Clontarf 29 Garryowen 21

The Clontarf travelling show rumbled to another victory on Saturday in beautiful Castle Avenue.

The home side will be thanking the stars that, for the first half of the game, they hit all their marks and scored three tries straight out of the top drawer.

After Con Kelly opened the scoring with a penalty on 18 minutes, Tarf followed up with a rolling maul from the away 22, which romped over. Two minutes later, from advantage at a dominant scrum, winger Peter Maher was put free down the right and looked to be going in, – but for an ungracious slap on the ear – which felled him and forced a recycle, which was carried over by Tadhg Bird.

Tarf then added a beauty. From a lineout 10 yards in their own half, the ball was spun right to left where Oran Walsh set the first phase. The ball went left again, where good hands from Bird and Con Kelly put full back Andrew Smith clear and he had scrum half Louis O’Reilly in support to score a cracker. We will miss Louis who is travelling to New York in pursuit of filthy lucre which is a small step up from starting rows on the pitch in Castle Avenue.

Tarf then hit the big red wobbly button and Garryowen started finding good yards close to the ruck. Right on half time they made ground up the side and after a bit of luck holding possession, carried hard into the home 22, where after camping on the home line, got in for a converted score on the left. Half time was 22 7 to Clontarf.

In the second half the visitors upped their game and took advantage of some more spongy defence by the home side. Particularly spongy was the home defence for the second score which went in untouched from a scrum on the right for 22 14. Clontarf, thankfully, responded almost immediately and from an attacking lineout, at the car par park end, the ball was spun with an advantage and after some unorthodox flipping up in the air fell to Seni O’Reilly who left a trail of bodies in his wake on the way to the line. That put the score 29 14 and was the telling try. Garryowen added another for 29 21, but were running out of steam and time and luck in their efforts to show something from the game.

So, another 5 pointer which leaves us top of 1A. Plenty to work on though, with a visit to Belfield next Saturday .