Cashel loss to Barnhall dents AIL league play-off hopes

ALL IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 2A

BARNHALL 21 CASHEL 17

Round 15 of the All Ireland League brought Cashel to Leixlip, county Kildare, on Saturday last to play the local club Barnhall. It was a must win game for Cashel as they were five points adrift of fourth position in the table therefore a win was essential to keep pace with the top four teams.

Games between the clubs are always competitive and Saturday’s was no different as both teams served up an enthralling contest the result of which was in doubt right to the end. Unfortunately Cashel could not seal the victory that was there for the taking.

Conditions were perfect for rugby and the pace of the game from the off was extremely fast. Early on Richard Kingston fielded a high clearance inside his own half and was awarded a penalty which gained good territory. The resulting maul was pushed into touch by Branhall. Cashel were totally on top in the first quarter with James Ryan, Idris Rqibi, Fearghaill O’Donoghue, Conor Cashman, Ben Murray and particularly Mikey Wilson carrying very strongly.

With ten minutes on the clock and the Cashel pack going through the phases the ball was whipped to the left wing and Richard Kingston touched down in the corner.

There was a determination in the Cashel play as they defended well but each time they got inside the Barnhall red zone the home team either got a free kick or a penalty. At one point a free kick was given against Cashel for putting the ball in crooked in a scrum. Then totally against the run of play in a sweeping breakaway Barnhall scored in the corner. The try was converted.

A feature of their game was their ability to keep Cashel pinned back in their own half with long kicks which meant Cashel had to work extremely hard to gain field position.

The half time score was Barnhall 7 Cashel 5.

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Cashel came out for the second half with all guns blazing. They took the fight to the home team and ten minutes in they went ahead with a try from Idris Rqibi who crashed over after excellent work by the pack. Aidan McDonald converted to push Cashel 12 points to 7 ahead.

It was game on as Barnhall came in waves but Cashel dealt well with each attack as the defence was solid.

The last quarter was extremely frustrating for the visitors. They defended like demons and competed at the breakdown but the penalties went the other way giving Barnhall the go forward momentum and the pressure would eventually tell. As Branhall pounded the Cashel line their scrum-half dived over the ruck to score under the posts. The try was converted and Barnhall went 14 points to 12 ahead.

Cashel came back again and as backs and forwards edged towards the line Cashel had a three on one overlap but Barnhall intercepted and swept up the field to score a converted try. Cashel made one last effort as time ran out and from a lineout maul Sean O’Connell scored a try which earned Cashel a losing bonus point.

This was a rip-roaring contest between two high quality teams. While there were many positives in the Cashel display, it was a devastating loss as they did enough to win with Barnhall scoring three breakaway tries.

The All Ireland League games come in blocks of three. This latest block from game thirteen to fifteen has been very disappointing for Cashel with two losses and a draw which punched a huge hole in their season.

Cashel’s next outing is in Spafield on Friday, March 24 against high fliers Nenagh.

Cashel team (1-20) C Ryan, N Fitzgerald, B Ryan, I Rqibi, F O’Donoghue, A Butler, J Ryan, M Wilson, J Pickering, A McDonald, M McCormack, C Cashman, B Murray, R Kingston, F Bergada, S O’Connell, J Evans, B Crosse, M Hickey, Aidan O’Connor.