Clonmel return from Skerries empty handed after bruising second half performance

ALL-IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 2C

SKERRIES 43 CLONMEL 21

That well-worn cliché of a “game of two halves” comes to mind for this visit of Clonmel to Dublin side Skerries on Saturday last.

Playing against a bigger pack Clonmel brought the game to Skerries in the first half, in particular accurately kicking penalties and using the excellent maul as a weapon to score. However Clonmel were consistently under pressure in the second half from a combination of home side forward pressure, and a familiar failure to adapt to playing conditions. As a result the home pack dominated and held Clonmel scoreless while scoring four tries.

Playing into a tricky wind Clonmel opened brightly; featuring a break by Luke Hogan, and good play by Luke Noonan at out-half, with Albert Fronek at his favoured full back position. Rob Wynn then charged down a relieving kick, with Dan Hosek winning the race to touch down for Clonmel’s first try, which was converted.

This was immediately followed by a converted try in the corner for Skerries from a midfield turnover.

Then an ominous charge by the home second row John Waters through the defence led to another try to put Skerries ahead 14-7.

Clonmel were awarded a penalty try from a rolling maul, while the Dublin side worked an overlap to score in the corner.
The final action of the first half saw a great break by Andrew Daly on the right, followed by a penalty, lineout and maul with Jason Monua crashing over. Dean Slattery made the difficult conversion to leave it tied at 14-14 at half time.
For the second half Dylan Cadogan came on as scrum half, while Matty O’Toole came into the front row.

A quick tap penalty by Skerries on the five metres led to a try in the corner, however it was Skerries scrum and forward pressure that held Clonmel on the defensive, and saw the home side control the second half.

A deft off load by the home second row Waters on 63 minutes resulted in a try under the posts, for a score of 33-21, while a number of missed relieving penalty kicks and handling errors by Clonmel kept the visitors pinned back in their own half.
Such an error led to a 50 metre break, followed by another tapped penalty with big forw2ards running at backs for an eventual unconverted try in the corner.

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As the pressure continued in the final minutes, two yellow cards for Clonmel left the defence exposed, though the inevitable try was not converted.

Clonmel were beaten by a better team, with a big strong pack and fast backs. A good first half was not maintained. Clonmel’s best weapon was the lineout maul but opportunity to relieve pressure was lost through a number of missed penalty touch finders.

For Clonmel Andrew Daly and Luke Hogan had good games, Matty O’Toole had a positive impact when introduced, and once again Jason gave an excellent performance in both tight and loose.

BANGOR ARE NEXT UP AT ARD GAOITHE

Next week we welcome Bangor, who are second in the table and going well to Ard Gaoithe.
All support on Saturday next will be greatly appreciated.