Clonmel return from Tullamore with hard-earned win but no bonus point

Tullamore 20 Clonmel 21

On a damp and murky day, which made handling difficult, Clonmel travelled to Tullamore harbouring hopes of a top four finish in Division 2C of the All-Ireland Rugby League.

A bonus point win was required to keep their slim hopes alive against a team propping up the All-Ireland League and fighting for their rugby lives.

At the end of the day, both teams will probably be unhappy with the result. Clonmel were a little deflated, despite the late and dramatic victory, as the win came but without the bonus point needed. Tullamore were devastated at the final whistle, as the narrow loss surely sends them down to the Junior rugby ranks.

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From the kick-off, Clonmel showed plenty of ambition with a mixture of hard carrying by the forwards, zippy passes from the base of the rucks and some excellent breaks from the backs. Cantwell, Brannock and Huisamen made the hard yards, Ben O’Dwyer added great zip and Henry Buttimer made a thrilling early break, ably supported by his teammates in the back division.

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After just four minutes and multiple hands, the high-scoring and hard working Freddie Davies worked his way from left to right and scored in the right-hand corner. Despite a tricky wind, Joe O’Connor added the conversion to give Clonmel an early seven-point lead.

Tullamore showed great character to respond and were rewarded with a penalty in front of the posts, as a Clonmel player lingered too long on the wrong side of an attacking ruck. The resultant penalty brought the score back to seven points to three after just 10 minutes.

Tullamore went on to dominate the next 15 minutes with a very solid scrum and they were causing Clonmel plenty of trouble in the line out, despite a big impression made by replacement Brian O’Dea. However, they could not make their dominance pay on the scoreboard, as the visitors’ defence was up to the task.

Clonmel struggled at times when in possession with a number of unforced errors, which were not helped by a greasy ball. However, the away side stuck to the task and showed great ambition when kicking to the corner when awarded a penalty in front of the posts.

It was the correct decision, as the forwards built an unstoppable maul and crashed over the line. The newly-promoted Ben Masuka, who would go on to win man of the match, emerged with the ball and the score. Joe O’Connor’s terrific conversion made it 14-3 at the break in favour of Clonmel.

The second half started well for Clonmel, with Dylan Cadogan’s brave take in the air an early highlight. However, it was the home side who went on to dominate the second half, as they fought manfully to preserve their senior status.

After an excellent 50:22 following a turnover in their own half, Tullamore’s efforts were rewarded as their big second row, Ciaran Ennis, crashed over for a try to narrow Clonmel’s lead to 14 points to 10 after 51 minutes.

Tullamore went on to to score a second try after pressurising Clonmel time and time again. Clonmel defended well for many phases, but in the end the try was much too soft as Tullamore waltzed over for the score to take a deserved 17 to 14 points lead.

Despite being under pressure, Clonmel appeared to have lifted the siege after a great break by Luke Hogan up the right wing. Hogan offloaded to Dean Slattery, who made considerable ground before passing to supporting back row, Brian O’Dea. Brian appeared to have scored but the officials, to put it kindly, didn’t have the pace of Hogan, Slattery or O’Dea and deemed the ball was held up when they arrived on the scene.

The phase of play following the goal line drop out will not make for pleasant viewing at the Clonmel review meeting, as the restart was allowed to bounce into touch and the error was compounded with a crooked throw in at the lineout.

Tullamore sensed blood and a scrum penalty was converted in the 75th minute to the delight of the home crowd to bring the score to 20-14.

Clonmel’s Twitter operator declared it last chance saloon as the game headed towards the final whistle.

With the win looking unlikely, Clonmel worked hard to get up the field as a tiring Tullamore team conceded a couple of penalties. From a five-metre line out, the ball was worked across the backline, with Cadogan firing a lovely skip pass to Dean Slattery, who scored in the corner.

This made it 20-19 to the home side and both sets of supporters held their breath as Joe O’Connor faced the conversion into a nasty cross wind.

To quote Pat Shortt, Joe has balls like a Bengali tiger and slotted the conversion with the last kick of the game and secure the win for Clonmel on a scoreline of 21 points to 20.

It was a tough outcome for Tullamore but on balance Clonmel deserved to win a tight game after a number of close defeats during the season.

Clonmel welcome their friends from Omagh to Ard Gaoithe next Saturday for the final game of the AIL season. Kick-off is at 2.30 and a large home crowd is expected for what is sure to be an entertaining game.

Clonmel: Tomas Stransky, Brandon Delicato, Jason Monua, Diarmuid Brannock, Tony Cantwell, Tom O’Dea, Ben Masuka, Gerrit Huisamen, Ben O’Dwyer, Drew Musa, Freddie Davies, Joe O’Connor, Henry Buttimer (captain), Luke Hogan, Dylan Cadogan.

Replacements: Liam Ryan, Sean Sweetnam, Brian O’Dea, Alex Sheehan, Dean Slattery.