Match Report: Clondalkin 13 vs 16 Wicklow, Leinster Towns Cup Semi-Final
The concession of a last minute try broke Clondalkin hearts as Wicklow emerged from the Carlow mud on Sunday 3rd April to claim a place in the Leinster Town’s Cup Final.
This was the second high-stakes match between the sides in 3 weeks – on 13th March Wicklow had edged a tight encounter and relegated Clon to Division 1B in a game played in sunshine on a hard pitch. The polar opposite of these conditions were on show in Carlow where heavy rain had turned the underfoot conditions into a quagmire. Neither Clondalkin nor Wicklow have ever won the Towns Cup and a place in the final against Enniscorthy on April 17th was on offer. Despite the terrible handling conditions, it was Clon who started the game with greater intent and after just two minutes, the ball was spun to Matt Stapleton who slipped though several attempted tackles to score under the posts. Chris Jebb added the extras to leave Clon ahead 7-0.
The rain was coming down incessantly and handling was becoming a lottery – the tone of the match was set as both sides were kicking long to force the opposition into their own halves. Despite the greasy ball, Wickow’s lineout was on top-form in contrast to Clondalkin who were struggling at this set-piece. Having established a base in the Clon 22, Wicklow used their rolling maul to drive Clon back to their own line and after a number of recycles, they barged their way over the try line. The unsighted referee eventually awarded a try after the intervention of his linesman but Wickow missed the conversion to leave them trailing 7 – 5. Wicklow continued to press but Chris Jebb’s cultured boot was repeatedly sending them back into their own half. Nevertheless, the penalty count against the Dublin side was mounting and Wicklow got their first successful kick on the 28th minute after Clon had dropped a lineout maul. Their now 1-point lead lasted all of 1 minute as a short-restart tap from Jebb saw Neil Finlay claim possession for Clon and Wicklow penalized for not staying on their feet. Jebb was immaculate once again with the boot and Clon regained the lead. Wicklow had a chance to regain the advantage 8 minutes later after another lineout mall collapsed but their kick drifted wide. The half time whistle blew with Clon ahead 10 points to 8 but jthey would have to play the 2nd period without scrum-half Colm Quinn who had to be replaced by Ben Foran before the break.
The second half did not bring much improvement to Clon’s fortunes at the lineout but they had established supremacy at the scrum where Wicklow were being shunted backwards on every put-in. Both sides traded successful penalties to leave the score 13-11 in Clon’s favour after 10 minutes of play. The conditions had deteriorated into to a mud-bath at this stage and the only jersey on the field that was immediately identifiable belonged to the referee. Scoring chances were scarce but Clon were shading the possession stakes with Simon King, Paul Nolan and captain Brian Bruiser Doyle carrying hard into Wicklow lines. Clon’s scrum dominance was ended just before the half hour mark when the scrums went uncontested after Wicklow’s replacement prop hobbled gingerly to the sideline after just 5 minutes on the pitch. Subsequently the sight of that same player sprinting 60 metres to celebrate his sides winning score a few minutes later was hard to take for Clondalkin supporters. Wicklow attempted a drop kick that fell short but which the referee adjudged was carried over the line by Clondalkin. From the resulting scrum, only desperate defending kept Wicklow at bay and when Clon did clear their lines they were unable to force Wicklow out of their 22. Wicklow once again resorted to their chief attacking weapon, the lineout maul and after a number of pick and drives, they squeezed over the line in the left hand corner with only 1 minute remaining on the clock. The conversion attempt came back off the upright but the scoreboard was 13-16 in favour of the Wicklow men with only seconds remaining before the final whistle was blown.
A gut-wrenching defeat for Clondalkin who gave it absolutely everything and were moments away from a place in the final. The records will show a second successive semi-final defeat for Clon in this competition but the manner and timing of this loss will be a much harder pill to swallow than last year’s game against Kilkenny. Despite the incredible conditions, the ball handling, concentration and effort levels never dipped over the course of the 80 minutes and Brian Doyle’s men can be proud of the gargantuan effort they put in.
