Players, coaches and, for that matter, spectators may come and go, Garryowen may even don an unfamiliar allwhite second strip, but some things never change. Once again a seemingly superior visiting team came to Dooradoyle, created the better scores and were never headed until the 78th minute only to depart with that familiar feeling. We wuz mugged.
Galwegians scored one straightforward close-range, setpiece try which was a tribute to their initially superior scrum (as was their line-out) and Eric Elwood brilliantly carved another from inside their own 22 which was testimony to their handling skills and support play.
They also defended better, crowding out the perceived dangermen at half-back, Jeremy Staunton and Tom Tierney, as well as the only-occasionally used David Wallace, with an impenetrable fringe defence spearheaded by Michael Swift and Barry Gavin. When Garryowen attacked further out, one could readily see why the Galwegians' results have steadied with the recall to arms of tough tackling Mervyn Murphy.
Thus, by comparison Garryowen were forced to live off scraps, yet no-one but no-one has traditionally done it better than they and these light but indefatigable young tyros (average age 23 on Saturday) are cut from the same cloth. Their first try was an intercept by recently-returned winger Kevin O'Riordan from inside his own 22 after Galwegians, somewhat foolishly, had used a move which saw scrum-half Bryan Shelbourne take on Wallace, of all people, from the base of a scrum and spilled the ball in attempting to get his pass away.
Likewise the second, decisive try was also the product of Galwegians turning over the ball. The unfortunate Shelbourne was also culpable when Galwegians failed to control scrum ball near their own line under pressure from Tom Tierney, and Paul Neville pounced for an opportunistic try, having switched to open side for the departed Wallace.
That Garryowen stayed in touch until then was in large part to the accurate boot of Staunton, whose only blemish in six attempts was a long-range penalty against the upright. By contrast, the normally reliable Elwood missed his first three pots at goal, though he and a few others were adamant that the third, a straight 35-metre penalty, had been wrongly adjudged wide.
This only added to Galwegians' strong sense of injustice, who now have anxious waits on Elwood (neck/shoulder injury) and Willie Ruane (rib cartilage).
Their dejected coach John Kingston bemoaned a number of Alain Rolland's decisions which went against the visitors in the end game. Certainly the decision to award Garryowen an attacking scrum after Killian Keane had been turned in the tackle appeared to suggest he hadn't released, while Kingston was particularly furious over the crucial indirect penalty for a delayed throw-in against Paul Cleary in front of the home dugout after Rolland had been beseeched by home players and sideline refs alike.
Yet the suspicion lurked that saving the game was beyond Galwegians at that stage. To a degree there's a sense of paranoia amongst visiting coaches and players that they don't always get a fair crack of the whip in Limerick where the locals can get at officials, it has some justification, but I've seen far worse examples than this.
Galwegians did dally unnecessarily over that last line-out, and ultimately they were more to blame themselves. Their scrum, having started on the offensive, ultimately ended the game in a degree of bother, which shouldn't have happened given they have much more full-timers. Here though, Andy Earl utilised his bench to more telling affect.
In the heel of the hunt, even if you appear the superior force, you take your chances and you play for the full 80 down here or you lose. Some things are cast in stone.
Scoring sequence - 3 mins: Ruane try 0-5; 11 mins: Staunton pen 3-5; 16 mins: Duffy try 3-10; 23 mins: O'Riordan try, Staunton con 1010; 29 mins: Elwood pen 10-13; 39 mins: Duffy pen 10-16; 40 mins: Staunton pen 13-16; 43 mins: Staunton pen 16-16; 53 mins: Duffy pen 16-19; 57 mins: Duffy pen 16-22; 78 mins: Neville try, Staunton con 23-22.
GARRYOWEN: D Crotty; S Mackay, K Hartigan, C Foley, K O'Riordan; J Staunton, T Tierney; N Hartigan, P Humphreys, R Laffan, E Kelly, R Leahy, P Neville, J O'Sullivan, D Wallace. Replacements: K Keane for Hartigan, J Giltenane for Laffan (both 66 mins), C Varley for Wallace (68 mins).
GALWEGIANS: W Ruane; G Duffy, P Duignan, M Murphy, D Rumney; E Elwood, B Shelbourne; D McFarland, P Cleary, P Bracken, D Browne, M McConnell, B Gavin, M Swift, J Barfoot. Replacements: G Brady for E Elwood (40 mins).
Referee: A Rolland (IRFU)
