Tipperary Rugby: Another win sees Clonmel well set at halfway point of All Ireland League

ALL IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 2C

CLONMEL 26 SUNDAYS WELL 5

On a weekend when many games were cancelled due to freezing conditions, Clonmel were able to host their visitors from Cork, and put on an exciting and highly enjoyable game thanks to the generosity of Clonmel High School who made their excellent all-weather pitch available.

In fact the cold crisp conditions were excellent for rugby, and the immaculate surface suited Clonmel’s fast and accurate game. The home team were dominant in every aspect until the last quarter, when the bench was emptied and some continuity was lost, but by that stage the result had been well secured.

The visitors kicked off and in a rare early mistake Clonmel knocked on. The Clonmel scrum however was dominant, and the forwards soon secured the ball. A break by wing Andrew Daly, fast ball through the backs and strong carries by the pack, particularly Niall Campion, soon resulted in Jason Monua driving over in the left corner after just seven minutes. The conversion was missed, for a score 5-0 to Clonmel.

The home team continued to control the game in possession and territory, with the help of infringements by the visitors, a clinical lineout and dominant maul. A penalty for a high tackle lead to another secure lineout take, followed by some neat stepping by wing Dean Slattery to gain ground. When Alex Sheehan was illegally tackled, Dylan Cadogan stepped forward to slot the kick and make it 8-0 on 15 minutes.

The game continued in the same vein; a poor restart by the Cork team meant they didn’t get out of their half. When Clonmel again secured their lineout near the half way line, they marched a full 50 yards toward the goal line before the maul collapsed; surprisingly a penalty try was not awarded. However shortly later Dylan Cadogan exploited an offside penalty advantage to chip the defence. Dean Slattery finished the move to score Clonmel’s second try in the corner on 22 minutes to make it 13-0.

With the first half drawing to a close Clonmel stole an opposition lineout, and mauled forward into the visitors half, then then spread the ball through fast hands for Luke Hogan to make ground. The ‘Well defenders infringed, and Dylan Cadogan again kicked three points.

Clonmel accuracy out of touch, and lethal maul might have yielded a third try. However the penalty left the score 16-0 to Clonmel at half time.

The second half continued with the home side in charge. The combination of forward pressure in the loose and through the maul, with fast running backs, resulted in a series of penalties with the Sundays Well hooker being sin-binned for deliberate knock-on. Clonmel won a scrum under the posts, and put the squeeze on. Sheehan and Fronak spread the ball for Cadogan to score the home team’s third try after nine minutes of the second half.

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Clonmel continued to dominate the game with backs and forwards handling ball at pace – Rob Wynn catching the eye collecting a pass off his bootlaces to keep one move alive. Under ferocious pressure the visiting winger was yellow carded for deliberate knock on. The ensuing lineout was again mauled and Rob Wynn scored a deserved try for the forwards on 21 minutes. The conversion was missed but that left the score at 26 – 0 for Clonmel.

Clonmel made a number of changes and while Sundays Well had their period in the final quarter the home defence withstood relentless attack, one period of over 20 phases ending when the visitors knocked on. The Clonmel openside flanker was sin binned for deliberate knock-on, and a number of errors crept into play before finally the Corkmen tapped a quick penalty, spread the ball wide and scored in the corner. The conversion was missed in the last act of the game, for a result of 26-5 to Clonmel. 

This was a hugely enjoyable game for the Clonmel supporters. Great credit is due to the High School for use of their excellent all-weather pitch, to enable this game to go ahead.

The team built on recent good results, playing at a tempo and precision their opponents could not match for most of the game, and many squad members got an extended run, which will build depth. 

The AIL now goes into year end break, with our next game away to Sundays Well on January 14, 2023

Clonmel Squad: Niall Campion, Rob Wynn, Jason Monua, Tony Cantwell, Diarmuid Brannock, Jack Lonergan, Diarmuid Devaney, Dan Hosek, Alex Sheehan, Albert Fronek, Andrew Daly, Luke Noonan, Luke Hogan, Dean Slattery, Dylan Cadogan, Matt O’Toole, Brandon Delicato, Brian O’Dea, Sean Sweetman, Mathew Hynes, Billy Coffee, Darren Slattery, Tim Nugent.