Tipperary rugby: Clonmel edge Midleton in thriller for much-needed AIL victory

ALL IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 2C ROUND 11

CLONMEL 17 MIDLETON 14

After a bumpy start to the second half of the league in Enniscorthy the previous weekend, Clonmel’s first team were back on home turf last Saturday when they welcomed mid-table Midleton to Ard Gaoithe for the second league game of 2024, and round 11 of the campaign.

After a frantic game of the proverbial two halves, it was Clonmel who came out on top with a much-needed and hard-fought 17-14 win over their Cork rivals. The three-points winning margin moved Clonmel up to sixth place on the 10-team table, leap-frogging Midleton who are now two points behind and in seventh place.

With Storm Isha on the horizon, conditions in Ard Gaoithe on Saturday were wet and windy, as the lads lined out against the wind in the first half, and when the referee got proceedings underway at 2.30pm both sides were in for a tough 80 minutes.
The scoring opened on nine minutes when a penalty on the Midleton ten metre line afforded Joey O’Connor the opportunity to go for goal, which he duly slotted between the posts to put the home team into an early advantage at 3-0.

Four minutes later a lovely kick over the top to the onrunning Seamus Keating, who gathered the ball beautifully, set him up to cross the Midleton line in the corner for the game’s opening try. The conversion was difficult and went just wide of the mark and Clonmel led 8-0.

Minutes later, advantage swung in favour of Midleton when they moved into the corner after a nice move at the front of their lineout. With an excellent kick from a difficult angle they added the conversion, and it was back to a one-point game at 8-7 on 18 minutes.

A yellow card offence had the visitors down to 14 players and a penalty under the posts gave Joey O’Connor the opportunity to add three points and see Clonmel go 11-7 up.

Another penalty from O’Connor, in front of the posts, extended the Clonmel lead to 14-7. However, it was a short-lived advantage and on 35 minutes a maul from Midleton went over in the corner for their second try. The conversion was good, and the sides went to the half time break all-square at 14-14.

When the second half resumed, Clonmel had the advantage of an increasing wind. However, play was inconsistent by both sides and much of the action oscillated between the two ten metre lines.

Midleton continued to throw everything at Clonmel and to their immense credit the home side defended their lines valiantly. Phase after phase developed against them and still Clonmel held their nerve and their line.

Tim Nugent and Seamus Keating in the thick of the action for Clonmel in their win over Midleton at Ard Gaoithe on Saturday last.

It was edge-of-the-seat stuff for those in the stand as the Midleton onslaught continued, yet no points were conceded by either side in almost the entire second 40 minutes.

It was only as the clock ticked into the red when O’Connor once again stepped up to take a penalty for Clonmel, and from distance the ball hit the crossbar and bounced over. The AR flags went up and Clonmel nudged into a 17-14 lead.
The remaining seconds seemed to hang in the air like some of the earlier balls, but when the referee finally blew the full-time whistle, Clonmel had held out for a well-deserved victory.

The home side didn’t make it easy for themselves and it wasn’t a game for the faint-hearted, but a win is a win.
The result, a fifth win in 11 games, moved the side up to sixth place ahead of Midleton and one below this weekend’s opposition Tullamore. With only three points separating Clonmel and Tullamore, the fixture away to the county Offaly side gives Clonmel everything to play for this coming Saturday.

Clonmel Team:
Forwards: Tim Nugent, Brandon Delicato, Juan Cruz, Diarmuid Brannock, Tony Cantwell, Tom O’Dea, Diarmuid Devaney (captain), Brian O’Dea.
Backs: Aidan Hickey, Joey O’Connor, Zac O’Loughlin, Henry Buttimer, Luke Hogan, Seamus Keating, Conor Hogan.
Replacements: Matty O’Toole, Ben Everard, Lar Houlihan, Ben O’Dwyer, Dean Slattery.