and Clontarf’s spiralling error-rate was a manifestation of the pressure. Terenure just couldn’t execute definitely just one more time despite territory and possession. It came down to small margins. A word too for their supporters who brought great pageantry to the occasion, noisy, colourful, and tireless in their exhortations.

Clontarf needed to make big plays in that final quarter and players stepped up to intervene at crucial times; it allowed them to stay just out of reach. They tried to play out the final minutes with a series of pick-and-jam gambits but in doing so conceded one final penalty.

Terenure kicked down the touchline, won the lineout but at a ruck in midfield, Donnellan insinuated himself over the ball; a final act that secured the victory.

Scoring sequence

2 mins: Kelly penalty, 3-0; 6: Dooley penalty, 3-3; 12: Kelly penalty, 6-3; 15: Sylvester try, Dooley conversion, 6-10; 20: Dooley penalty, 6-13; 21: Kelly penalty, 9-13; 27: Kelly penalty, 12-13; 32: Kelly penalty, 15-13; 34: Dooley penalty, 15-16; 37: Griffin try, Kelly conversion, 22-16. Half-time: 22-16. 48: Donnellan try, Kelly conversion, 29-16; 58: Bennie try, Dooley conversion, 29-23.

Clontarf: T Bird; M Brown, M Courtney, M D'Arcy (capt), C O'Donoghue; C Kelly, A Lloyd; I Soroka, D Donnellan, B Griffin; F Gilbert, M Kearney; C Daly, M D'Arcy, T Ryan.

Replacements: J Phelan for Griffin (38 mins), A Smith for O'Donoghue (44), M Kearney for Gilbert (54), D Bolger for Soroka (63), C Kearns for Kelly (64), Griffin for Phelan (64), Soroka for Bolger (71).

Terenure College: A La Grue; C Dooley, C de Buitlear, P Sylvester, C Adams; C Marsh, A Bennie; D Barnard, L Vaughan, A Keating; M Caffrey, M Melia; H Brewer (capt), L Clohessy, J Coghlan.

Replacements: C Boomer for Clohessy (44 mins), A Tuite for Barnard (54), C McCormack for Keating (61), M Murphy for Melia (65), Keating for McCormack (74).

Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)