Clonmel will be anxious to get back to winning ways against Midleton

Bruff 19 Clonmel 18

On a day made for ducks and big Bruff forwards, Clonmel fell to the narrowest of defeats against a Bruff side determined to put a halt to their recent run of narrow losses.

Clonmel started the day in second position on 38 points, with Bruff a full 16 points behind in fifth place. Despite this, the Clonmel faithful know that getting a victory against Bruff is never easy, especially in their East Limerick stronghold.

Back at home in December, Clonmel secured a hard-fought victory against the same opponents. This Clonmel starting team showed team changes from that game and were missing influential players from the pack including Diarmuid Brannock and candidate for Clonmel Player of the Season, Tomas Stransky. We wish them both well and look forward to welcoming them back soon.

However, the management team have developed depth in this squad, and all were confident in the men selected. There were two further changes to the bench, which saw an AIL debut for up-and-coming forward Davie Brennan, who did not look out of place at this level.

The opening pressure from Bruff forced a penalty after five minutes which was converted by Paul Collins to give the home side an early 3 – 0 lead.Clonmel worked very hard with many strong carries before Joe O’Connor - no stranger to strong carries himself - crashed over for a try to make it 5- 3 to the visitors after 15 minutes.

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Bruff scored a penalty almost immediately after the next restart to lead 6-5 in a lively and absorbing contest.
Clonmel went deep after the restart, forcing a lineout on the ten metre line. The lineout secured possession and great work led to Drew Musa spotting a gap. Brandon Delicato worked his way around to come onto the ball and made a break, which saw Bruff infringe. The kick in front of the posts from the 22 was no trouble to O’Connor who gave Clonmel an 8 points to 6 lead.

Clonmel were dominant and committed at this stage and the kick-chases forced a number of errors, which were eagerly devoured by the likes of Keith Melbourne and his friends in the pack. Unfortunately, a couple of overcooked kicks proved costly, turning over possession to the strong Bruff scrum.

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Just before half-time, Clonmel worked hard to get into Bruff territory when a super rip by Delicato was followed up with a pinpoint kick to the corner by Joe O’Connor. Tom O’Dea soared high and Clonmel set the maul.

Under tremendous pressure, Bruff were defending desperately and were reduced to 14 men after a high hit. Clonmel went to the corner again and Melbourne matched O’Dea’s eagle-like impression on the next lineout. Clonmel could not be stopped and powered over from close range for a try by Brandon Delicato.

It was a deserved score and Delicato was delighted to get back on the scoresheet after being denied by two penalty tries in recent games (one against Bruff). O’Connor converted the difficult kick making light of the tricky conditions.
The half-time score was Bruff 6 Clonmel 15.

However, the break seemed to invigorate Bruff, who started the second half the stronger and went on to dominate the 53 minutes of the second half. From the restart, they forced a couple of penalties. After Clonmel defended the first kick to the corner, Bruff decided to take the points to leave it 9 points to 15.

Shortly afterwards, the referee evened things up and a Clonmel player saw yellow for a high tackle. Home full back Collins indicated the posts from 45 metres o for an ambitious kick at goal. He proved up to the task with a terrific strike, cutting the deficit to three points after just 10 minutes of the second half.

Growing in confidence and cheered on by the vocal home support, Bruff were camped deep in Clonmel territory. Bruff seemed certain to score a number of times but Clonmel’s scramble defence was nothing short of heroic.

Led by captain Henry Buttimer and ably supported by Andrew Daly, who put in a number of monster hits, Clonmel refused to wilt. Instead of taking an easy penalty under the posts, Bruff went for a tap and go but this move was also repelled when a crucial interception by Joe O’Connor saw the ball cleared to safety.

The pressure was finally relieved when Tom Ross kicked forward and Freddie Davies gathered athletically.
However, Clonmel put themselves under pressure a number of times. There were some poor exit attempts, including kicks that were not accurate or blocked down. When building momentum, Clonmel were penalised for an accidental offside.

However, the physicality was immense and Clonmel showed great heart, character and fitness and tackled time and time again.
With 70 minutes on the clock, Clonmel finally worked themselves into Bruff territory for the first time in the second half. Neat interplay and a reverse pass from Andrew Daly to Freddie Davies threatened a line break. Bruff bought the dummy and Tom Ross was barged off the ball to earn a penalty.

Clonmel gratefully took the points to lead 18 points to 12. While not a true reflection of the second half, the visitors looked odds-on to close out the game and secure a victory that seemed unlikely for much of the contest.

However, the game had one last twist. Committed and hard rugby can be chaotic as players have to make split-second decisions while under massive pressure, both physical and mental.

And so it was that there were mistakes in this game and the match official was not immune either, awarding Bruff a scrum for a knock-on that never occurred. We sometimes forget that the referee also has to make split- second decisions while under pressure. In truth, the ball could have been cleared by Clonmel.

Bruff took full advantage of the scrum and scored the match-winning try. Collins made no mistake from the tee to give the home side a 19-18 lead as the game entered injury time.

As Clonmel tried in vain to work their way up the field, Bruff won a final penalty that was kicked to touch to end the game in the 93rd minute. While Clonmel could have snatched victory, Bruff were deserved winners.

The challenge for Clonmel is to embrace the cliches about “learnings” and “getting back on the horse” after suffering their first defeat on grass this season.

They have an immediate opportunity and there is no reason not to be confident, with the games coming thick and fast in a window that will tell a lot about Clonmel’s ambitions to stay in the top four of the AIL.

Clonmel are at home to an improving Midleton side next Saturday. After a narrow loss against Thomond, Midelton will travel to Clonmel with confidence and needing a win. It’s sure to be a thriller. Kick-off is at 2.30 – see you there.

Clonmel: Sean Sweetman, Brandon Delicato, Jason Manua, Tom O’Dea, Keith Melbourne, Conor Bowen, Ben Masuku, Andrew Daly, Tom Ross, Drew Musa, Freddie Davies, Joe O’Connor, Henry Buttimer, Michael Connellan, Jack Walsh.
Replacements: David Brennan, David Coyne, Zac Cahalane, Brian O’Dea, Luke Hogan.