ENERGIA All-IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 1B
Naas 38 – Shannon 29

When these sides last met they scored no less than 64 points in a classic game of rugby. Last Saturday they surpassed that as they notched up 67 points in as good a game that you would see anywhere. It was a tremendous advertisement for the All-Ireland League, with a huge level of skill on show and both sides endeavouring to attack at every possible opportunity. After 80 minutes of pulsating rugby, it was Naas who were to prove victorious, enhancing their fine record against the famed Munster side.

Thankfully there was an extremely large crowd present to witness this feast of rugby, and they saw Naas get off to a dream start with a try after just 90 seconds. Shannon decided to run a ball out of their defence but Bryan Croke read the move perfectly, and after intercepting he ran clear to score under the posts. Peter Osborne added the conversion and Naas were already seven points in front.

Although having the misfortune of a Peter Osborne penalty attempt rebound off the post after eight minutes, Naas put that disappointment behind them to double their lead just two minutes later. From a line-out take by Paul Monahan, the ball was quickly moved out the back-line and Sam Cahill created space for Gary Kavanagh out wide. The latter still had plenty of work to do but showed great strength to hold off the would be tacklers and get in at the corner. The conversion from the touchline was made look easy by Peter Osborne and Naas led 14-0.
To their credit Shannon roared straight back at Naas and were the better side for the remainder of the half. They narrowed the gap with a John O’Sullivan penalty after 15 minutes and should have reduced the margin further on 27 minutes when Conor Glynn knocked on with the line at his mercy. However the same player redeemed himself on 36 minutes. Shannon kicked a penalty into the Naas 22 and from the subsequent line-out they set up a driving maul. This drove Naas right back, the home side were powerless to stop it, with Glynn being awarded the try. O’Sullivan missed the conversion but just two minutes later Shannon were in front for the first time after scoring another try. This time Naas defended a driving maul superbly, but after a series of pick and goes Charlie Carmody was able to force his way over. With O’Sullivan adding the conversion Shannon led 15-14, and soon afterwards referee Andrew Cole blew the half-time whistle.

Just like the first-half, Naas were to make a blistering start to the second period, and within two minutes of the resumption they were back in the lead with a superb score. After Peter Osborne sliced through the Shannon defence he linked up with Jack Barry who took play up to the 22. When he was stopped the ball was moved out the back-line and with Shannon short on numbers Gary Kavanagh was able to finish off the move by scoring in the corner. Although the conversion was missed Naas now led by 19 points to 15.
However Naas have tended to switch off momentarily after scoring in recent games and unfortunately it happened again here. Straight from the kick-off Shannon attacked down the blind-side catching Naas cold and Ikem Ugwuero was in for the simplest of tries. John O’Sullivan made no mistake with the conversion and the lead had changed hands again, Shannon now 22-19 in front.

Every team needs a good bench and the strength of the Naas squad was shown here. The likes of John Sutton, David Benn, Paulie Tolofua and Fionn Higgins were all to come on and play major roles in the last quarter, which was a major contributory factor to this Naas victory. Boosted with a fresh impetus Naas took a stranglehold on the game, and a well worked backs move saw Sam Cahill get in for a great score after 59 minutes, in the process gaining Naas a valuable try bonus scoring point. Then seven minutes later a great line by Gary Kavanagh split the Shannon defence apart and created space for Peter Osborne to score in the corner. Craig Ronaldson had now taken over the kicking duties and he converted Osbornes' try to leave Naas 31-22 in front.

To nobody’s surprise Shannon were not finished and they tore into Naas in a bid to salvage something out of the game. It took some tremendous defence by the home side to keep them at bay, but finally with two minutes remaining Lee Nicholas got in for a try which John O’Sullivan converted. This gave Shannon a try scoring bonus point, reduced the margin to 31-29 and set up a grandstand finish.

However after working so hard Naas were not going to squander this lead and ended the game as they had begun it. In injury-time Gary Kavanagh rounded off a sensational performance by carving the Shannon defence apart, before offloading to Tim Murphy who ran behind the posts to score a sixth Naas try of the afternoon and spark off jubilant celebrations amongst the home supporters.

That was to be the final score of the afternoon, with Naas victorious on a 38-29 scoreline. Without doubt this was a fully deserved victory over a fine Shannon side, and saw Naas leapfrog the Limerick side into fourth place in the league table. The League now takes a small break due to the Six-Nations and next up for Naas is an away fixture against City of Armagh on February 19th. Kick-off is at 2.30pm and as always all support will be greatly appreciated.

Naas: Peter Osborne (capt), Matt Stapleton, Gary Kavanagh, Craig Ronaldson, Sam Cahill, Bryan Croke, Conor Halpenny, 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, Tim Murphy, Fionn Higgins.

Shannon: Aran Hehir, Ikem Ugwueru, Killian Dineen, Alan Flannery, Jack O’Donnell, John O’Sullivan, Ian Leonard, Conor Glynn, Alex Long, Luke Rigney,Ronan Coffey, Jade Kriel, Kevlin Brown,  Charlie Carmody, Lee Nicholas (capt). Replacements: Kieran Ryan, Cathal Hayes, Odhran Ring, Darren Galvin, Paul Curtis, Ian Brown.

Referee: Andrew Cole.