18 November 2012
Young Munster 14
Garryowen 21
In a bitingly cold and rain swept Tom Clifford Park, near neighbours
Young Munster and Garryowen went to battle in this Limerick derby in Round 6 of
the Ulster Bank League Division 1A.
After 80 plus minutes of high octane action, Garryowen were deserving
winners in the end but had to withstand a late onslaught from the home side who
will be a little bit disappointed in the end that they did not take more from the
game than just the losing bonus point.
Both sides must be commended for their whole hearted performance in the
very difficult playing conditions which was a far cry from the tepid,
unstructured affair served up in Thomond Park twenty four hours earlier between
Ireland and Figi.
Young Munster lined out as selected with their only change being on the
bench where Colin Liston replaced Johnny Moroney. Garryowen made four changes to their starting
line up with Ronan O’Mahoney replacing Matt Jarvis at full back, Lorcan Burke
replacing O’Mahoney on the left wing, Mark Hanrahan replacing Conor Hartigan
and coming in for Anthony Kavanagh at blind-side flanker and Kavanagh then
moving to the vacant openside position. Hartigan
and Jarvis were joined by Peter O’Shea on the Garryowen bench.
The visitor’s started the game the brighter and had the home side penned
in their own 22 for the majority of the early exchanges. They made their dominance count and took the
lead in the 2nd minute with a penalty from outhalf Jamie Gavin.
With Gavin dictating matters and peppering the Young Munster defence with
up and unders in the difficult conditions, an attempted drop goal by the
Garryowen outhalf which was called back by referee Sean Gallagher in the 8th
minute. Gavin converted the resultant
penalty in to a strong cross field breeze to extend Garryowen’s lead to 6-0
lead.
The home side had struggled to get out of their own half in the early
stages but slowly but surely they fought their way back in to the game with
their forwards picking and driving and making a lot of the hard yards. They had an opportunity to half the deficit
in the 20th minute when Garryowen’s Anthony Kavanagh was penalised
for coming in from the side but scrum half Brian Haugh’s kick drifted wide of
the posts and Garryowen retained their 6-0 advantage.
Garryowen seemed to have the advantage in the scrum at this juncture and
they looked like extending their advantage in the 29th minute after
a beautiful spiral kick by Gavin to the corner. Young Munster defended their line out well
however and won a penalty to relieve the pressure. The home crowd were certainly doing their
best to get behind the home team at this stage.
And they were in full voice 2 minutes later when, after penning the
visitors back in their own 22, the home side robbed a Garryowen line out, and
when the forward drive was illegally stopped, scrumhalf Haugh had another
opportunity to reduce the deficit.
Unfortunately, he was to hit the upright this time, but after recycling
the ball and a number of drives, Garryowen were penalised for a high tackle by
hooker James Rael on Munsters outhalf Garreth Quinn-McDonagh. Rael was sent to the sin bin for his troubles
and Haugh made no mistake this time to leave the home side trailing by 6-3.
With the game now ticking in to overtime at end of the half and supporters
heading to the clubhouse for a much needed cup of tea, Garryowen launched one
last attack and after good lineout work and help from his forward pack,
Garryowen lock Aaron McCloskey barged over the line for the first try of the
game. Gavin’s conversion was wide to the
right so the teams retreated to the dressing rooms with the visitors holding an
11-3 advantage.
The home side hit the ground running at the start of the second half and
after Garryowen were penalised for going off their feet in the 41st
minute, Haugh converted to reduce the deficit to 11-6.
Unfortunately, any momentum the home side had was wiped out in the 45th
minute when, after Garryowen got the push on a scrum after a knock on by Haugh,
referee Gallagher ran under the posts to award a penalty try to the
visitors. Gavin converted to increase
Garryowen’s lead once more to 18-6.
This was now a pivotal juncture in the game and it was sensed that a try
was needed by the hone side in order to get back in to the game. After a fumble by Garryowen in midfield in
the 47th minute it seemed that Munster’s opportunity had
arrived. After a kick through which
resulted in a 5 metre scrum, Garryowen were penalised but the home side passed
up the opportunity of three points and went for a repeat scrum. Again Garryowen
were penalised and again the home side turned down the three points on hand. When the home side lost the ball forward from
the scrum and Garryowen cleared from the resultant penalty, you sensed that
this was a vital decision in the overall context of the game and one that the
home side may regret by the end of the game.
Director of Rugby Mike Prendergast entered the fray in the 55th
minute and immediately moved in to the outhalf position in order to give the
home side some extra impetus there.
However, Garryowen extended their lead a minute later with a penalty in
front of the posts which was converted once more by Gavin.
The home side were not to be outdone however and after a penalty in the
59th minute which was kicked to the corner, the Munster’s forwards
mauled their way over the line with blindside flanker Mark Rowley getting the
all important touchdown. Haugh’s
conversion was just short and Garryowen’s lead was now reduced to 21-11.
Sensing a way back in to the game, the home side now drove forward at
every opportunity. Garryowen were doing
a good job at repelling them but a penalty conceded in 76th minute
was punished by Haugh once more and we now had a one score game at 21-14.
Not content with being in a losing bonus point position the home side
now carried all the momentum and they were creating gaps in the Garryowen
defence. Garryowen conceded a further
penalty in the 78th minute for being offside and substitute Conor Hartigan
was sent to the bin. Again Munster’s kicked to the corner but after a poor lineout
and subsequent knockout, Garryowen once more relieved the pressure. In a grand stand finish, and with 8 minutes
of overtime played, Munster’s went through 15 plus phases of possession which
were repelled by the visitors until they eventually cleared the ball to touch
to close out the game.
The Garryowen coaching partnership of Tom Tierney and Paul Neville will
be delighted with this hard earned win and outhalf Jamie Gavin continues his
impressive form from the boot. Garryowen
remain in second place in the standings, two points behind leaders Landsdowne. Mike Prendergast and his assistant Denis
Leamy will be disappointed with a home loss to their local rivals but will be
heartened for the days ahead by the battling spirit shown by their charges in
the last 20 minutes in particular where a converted try would have given them a
draw which their endeavours may just have about deserved. They remain in fourth place in the table.
Man of the
Match: Jamie Gavin (Garryowen)
Teams and
Scorers:
Young
Munster: Craig O’Hanlon, Steve McCauley, Mark Doyle, Lukas Kuntz, Darragh O’Neill,
Garreth Quin-McDonagh, Brian Haugh (3 pens), Ger Flaherty, Ger Slattery,
Darragh Cantillon, Sean Duggan, Darren Gallagher, Mark Rowley (1 try), Luke
Russell, Neville Melbourne Replacements: Colin Liston, Ger Burke,
Hugn McGrath, Mike Prendergast, Declan Bannon
Garryowen: Ronan O’Mahoney,
Cian O’Shea, James McInerney, Conan Doyle, Lorcan Burke, Jamie Gavin (3 pens, 1
con), Neil Cronin, Rory Brosnan, James Rael, JP Cooney, Alan Kennedy, Aaron
McCloskey (1 try), Mark Hanrahan, Anthony Kavanagh, Dave Sherry Replacements: Dave Rowley, Pater O’Shea,
Conor Hartigan, Matt Jarvis, Geoff Ryan
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