Oh wow! This was a very tense affair, with a Shakespearean twist at the finish. I’m told the ending of Romeo and Juliet was regularly greeted by stony shocked silence, as the depth of the tragedy was revealed. On Saturday Terenure’s admirable noisy partisan support was dumbed by Con Kelly’s elegant strike for the win. A kick he celebrated with a grin and a restrained fist pump to his team as he was engulfed by his exhausted comrades.
Clontarf and Terenure are like cousins, who are members of opposing boxing clubs. When they meet it’s not long before they are whaling off each other in a quest for dominance.
The game was marked more for the physical commitment shown by both teams, than any elegance in play. Clontarf, by accident and design, found themselves defending for most of the first half as Nure fell on them in waves. Tarf held out for the most part, with Fionn Gilbert outstanding in the heat of the battle. He was man of the match for me, but was run close by a heroic scrum performance by Charlie Ward, who took the No 1 jersey from the high flying Ivan Soroka, and magnificently assisted by Ben Griffin, literally emptied the tank in a massive performance. The front row performance was crucial to Tarf’s success, earning 3 critical penalties to relieve pressure at crucial times. The score at half time was 5 0, after Jordan Coghlan finished a period of close pressure with a try.
The second half brought more intense drama as Tarf received 2 yellow cards and consequently went down to 13 men for 10 minutes of the third quarter. Terenure took advantage and put full back Aran Egan in untouched on the left. His conversion, of his own try, brought the score to 12 0 and Nure could see light at the end of the tunnel.
Clontarf kicked off and started to build momentum. The introduction of Luke Brady added a strong dose of dog and his kick downfield, after a Nure knock-on, gave Tarf field position. A block-down in the home 22 was followed by a penalty to Tarf which resulted in a maul and ultimately, after some heavy carries, the opening score for the visitors.
After some toing and froing for the next few minutes Nure conceded a penalty at a lineout 10 yards outside the Tarf 22. Con Kelly boomed it deep into the home 22 and, from the lineout, concentrated Tarf pressure was turned over by Nure who got their exit wrong and conceded another penalty after the relieving kick was blocked again. Tarf went to the maul and Con Kelly strolled in on the blind side for 12 10.
The game now entered the crucial period where fatigue becomes the major influencer to proceedings. Nure kicked off, Tarf cleared and conceded a penalty at the maul. Egan went deep and the ball was batted back into play, not cleared and a 5 metre scrum was awarded to Nure. Tarf conceded a penalty at the first set and Nure came off the back at the second and were held up after multiple phases for the goal line drop out. The resulting Nure attack was stopped by a high scrag tackle and after some confusion Nure opted for the posts with 3 minutes on the clock.
In my book that was a crucial tactical error. With 3 minutes to go, field position and control of the ball and the clock is more important than the scoreboard. Had Nure gone to touch and mauled away they would have easily run down the clock and won by 2 points. By taking the 3 they were going to concede territory to a team that had gone into full vulpine mode.
I swear I heard the dreaded toll of a funeral bell !
Con’s drop was perfect. Wide but short of the 22. Nure set the ball and kicked direct to touch from a pass outside the line. A classic fatigue error left Tarf with a lineout deep in the home 22. Nure defended brilliantly and won possession defending the attacking maul for a home throw. The relieving kick from the lineout was blocked dead AGAIN and, after some chat and reviewing the rule book, it was deemed a home drop out. Andrew Smith carried it back and Nure were penalised for hands on the ground at the jackal. Again Tarf went to the corner and Nure fouled the maul for a yellow.
“Once more unto the corner dear friends, dear friends, or close the wall up with our Clontarf dead….”
And finally ….. Barry Gray found Fionn, and ultimately found grass over the line for a stunning score. Con converted for a two point lead and the final whistle.
Clontarf have now won 5 games in injury time.
The French call it “ Esprit de Corps” …..
A military term meaning group spirit. We often define it as the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. It is a result of group enthusiasm for reaching a defined goal and refusing to be deflected by small distractions. Every management consultant thinks they know how to bottle it, they don’t ….. no one does.
I remember back in the day when Mick Doyle’s team captained by Ciaran Fitzgerald won a rare triple crown in Lansdowne Road. The two characters were interviewed after the game clutching each other and Mick Doyle was so emotional he could hardly speak. He was attempting to define why Ireland could reach a level of defiant performance and maintain it to victory. He was trying to define “Esprit de Corps “ with words. That’s the issue, you can’t describe it with words, only actions. You can’t coach it, or bottle it, or run courses in it, or coach coaches in it. You just get the right people in the room and see what bubbles to the surface.
Many thanks to all of our Jersey Sponsors
Thanks also to Terenure RFC and BF Sports Analysis for the video footage and, as ever, to Peter Walsh for the words