Tonic victory for second place Clonmel against league leaders Thomond

Clonmel 24 Thomond 22

Clonmel club statistician David Hughes advised us it was first versus second in all divisions of the AIL last weekend. So it was in 2C, as Clonmel welcomed the league leaders Thomond to Ard Gaoithe.

After the last league game we spoke about character, heart, bravery, resilience and determination. Clonmel showed all of these characteristics to bring Thomond’s amazing league start (five bonus point wins in a row) to a shuddering halt.

In rugby, there is lots of unseen work on the pitch – or so some of the forwards allege if ever challenged. However, the unseen work of club chairman Paddy O’Donnell and his hard-working committee was evident as the game went ahead despite rain of biblical proportions all week.

Clonmel named the same 20 players again in a sign of a squad that is settling well and gelling together.

Michael Connellan continued his fine form and started well, forcing a knock- on from Thomond before claiming a mark under a difficult greasy ball shortly afterwards.

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However, Clonmel started on the wrong side of the referee early on and conceded a number of early penalties, some of which looked harsh. From one penalty, Thomond’s big number five, Sully, crashed over after just six minutes to put the visitors five points ahead.

Despite very heavy underfoot conditions, both teams tried to play running rugby and delivered a highly entertaining game. Clonmel gathered possession from the restart and made progress with hard carries and good offloads. When Clonmel ran out of numbers, Musa was forced to kick. The kick was claimed by the Thomond full back who made 80 metres with a kick off his own. Musa gobbled up acres of ground to gather and snuff out the danger.

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Great teamwork from the home side worked the ball from right to left before full back Jack Walsh – another player having a fine season - crashed over for the levelling score. Joe O’Connor made light work of the difficult conversion to give Clonmel a seven points to five lead after just 13 minutes.

Another thrilling passage of play included an expert kick ahead by Keith Melbourne that was chased by both Joe O’Connor and Freddie Davies, who made light work of the heavy ground.

From the next ruck, Tom Ross executed a perfect 50:22. From the resultant lineout, Clonmel crashed over the line but the official judged the ball was held up despite pleas from the supporters at the clubhouse end. All in all, Clonmel were held up over the line three times.

Tom Ross is in great form after his injury, and Clonmel threatened to score again after he made excellent progress from the base of a solid scrum. Unfortunately, the final pass went to ground in conditions that were increasingly difficult.
The game was increasingly being played in Thomond’s half. However, on a rare incursion into Clonmel territory, Thomond won a penalty and went to the corner after 30 minutes.

Their back line showed why they are league leaders and an expert kick ahead by their outhalf was regathered by winger, Birrane, who did a Chris Ashton-type swandive over the line to add insult to injury. The conversion was good to give the visitors a 12- 7 lead at the break.

Disaster struck for Clonmel almost straight from the restart when the Thomond backs cut loose. An unbelievable offload from their outside centre was expertly finished to put Thomond 19 points to 7 ahead and it was a mountain to climb for Clonmel.

The home team don’t do panic and from the next restart Melbourne made huge progress up the middle and offloaded expertly to the hard-working Stransky, who is having his best season for Clonmel.

From a perfect lineout and unstoppable maul, Delicato emerged smiling from under a pile of bodies to claim another try and conversion for Clonmel to cut the deficit to just five points: 14-19.

Clonmel applied huge pressure and were the better team in this period. Highlights included a Masuka break up the wing and an unbelievable take by Musa under pressure.

Henry Buttimer always does the basics well and instead of just charging down the Thomond kick, he managed to catch and smother the ball, keeping Clonmel in the right half of the pitch.

Thomond were feeling the pressure, and had to rest some of their starting pack, and made some errors including a kick directly to touch. A mistake perhaps but evidence of the huge pressure being exerted by a Clonmel team playing their best rugby of the season.

To the home observers, the scrum seemed on top all afternoon and the referee began to reward the superiority. A succession of scrum penalties brought play to within ten metres of the line. But, as the try line beckoned, Clonmel were held up for the second time in the game.

Clonmel weren’t discouraged and kept on the pressure. A neat kick ahead by Tom Ross was chased up unbelievably by Melbourne, who forced the unfortunate offender into touch.

After being held up over the line for the third time in the game, Clonmel wisely took the scrum from penalty advantage and were rewarded with a penalty try and led 21 points to 19 with ten minutes left on the clock.

Thomond then showed their character and grit and converted a penalty after a ruck offence to retake the lead by a single point; Clonmel 21 – Thomond 22 as the end game approached.

Clonmel seized the initiative again and their maul made 40 metres, as their fitness showed. The final pass to Davies was forward but Clonmel were playing on penalty advantage. O’Connor controlled his heart rate with a straightforward kick to push Clonmel 24 points to 22 ahead with the clock entering injury time.

With some in the large crowd hoping for a relieving kick, Clonmel played keep-ball, with calm minds and no mistakes deep in defence. Johnny Moloney was credited with this phase of play, which ended when the ball was tapped out calmly for an excellent win.

All the squad played well but special mention should go the front row, who all played the full 80 minutes. It was entirely fitting that Sean Sweetnam was awarded man of the match.

Clonmel stay in second place after closing the gap and look forward to a trip to fourth place Midleton on November 29. Townspark in Midleton hasn’t always been the happiest of hunting grounds for Clonmel and another big test awaits. And, again, the Clonmel supporters can’t wait either.

Clonmel: Sean Sweetnam, Brandon Delicato, Tomas Stransky, Keith Melbourne, Diarmuid Brannock, Tom O’Dea, Ben Masuka, Andrew Daly, Tom Ross, Drew Musa, Freddie Davies, Joe O’Connor, Henry Buttimer (captain), Michael Connellan, Jack Walsh.
Replacements: Liam Ryan, Davy Coyne, Conor Bowen, Luke Slattery, Ben O’Dwyer.