Tullamore thirds do the hard work in first half of first home game of season

Metro League Division 6: Tullamore J3s: 27, Dublin University J3s: 12

Tullamore J3s league season kicked off in September, but they had to wait until Saturday just gone to host their very first home game of the season. Dublin University were the visitors to Spollenstown on Saturday where both teams were met with wind and rain and a very heavy pitch.

Tullamore chose to play up the hill and set to work with strong ball carrying and a relentless desire for tackles. The pack were being led by Cathal Feighery and Dan Cronin who drove Tullamore up the pitch in the early exchanges. They were joined in the front row by youthful James Roe who showed his huge promise with his own strong carrying ability. Tullamore got close to the Trinity College line before the Dublin side managed to turn the ball over. All was not lost however as the ever-eager Jimmy Rabbitte managed to block the clearing kick and beat the covering defenders to touch down and leave Tullamore with a 5-0 lead.

Tullamore were straight back on the attack from the kick off. David Mann carried the kick off with purpose and an Adam Hughes clearing kick brought the game back into the Dublin University half. Tullamore’s defensive effort eventually saw the ball back into Tullamore’s hands and some further carrying and clever lines of running brought play back to the Trinity line. Flanker Kon Fennelly took it upon himself to pick and drive close to the line and showed immense strength to dot down in the corner. 

To their credit Dublin University started to gain a foothold in the game and used the hill to their benefit to make their way into the Tullamore half. Tullamore were relentless in their tackling with the aforementioned Roe and youthful John McQuade showing incredibly well. The Trinity College out half though showed sublime skill though and chipped and chased to score under the posts. He slotted the conversion to leave the score at 10-7.

Dublin University were buoyed by this score and were playing with renewed energy. Tullamore defence was superb in this period and were able to withstand 15+ phases of Trinity College attack. Centres Eoin Dixon and our new South African Estiaan Janse Van Rensburg were hugely dominant in these phases shutting down the Trinity attack. Despite this brave defending, Trinity eventually managed to break through the Tullamore wall and scored in the corner leaving the score at 12-10 to the visitors. 

The game was in the balance but Tullamore knew that they had the measure of their opponents as long as they kept the ball in hand. The try of the game came just on the half hour mark. Tullamore showed a good mix of forward and back attack with fullback Ronan Hooper coming more into the game and flanker Kon Fennelly carrying with intent. After multiple phases, the ball was moved wide where Estiaan finished off in the corner. With renewed motivation, Eoin Dixon successfully converted from the touchline. It was a case of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ as once again Dave took control of the resultant kick off and broke up the pitch. A further break from the impressive Ja Glynn brought Tullamore up the pitch. A Trinity infringement gave Tullamore a penalty 7 metres from the tryline. Cathal Feighery took the resultant tap penalty and made 6.5 metres of ground. Scrum half Adam Hughes then popped the ball to Dan Cronin who barrelled over from short range. This left the score at 22-10 at half time with Tullamore feeling confident of stretching their lead playing down the hill in the second half. 

It wasn’t to be, however, as with the pitch deteriorating and the rain coming down, the second half turned into a scrappy enough affair. Tullamore were very dominant in these exchanges and spent most of the game in the Dublin University half. Substitutes Mark Devine, Griff Smith and Sean Flynn added great impetus to proceedings with their ability to carry and beat defenders.

Tullamore were rewarded for their efforts with a further score through evergreen Cathal Feighery from a pick and go. The game ended with Tullamore camped on the Dublin University line with multiple attempts made to cross the whitewash. To be fair to the visitors, they enjoyed repelling the successive Tullamore attacks and the game ended with a frustrated Tullamore team being unable to add to their score. 

Tullamore now sit top of the Division 6 table with fellow top of the table team Seapoint due in Spollenstown next Saturday. This will be the final game before a well-earned Christmas break for the team. A special mention to David Mann, Dan Cronin and James Roe who shone in the forwards while Jarlath Glynn showed his class in his first game of rugby in a couple of years at 10.

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We would also like to extend our best wishes to our captain Colin Draper and his wife-to-be Ayesha Roche on their wedding day this coming Friday.