This was a great example of the ebb and flow of spectator emotion as the tempo of a game evolves.
5 minutes into the match and Clontarf supporters were nervously twitching as the home side jumped out to a 6 point lead due to two penalties from the in form home full back, Gavin Dunne. He took advantage of a favourable breeze behind the home team in the first half. The visitors were also finding it difficult to impose their expected scrum dominance which along with the home defensive speed off the line was compressing the ‘Tarf attack. As the game moved into the second quarter the scrums evened up and mood began to change. Sam Cronin found a hole in the home defence and found Royce Burke Flynn in support. The prop’s quick transfer into the hands of Max McFarland was enough to see him home in the corner for 6 – 5 to Mary’s at half time.
In the second half, with the strong wind behind them, ‘Tarf began to impose scrum dominance. That, along with a superb line-out lead to scores of possession in the home sides half forcing Mary’s into a lot of tackling. An inside ball from David Joyce to Mick McGrath saw him in beside the posts and as the game and the attrition wore on he pounced on a loose ball and made it to the line where a quick transfer saw Tony Ryan put Brian Byrne in for the final score.