Michael Connellan’s last-gasp heroics keep Clonmel unbeaten

Bruff 19 Clonmel 20

Clonmel turned the last play of the game into a remarkable escape at Kilballyowen Park in Saturday’s Energia All-Ireland League Division 2B South clash against Bruff.

Ninety metres from the try line, deep in injury time and six points behind, Clonmel could have kicked the ball dead and settled for a losing bonus point.

Instead, they went for broke. Keith Melbourne straightened the line with another hard carry, AJ Thomas slipped between two defenders and Michael Connellan raced 80 metres to score under the posts. Dylan Cadogan’s calm conversion sealed an extraordinary 20–19 victory right on the final whistle.

Clonmel preserved their unbeaten record despite the absence of inspirational captain Henry Buttimer. They also had to overcome a strong Bruff performance, two yellow cards, injuries, positional changes and a succession of penalties, but somehow prevailed.

David Hughes – Clonmel’s own Marty Morrissey - reminded all viewers online that Paul Collins had broken Clonmel hearts on many occasions. Collins and his teammates looked like doing so again on Saturday.

Bruff drew first blood and a three-point lead through the boot of Collins after a Clonmel player failed to roll away from the base of the ruck. Clonmel had trouble all day at the breakdown and seemed to get on the wrong side of the man in the middle.

Masuku, Daly, Huisamen and Wall stood out for Clonmel in the early stages, but the visitors struggled to knit their individual efforts into a cohesive team performance. Bruff denied them space and prevented them from imposing their game.

Another breakdown penalty extended the home team’s lead on the half-hour, but Clonmel rallied before the interval. Delicato was prominent in the revival and captain Keith Melbourne crashed over to make it 6–5 at half-time.

Given the balance of the opening 40 minutes, a one-point deficit was more than acceptable for the visitors.

Bruff continued to dominate the opening 30 minutes of the second half, and Clonmel’s difficulties began early when Joe O’Connor went off with an ankle injury. Jason Monua was then shown a yellow card for a no-arms tackle. Paul Collins kicked the resulting penalty to give the hosts a deserved 9–5 lead.

On the hour, Dylan Cadogan joined Jason Monua in the sin-bin. The penalty looked harsh and left the visitors with 13 men. After a series of scrums, Bruff exploited the overlap on the left and Collins dotted down a well-worked try. His conversion from the touchline was better still for the home side, stretching the lead to 16–5.

Clonmel hit back almost immediately from the restart, against the run of play. Robert Wall made the initial ground before Michael Connellan carried like a flanker to set up the visitors’ next try.

After some hard carries close to the line, Tom O’Dea passed back to Connellan who backed himself, sidestepping his way over. Both Tom O’Dea and Tim Nugent marked their 50th AIL caps with solid displays.

At 16–10 to Bruff, the restart again produced a score — this time for the hosts. A knock-on was followed by a Clonmel infringement at the scrum, and Collins punished it with another excellent penalty kick.

At this stage, it looked like Clonmel would leave Bruff completely empty-handed. As the clock ticked on and the penalty count continued to mount, some promising attacking moves broke down. Tom Ross went closest while deputising on the right wing. Soon after, an excellent break through the middle by Brian O’Dea also came to nothing.

However, Clonmel kept pressing and their efforts were rewarded with a penalty, which Cadogan converted to make it 19 points to 13.

The decisive score came from the last restart but not as one might expect. Bruff’s final drop kick from the halfway line pinned Clonmel deep inside their own 22. Their powerful pack drove the visitors back another 10 yards. On the green and black sideline, some urged them to kick the ball dead and bank the losing bonus point that had looked unlikely only minutes earlier.

O’Dea, Monua and Melbourne had other ideas. Melbourne straightened the line and made metres before the ball moved right through Andrew Daly and Jack Walsh to Thomas, who squeezed between two defenders and offloaded to Connellan.

With the Bruff team in pursuit, Connellan opened his stride and raced clear to finish under the posts. For older supporters, it echoed Gareth Edwards’ recollection of his try for the Barbarians against New Zealand in 1973: “Please God, don’t let my hamstring go now.”

Connellan’s hamstring held up and the sideline was still celebrating when Cadogan calmly added the decisive conversion.

The final whistle followed immediately: Clonmel had snatched it, 20–19.

After so much heartbreak at Kilballyowen, Clonmel could savour a remarkable victory built on heart and persistence. For Bruff, who had controlled much of the contest, it was a cruel finish to an excellent performance.

There is a break now for two weeks in the All-Ireland League, which will give the injured players a chance to recover before the next massive test which is at home to Midleton at 2.30 on November 28. The East Cork side are humming with the highest points difference and meanest defence in the league.

Clonmel RFC has four tickets available for Ireland v Fiji on November 14. If interested, apply by emailing [email protected]

Clonmel: Jason Monua, Brandon Delicato, David Brennan, Conor Bowen, Keith Melbourne (captain), Gerrit Huisamen, Ben Masuku, Andrew Daly, Tom Ross, Dylan Cadogan, Michael Connellan, Josef O’Connor, Robert Wall, AJ Thomas, Jack Walsh.

Replacements: Jack Dempsey, Tim Nugent, Brian O’Dea, Tom O’Dea, Ben O’Dwyer.