Map / DirectionsTALLAGHT R.F.C. 15
Tries: Luke Tyrrell, Bryan Tyrrell
Conversion: James Maher
Penalty: James Maher
KILKENNY NORMANS 0
Leinster League J4
04/02/12 Tymon Park
Tallaght took on fellow strugglers Kilkenny Normans in a bottom-of-the-table J4 League clash in Tymon Park. Both sides are new teams who are learning the game and they’ve both suffered heavy defeats this season to more experienced clubs such as Railway Union, St. Marys and Malahide. This game would effectively decide who’d finish at the foot of the table and neither team wanted that distinction.
Tallaght played into a strong wind in the first forty and they struggled to get out of their half. The Normans dominated possession and territory but couldn’t get on the scoreboard and watched two penalty attempts go wide. They looked to have scored a try when a Tallaght kick was charged down and the ball appeared to be grounded over the line. The referee ruled that it was a knock-on and this was tough luck for the Normans because it looked a good try. Other than that, Tallaght’s defense held firm with skipper Donat Maloney making some thumping hits and they were happy enough to go in at half-time with no score on the board.
With the wind at their backs in the second half Tallaght started to pin the Normans back through the kicking of halfbacks Colm O’Reilly and James Maher. With the rain worsening and the pitch becoming a mud bath, the Tallaght pack started to dominate with some classic ‘up the jumper’ rugby. Declan Malone and Sean Judd were carrying very well and this earned them a penalty which Maher kicked to make it 3-0 to Tallaght.
Encouraged by this, the Tallaght pack used the same tactic again, picking and driving to great effect through Adam Greene and Ollie Murphy. After constant pressure the ball eventually went wide and some nice handling from the three-quarter-line put full back Luke Tyrrell in for the try. The conversion was missed but at 8-0 Tallaght were starting to motor. They got back down the pitch and after more excellent carrying from the tireless Simon McConnell and Tony McManus the ball went wide to centre Bryan Tyrrell. Taking the lead from his brother Luke, Bryan showed great power to break through two tackles to score the try. Maher kicked the conversion and Tallaght led 15-0.
To be fair to the Normans they didn’t give up and Tallaght spent the rest of the match defending their line, but they held out without giving up a score to earn their second win of the season.
Tallaght R.F.C
15 Luke Tyrrell
14 Karl Segrave
13 Neal Kelly
12 Darran Kearney
11 Femi Adenaiya
10 James Maher
9 Colm O’Reilly
8 Declan Malone
7 Donat Maloney
6 Neil Douglas
5 Simon McConnell
4 Sean Judd
3 Adam Greene
2 Oliver Murphy
1 Tony McManus
Replacements
16. Bryan Tyrrell
17. Dave Judd
18. Eoghan Finnegan
19. Steve Abbey
20. Stephen Kelly
