Difficult week for rugby club in Tipperary ends with welcome victory

Cashel 13 Corinthians 5

Cashel turned in an excellent performance in Belfast on January 18 against Division 2A league leaders Instonians, when they were unlucky to lose by two points (36-34) in a very high-scoring game.

However, they took home a try bonus point and a losing bonus point. On Saturday last they hosted second-placed Galway Corinthians at Spafield in the All-Ireland League.

It had been a very emotional ten days for Cashel. First they lost Mary Fleetwood Ryan, who had been a very active member of the club for many years.

They were then rocked by the sudden death of Johnny Hannigan as he prepared to attend Mary’s funeral. Johnny had been a member of the club since his youth and held many positions in the club over the years, serving as president from 1973 to 1975.

The deaths of those two excellent members is a huge loss to the club and their families and they will be very sadly missed. They were passionate supporters of the club and I am sure as they looked down over the banisters of Heaven they would have been well pleased with the hard-fought win ground out against Corinthians.

The game kicked off in extremely wet, windy and cold conditions but it did not deter both teams from providing a most entertaining game. Cashel made the early running, taking the game to the opposition, with the forwards going through the phases.

It took just eight minutes to make a breakthrough. After constant pressure Paudie Leamy broke through the centre and scored under the posts. It was an excellent try and very hard-earned. Tim Townsend converted.

Corinthians attacked from the kick-off and were awarded two penalties that gave them attacking options. The Cashel defence endured fifteen minutes of extreme pressure but were heroic. They repelled everything thrown at them. The pressure eventually told when a Corinthians cross kick was caught by the right winger and he raced in for a try in the corner.

From then to half-time it was a full-blooded contest, with both sides attacking with everything they had and both defences on top.

On the stroke of half-time Cashel were awarded a penalty on the opposition 22 and Tim Townsend nudged Cashel ahead 10 points to 5 as the half- time whistle blew.

The rain thankfully cleared for the second half and the pace of the game did not drop. Both teams ran the ball at every opportunity. Cashel had the edge in the scrums, where Cormac O’Donnell, David Upton and Adam Shirley were excellent in the front row. Diarmuid Rowe, Alex Harold Barry and Ed Kelly lorded the lineouts.

Richard Moran and Joe Callery carried strongly. As a group they were awesome in defence and kept their line intact through many phases.

It must be remembered that Corinthians are backboned by a good number of Connacht academy players, a luxury not available to Cashel. Cashel’s dominance in the scrum was crucial as they won a number of penalties in this area. On 65 minutes Corinthians kicked a penalty to the five metre line but once again the Cashel defence held out.

There was an edge to the game, as one would expect in such a tight contest and tempers frayed a little with ten minutes to go. Two players saw yellow and the rest ploughed on.

Cashel finished on the attack and held out with the final score Cashel 13 Corinthians 5.

The backs also played their part. Half backs Josh Pickering and Tim Townsend steered the ship. Tom Tobin, Jamie Ryan and Richard Kingston tackled like demons. Paudie Leamy took his try in fine style when he sliced through the centre. At full back Ryan O’Sullivan had a stormer. He caught everything thrown at him and counter-attacked at every opportunity.

This was an excellent win for Cashel and keeps them in touch with the leading pack. Their last five games have been against the top three teams and that would have been six if the Barnhall game had not been cancelled due to the snow. It was a fitting way to get back on the horse after the sad events of the previous ten days.

Cashel’s next game is at home against fourth-placed Greystones on February 15.

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Cashel (1-20): C O’Donnell, D Upton, A Shirley, D Rowe, E Kelly, A Harold Barry, R Moran, J Callery, J Pickering, T Townsend, T Tobin, J Ryan, R Kingston, P Leamy, R O’Sullivan, N Roche, S O’Connell, M Crosse, M Strydom, M Frati.