ENERGIA All-IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 1B

Old Wesley 29 – Naas 19

When Naas travelled to Energia Park last Saturday afternoon to face Old Wesley they were well aware of the stiffness of the task that awaited them. The Dublin side have been by far the best side in the division to date, losing just the one game, giving them a 12 point cushion at the top of the table. But having won seven of their last eight games, Naas travelled full of confidence, so a cracking game was anticipated and we were not to be disappointed.

The game was played in perfect conditions, it was dry with little or no wind, and the home side opened the scoring after just three minutes, when Naas were penalised for not releasing and Ian Cassidy slotted the resulting penalty. Naas had a chance just five minutes later to respond when Old Wesley were penalised for not rolling away, but Peter Osborne saw his long range penalty attempt drift just right of the posts to leave the score 3-0 in favour of the home side.

Old Wesley were to stamp their authority on proceedings for the remainder of the half. Effective use of skip passes helped them in their endeavour to move the ball wide at every possible opportunity, and this stretched and created gaps in the Naas defence.

They came close to scoring the opening try on 19 minutes when some heroic Naas defence stopped Eoin Deegan and Ben Murphy just inches short of the line, but three minutes later they got reward for their adventurous play. Alex Molloy was not held in a tackle on half-way and bounded clear to take play up to the Naas 22, before being stopped by Donal Conroy. However to the dismay of the away supporters referee Peter Martin awarded a penalty to Old Wesley and for some reason brandished a yellow card to the Naas player. It was certainly a contentious decision and one that was to have dire implications for Naas. The penalty was dispatched to touch, from the line-out Old Wesley went through a series of phases which sucked in the Naas defence, creating a huge overlap out to the right. The home side did not spurn this chance as they quickly moved the ball out to Thomas O’Callaghan who scored in the corner. The conversion was missed by Ian Cassidy but Old Wesley led 8-0. On 28 minutes they stretched this lead when a lovely delayed pass by Eoin Deegan completely split the Naas defence apart and Alex Molloy sprinted clear to score. Cassidy made no mistake with this conversion attempt and the home side now led by 15 points.

Naas had to respond quickly and they did. They coughed up a great scoring chance on 33 minutes when David Benn won a line-out five yards out and a driving maul was set up. A score looked a certainty but somehow Old Wesley managed to steal the ball and clear their lines. However just three minutes later Naas did strike. This score came following a knock-on by Old Wesley just outside the Naas 22. Will O’Brien quickly transferred the loose ball to Bryan Croke who spotted that there was acres of space behind the home defence and kicked the ball long and deep. Fionn Higgins was quickest to react and he fly-kicked the loose ball ahead and won the race for the touchdown. Peter Osborne kicked the conversion to reduce the gap to 15-7.

However Naas were dealt another body blow just on half-time. Paulie Tolofua received a yellow card for a high tackle and the resulting penalty was dispatched to touch. The line-out throw by Ben Burns failed to find his man but Reuben Pim gathered the loose ball to score untouched under the posts. The conversion by Ian Cassidy was a formality and when the half-time whistle blew Old Wesley were 22 points to seven in front.

Old Wesley made full use of their extra man advantage by adding to their score on 44 minutes. Again they probed for a gap in the Naas defence by moving the ball back and forth across the pitch, until a fine sidestep by James O’Donovan created the space for him to race clear and score. With Cassidy again successfully adding the conversion the home side were now 29-7 in front.

However for the remainder of the game Naas gained superiority and they soon roared back into contention. On 52 minutes from his own try-line Paulie Tolofua charged at the Old Wesley defence and when he was stopped he found Will O’Brien who took play up to half-way. The ball was then quickly recycled and a fine kick by Donal Conroy left the Old Wesley full-back Alex Molloy with little option but to concede a five-yard line-out. From this Naas set up a driving maul which Old Welsey could not stop and led to Paulie Tolofua touching down for a try. The conversion by Peter Osborne was narrowly missed but Naas had a glimmer of hope, trailing 29-12.

Naas continued to take the game to Old Wesley and almost reduced the margin further on 60 minutes when a well worked line-out move saw Ryan Casey crash over the line, but the referee deemed that he was unable to ground the ball and awarded the home side a drop out. Straight from the restart Naas resumed their attack and a lovely reserve pass by Craig Ronaldson put Peter Osborne away and he sprinted clear to score. The same player added the conversion and with the score now 29-19 in favour of the home side, Naas sensed they could get something out of this game.

On 67 minutes Naas had a chance to further reduce the margin when Old Wesley conceded a penalty for collapsing a scrum. Naas again went to touch with this and set up a driving maul. It is fair to say that the referee Peter Martin did not endear himself to the Naas supporters throughout the afternoon and he again incurred their anger here. The driving maul was taken down but he awarded the penalty to Old Wesley for Naas holding on, allowing the home side to clear their lines.

This proved to be the last scoring of the afternoon and the game petered out with Old Wesley claiming victory on a 29-19 scoreline. Although it was a defeat for Naas they will come away from this fixture knowing that they can mix it with the best in the league and they would certainly not fear another crack at their Dublin rivals in the play-offs. Despite the defeat Naas remain in the play-off spots as they are still fourth in the table. Next up for them is another big fixture against Highfield who are currently second in the division. This game is in Naas on March 26th, with a 2.30pm kick-off and as always all support will be greatly appreciated.

Old Wesley: Alex Molloy, Thomas O’Callaghan, James O’Donovan, Eoin Deegan, David Poff, Ian Cassidy, Ben Murphy, Harry Noonan, Ben Burns, Sam Kenny, J.J O’Dea, Iain McGann (capt),Will Fay, Josh Pim, Reuben Pim.

Replacements: Robert Byrne, Rob O’Donovan, Alastair Hoban, Brendan Monahan, Paddy McKenzie, Charlie O’Regan.

Naas: Peter Osborne (capt), Donal Conroy, Matt Stapleton, Craig Ronaldson, Fionn Higgins, Bryan Croke, Conor Halpenny, Adam Coyle, John Sutton, Peter King, Patrick O’Flaherty, David Benn, Ryan Casey, Will O’Brien, Paulie Tolofua.

Replacements: Conor Johnson, Jack Barry, Cillian Dempsey, Paul Monahan, Tim Murphy, Sam Cahill.

Referee: Peter Martin.

Photos: Naas Rugby Photos (C)