ENERGIA All-IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 1B

Navan 17 – Naas 22

Without ever hitting the heights of the previous two weeks, Naas saw off the challenge of Navan when they travelled to the County Meath venue last Friday night. They say it is a sign of a good side that can win without their ‘A’ game, and that was certainly the case here for Naas, as despite dominating possession for long periods they struggled to put away a spirited Navan side. The match was played on a cool, crisp but dry night and the large home attendance was certainly matched by the boisterous Naas support.

In recent weeks Naas have made extremely fast starts, but here they were rocked by the concession of a try after only four minutes, when a chip over their defence by the Navan out-half Ben Daly was caught by Sean McEntagart who raced clear to score under the posts. Daly converted to give the home side a quick seven point lead.

A pattern for the game quickly emerged however, with Naas enjoying long spells of possession and territory, but a well marshalled Navan defence kept scoring chances to the minimum. However after Sam Cahill almost scored on 19 minutes, Naas did get the score their play deserved just ninety seconds later, when some great off loads drove the home defence back into their own 22. Naas then attacked the blind side passing to Gary Kavanagh, who rounded his opponent to score a fine try in the corner. Although the conversion was missed by Peter Osborne, Naas were right back in the contest trailing by just two points.

The visitors continued to take the game to their opponents, and on 32 minutes they were awarded a penalty for a ruck infringement. 99 times out of 100 the kick which was 35 yards out and just to the left of the points would be slotted over by Peter Osborne, but he was to miss, and it proved to be a blessing in disguise for Naas. His kick struck the post and was gathered by the Navan centre Evan Dixon who went to clear to touch. However Sam Cahill was chasing up, he blocked down the kick and won the race for the touchdown to score his first All-Ireland League try. Osborne made no mistake with the conversion.

This was to be the last score of the half and when referee Andrew Cole blew the half-time whistle Naas were deservedly in front by 12 points to 7.

Just like the first-half Navan came out firing at the start of the second-half and reduced the gap after 45 minutes, when Colm O’Reilly kicked a penalty that was awarded for hands in the ruck.

However Naas soon began to reassert their dominance. Special mention must go to Jack Coyle who came on to join his brother Adam in the Naas front row after 52 minutes. The two brothers were outstanding as Naas went back on the attack and within ten minutes the scoreboard reflected their superiority.

The lead was extended after 54 minutes. Following a great carry by Adam Coyle, the ball was chipped ahead by Tim Murphy. Ben Daly ran back to gather but he was penalised for holding on. With Peter Osborne feeling the effects of a knock, Craig Ronaldson took over the kicking duties and slotted the penalty over.

Then on 58 minutes a fine kick by Craig Ronaldson forced Navan to concede a five yard line-out. From this Naas set up a driving maul and slowly worked the ball infield before Navan gave away another penalty for the tackler not releasing. It was a certain three points for Naas, but the visitors smelt blood and turned down the kick and again went to touch. From the line-out the driving maul was set up, and this time there was no stopping the Naas pack as Navan were helpless in stopping them driving over, with Cillian Dempsey being awarded the try. Although the conversion was missed Naas had now established a 22-10 lead.

Following a brawl on 72 minutes the home side were reduced to 14 men when Conor Hand received a yellow card, but from then to the finish they were to enjoy their best spell of the game. They narrowly failed to take advantage of a blocked Naas clearance with the ball evading the clutches of two Navan men as it went over the dead-ball line, before they gave themselves the chance of a dramatic late comeback by scoring on 78 minutes. Following a well worked back-line move Paddy Fox found himself in space on the left wing, and he made no mistake to score in the corner. Colm O’Reilly added the conversion and having been out-played for the majority of the game, suddenly Navan had a chance of victory trailing by just 22-17 with two minutes and injury-time to be played.

However despite a frantic last few moments they were not able to muster a score, and Naas held on for a deserved victory.

This was the final All-Ireland League game of 2021, and indeed brings the campaign to the half-way stage. After a slow start to the season Naas have certainly found their form of late and this victory jumps them into the play-off positions. There is certainly plenty to look forward to in 2022. Naas resume their league season on Friday, January 14th when they host Navan in the reverse fixture. Kick-off is at 8pm and as always all support will be greatly appreciated.

Navan: Paddy Fox, Rory Gordon, Sean McEntagart, Evan Dixon, Ben McEntagart, Ben Daly, Keith Kavanagh, Liam Carroll, Jack Nelson, Eoin King, Colm Carpenter, Conor Hand, Shane Faulkner, Conor Farrell (capt), Hardus Van Eeden. Replacements: David Clarke, Alex McGoey, Ronan Meegan, Harry Hester,Colm O’Reilly, Mark Farrell.

Naas: Peter Osborne (capt), Donal Conroy, Gary Kavanagh, Craig Ronaldson, Sam Cahill, Bryan Croke, Tim Murphy, Jack Barry, Conor Johnson, Adam Coyle, Pat O’Flaherty, Paul Monahan, Cillian Dempsey, Will O’Brien, Ryan Casey. Replacements: John Sutton, Jack Coyle, David Benn, Paulie Tolofua, Conor Halpenny, Matt Stapleton.

Referee: Andrew Cole.