ENERGIA All-IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 1B

Naas 38 – Malone 24

After their narrow defeat away to Old Belvedere a fortnight ago, the general consensus was that a return to winning ways was imminent for Naas in the Energia All-Ireland League Division 1B. That train of thought was proved to be accurate last Saturday afternoon when Naas hosted Malone, as they saw off the challenge of their Northern rivals, playing some sparking rugby into the bargain. 

The game was played on a dry afternoon, but a strong wind blew down the pitch and Malone had the advantage of the elements in the first half. It did not take them long to capitalise on this. After seven minutes a Naas player was penalised for playing the ball in an offside position, and the resulting penalty was dispatched into touch. The line-out was won by Neill Alcorn and Malone immediately set up a driving maul which Naas were powerless to stop. The try was awarded to Dan Kerr and a conversion from the side line by Rory Campbell gave the visitors a seven point lead.

Despite playing into the strong breeze Naas enjoyed plenty of possession and territory for the next quarter of an hour, but Malone were to score next. This followed the concession of a penalty by Naas for hands in a ruck, and Campbell was again successful with the boot when slotting a 40 yard kick after 24 minutes.

Naas responded in some style within four minutes. Charlie Sheridan took a lovely line which split the Malone defence apart and offloaded to Oscar Cawley who took play into the 22, before being hauled down. The home side quickly recycled the ball, some quick hands moved it wide left to Donal Conroy who finished off the move to score in the corner. Although the conversion was missed the Malone lead had been reduced to 10-5, but the visitors extended this with a try that was very similar to their first on 31 minutes.

This time the Naas scrum was driven back leading to the concession of a penalty which was kicked to touch. Again Neill Alcorn won the line-out, the driving maul was set up, before being  halted just short of the line. However Stuart Doddington picked up from the base of the ruck to crash over and with Campbell again converting Malone led by 17-5.

To their credit Naas contained Malone for the remainder of the half and had the bonus of a successful penalty by Bryan Croke just on half-time to make it 17-8. So, when referee Glenn Sheridan blew the half-time whistle a nine points deficit certainly did not seem insurmountable for Naas.

The home side did need to make a fast start to the second period and they got it with a magnificent try just four minutes after the restart. Lovely hands by Oscar Cawley and Bryan Croke created a little space for Charlie Sheridan and he did not need a second invitation to take it. He burst clear leaving a couple of defenders in his wake to score a fine try. Croke added the conversion to reduce the margin to two at 17-15, and on 51 minutes Sheridan was at it again, carving straight through the Malone defence before off-loading to Oscar Cawley who scored under the posts. The conversion was a formality for Croke and Naas now led for the first time by 22 points to 17. It was all Naas now. They were further in front after 56 minutes when the Malone scrum-half Zach Shore was penalised for holding on and Croke punished this indiscretion by slotting the penalty.

Straight from the restart a long kick by Andrew Osborne had the Malone full-back Andy Bryans scrambling to gather possession, and when he finally did Osborne was on hand with a shuddering tackle, which eventually led to the concession of a penalty by the visitors. The line-out was won by Paul Monahan and Naas set up a driving maul which was hauled down illegally, giving Naas another penalty. From this Bryan Croke caught the visitors defence knapping by taking a quick tap and passing to Conor Doyle who crashed over in the corner. Although Croke narrowly missed the conversion, he was successful with another penalty after 64 minutes to leave Naas 33-17 in front.

Naas were rampant and treated the large crown to some sublime rugby on the 70th minute mark, when a series of brilliant off-loads and handling led to Andrew Osborne scoring a tremendous try which Croke converted. There was still time for Neil Alcorn to score a consolation try for Malone which Peter Caves converted, but it mattered little, and Naas saw out the remainder of the game to run out convincing 38-24 victors.

This win will give Naas a lot of confidence and the manner of it will make others in the league sit up and take notice. On this performance they will be more than a match for anyone and will be relishing the challenges ahead. Next up for them is an away fixture against the league leaders U.C.C.  next Saturday afternoon. Kick-off is at 2.30pm and as always, all support will be greatly appreciated.

Naas: Mark McDermott, Andrew Osborne, Charlie Sheridan, Henry Smith, Donal Conroy, Bryan Croke, Oscar Cawley, Adam Coyle, Conor Doyle, Peter King, Patrick O’Flaherty, Paul Monahan (capt), Eoin Walsh, Will O’Brien, Ryan Casey. 

Replacements: Nato Kiripati, Jack Barry, David Benn, Mark Dennis, Conor Halpenny, Matt Stapleton.

Malone: Andy Bryans, Rory Campbell, Davy McMaster, Nathan Brown, Mark McGlynn, Shane Kelly, Zach Shore, Ben Halliday, Dan Kerr, Ricky Greenwood, Neill Alcorn, James McAlister, Daryl Maxwell, Dave Cave (capt), Stuart Doddington. 

Replacements: Cory Tipping, Lawson Porter, Zach Devine, Michael Crothers , Ryan Lindsay,  Peter Caves.

Referee: Glenn Sheridan.

Photos thanks to: (C) Naas Rugby Photos