ENERGIA All-IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 1B

Naas 27 – Highfield 22

After a break of three weeks the Energia All-Ireland League resumed last Saturday afternoon when Naas entertained Highfield. This was one of the most eagerly anticipated fixtures of the weekend, with Naas occupying fourth position in the league table before this game and Highfield in second. It featured a clash of two totally different styles. Naas endeavouring to attack and move the ball wide whenever possible, with Highfield playing ten man rugby and seeking to slow down the game at every possible opportunity. On this occasion it was to be the more adventurous team that was to prove victorious.

The game was playing on a beautiful, sunny afternoon and Naas drew first blood after eight minutes when Highfield prop James Rochford gave away a penalty for a high tackle on Bryan Croke. Referee Oisin Quinn had no hesitation in awarding a yellow card to the Highfield player, and from 40 yards out Peter Osborne made no mistake with the penalty attempt.

With a man deficit Highfield kept the game extremely tight for the next ten minutes and as a result there was little or no flowing rugby on show. This strategy paid off for the visitors as they were awarded a penalty on 23 minutes after Naas played the ball in an offside position. Shane O’Riordan took the kick and his successful attempt levelled the scores.

However, parity lasted for less than two minutes. Highfield failed to deal with the restart and conceded a line-out ten yards out from the try line. David Benn soared highest to take the line-out and the ball was quickly transferred into midfield and into the hands of Ryan Casey. He charged at the Highfield defence and broke a number of tackles before crashing over the line for a try. Peter Osborne added the conversion and Naas led 10-3.

One of the great attributes of this Naas team throughout the season has been their solid defence. However unfortunately for them it was easily breached on 35 minutes, when following a line-out the Highfield backs passed the ball to centre Mark Dorgan, who finding a big gap in the defence sprinted through to score under the posts. O’Riordan tapped over the resulting conversion to again level the game at 10-10, which proved to be the interval score.

The opening 20 minutes of the second-half was again a cagey affair with neither side able to gain dominance. Then out of nothing Highfield took the lead on 60 minutes, when a beautiful pass from Shane O’Riordan to the on rushing Ronan O’Sullivan split the Naas defence apart, and the Highfield flanker raced clear to score. O’Riordan added the conversion to give the visitors a 17-10 lead.

Naas had to respond quickly and they certainly did that. They roared straight back onto the attack and good carries by Paulie Tolofua and Will O’Brien put the Highfield defence on the backfoot. Naas remained patient and went through the phases, before Peter King managed to crash over from close range to score in the corner. The conversion was extremely difficult but Peter Osborne made light of this challenge to split the posts, and level the scores again at 17-17.

Naas were now on top and backed by a large home support they really took the game to Highfield, and were rewarded with a sparkling try on 72 minutes. From a scrum near the ten yard line some fine hands by the Naas backs created space out wide for Donal Conroy, and the winger showed great speed to take his chance to score. Another sublime conversion by Peter Osborne extended the Naas lead to 24-17.

However Highfield were not finished yet. Some fine play down the right wing created an overlap which led to Paddy O’Toole scoring a try for them. The home supporters held their breath as Shane O’Riordan lined up the conversion attempt, but he pulled his effort to the left of the posts and Naas remained in front by 24-22 as the game entered injury-time.

Highfield threw everything at Naas in one, last desperate attempt to gain the match winning score, but in their efforts they were penalised for holding on at a ruck and conceded a penalty. Peter Osborne decided to have a shot at goal and his long range effort soared between the posts. This was to be the last score of the game with Naas emerging on the right side of a 27-22 scoreline.

A tremendous win for Naas which keeps them on track for a play-off spot at the end of the season. Special mention must go to the Naas pack here. The Highfield driving maul is renowned all over the country, but time after time when they tried to get it working here they were met by a rock solid Naas pack and were forced to abandon it.

Just two matches remain in the regular season and needless to say both of them are vital for Naas. Next up for them is an away trip to Malone. This game is next Saturday with a 2.30pm kick-off and as always all support will be greatly appreciated.

Naas: Peter Osborne (capt), Donal Conroy, Matt Stapleton, Craig Ronanldson, Sam Cahill, Bryan Croke, Niall Halpenny, Adam Coyle, John Sutton, Peter King, Pat O’Flaherty, David Benn, Paul Monahan, Ryan Casey, Paulie Tolofua.

Replacements: Conor Johnson, Jack Coyle, Cillian Dempsey, Will O’Brien, Tim Murphy, Gary Kavanagh.

Highfield: Sam Burns, Ben Murphy, James Taylor, Mark Dorgan, Luke Kingston, Shane O’Riordan, Chris Banon (capt), James Rochford, Travis Coomey, Daragh Fitzgerald, David O’Connell, Fintan O’Sullivan, Ryan Murphy, Ronan O’Sullivan, Miah Cronin.

Replacements: Robert Murphy, Michael Dillane, Eoin Keating, Edward Earle, David O’Sullivan, Patrick O’Toole.

Referee: Oisin Quinn.

Photos: (C) Naas Rugby Photos