Clondalkin got the defense of their Hosie Cup off to the perfect start in their first competitive game of the season at Kingswood on Sunday 24 August.
After some feisty encounters with Cill Dara in the season gone by, Clondalkin were out to make their mark on this encounter from the outset. The home side set the tone with a dominant scrum and after a sustained period of pressure, evergreen centre Steve Cunningham cut back through heavy traffic to get the opening try, converted by Ben Foran. 7 nil up and with their driving maul making inroads, it was only a matter of time before Cill Dara conceded further scores and the second try duly came from Derek Glennon, again converted by Foran. The excellent Glennon was making serious inroads with his aggressive ball-carrying and with Brian Berry’s slick service from the breakdown, Clondalkin’s back line got plenty of ball to work with on a pitch that was in perfect conditions for running rugby. No further tries were to come however in the first half – the only score was a successful Foran penalty which put Clondalkin 17-0 ahead into the break.
Immediately after the restart, Cill Dara regrouped and started to come more into the game. Clondalkin conceded a series of penalties but instead of kicking for posts, the away side opted for scrums, a tactic which paid off when they got their first try of the match after 10 minutes, which went unconverted. 14-5 ahead, Clondalkin began to test Cill Dara out wide and after Paul Hickey made an excellent break on the right wing, Dave Gaule was on hand to collect his pass and score under the posts, again converted by Foran. Captain Simon King popped up on the opposite wing 10 minutes later to score in the corner and finish off another good move after a wayward Cill Dara clearance kick. Score 31-7 after Foran’s touchline conversion and the try of the match still to come when some superb handling between Neil Finlay, Paul Hickey and Tom McGrattan saw Paul Nolan dot down for a converted score. Cill Dara pulled a consolation try back but the final word came from Paul Hickey with a converted try that left the result, 45 – 12 for Clondalkin.
Clondalkin 1st XV: C Maloney, B Doyle, C Cullen, S Brennan, S King, D Glennon, J Walsh, P Nolan, B Berry, B Foran, R Fitzgerald, S Cunningham, D Gaule, N Nolan, B Mulloy. Subs: C Tigue, A Collier, K Kelly, D Jebb, J Kenny, P Hickey, C McCrea, T McGrattan, N Finlay.
