ENERGIA All-IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 1B

St. Mary’s College 20 - Naas 27

After a break of three weeks due to the Six-Nations, the Energia All-Ireland League Division 1B resumed last Saturday afternoon, with Naas travelling to Templeville Road to face St. Mary’s College. There is a keen rivalry between these two clubs and a close, hard-fought encounter was expected, and we were certainly not disappointed.

Naas started off with the benefit of the elements, a strong breeze was aiding them, and they immediately went on the attack, being rewarded within four minutes with the opening score. Charlie Sheridan pounced on a loose ball, before the forwards took over and brought play up to the 22. Naas then elected to move the ball right and a superb long pass by Fionn Higgins found Donal Conroy in acres of space out wide, and he finished in style. Craig Ronaldson was successful with his conversion attempt and Naas led by 7-0.

The home side responded almost immediately with a well worked try of their own. From a scrum on half-way they attacked to the left, with Ruairi Shields breaking free of an attempted tackle before passing to Max Svejdar. The winger made yards down the left wing before chipping ahead and Conor Hickey won the race for the touchdown. Although Mick O’Gara missed the conversion, Mary’s were right back in the game trailing by just two points.

Naas were looking to attack at every possible opportunity and their endeavours paid off after 16 minutes with another sublime score. Their pack drove Mary’s off a ball on half-way, they quickly attacked to their right, some quick hands saw the ball moved out to Fionn Higgins, who stepped inside his defender and scored under the posts. Craig Ronaldson tapped over the conversion to extend their lead to 14-5.

Mary’s did come close to reducing the margin after 29 minutes when Adam McEvoy looked sure to score, but a superb try saving tackle by Donal Conroy buried him into touch, but Naas did concede after 37 minutes and they will be disappointed with the manner of the concession. When Conor Hickey received a ball just outside the 22 it appeared that Naas had the situation under control, with a number of defenders there to cover him. However, a series of poor tackling attempts saw Hickey race clear and score beside the posts. Mick O’Gara added the conversion to make the score 14-12 in favour of Naas.

That proved to be the score at the interval, although with the last kick of the half, a long range penalty attempt by Craig Ronaldson dropped just short, and immediately afterwards referee Henry Richmond blew the half-time whistle.

The visitors got a dream start to the second-half with a try after just four minutes. The Mary’s backs were penalised for being offside and Bryan Croke dispatched the penalty to touch. From the line-out Naas set up a driving maul and when this was stopped ten metres short of the line, the ball was moved out the back-line to Matt Stapleton, who showed great strength in holding off a tackle to score in the corner. Although the conversion was missed Naas now led by 19-12.

With the wind getting even stronger the home side dominated for most of the remaining time and Naas were forced to defend for long periods. To their credit they were well up to the task. They suffered a blow when Charlie Sheridan received a harsh yellow card on 51 minutes, after sustained Mary’s pressure. Mick O’Gara kicked the resulting penalty to make the score 19-15 in favour of Naas, and they should have reduced the margin ever further when they were awarded another penalty in front of the posts after 55 minutes. However, this time their scrum-half Richard Fahy elected to take a quick tap penalty, but Ian Wickham failed to hold his pass and the chance was gone.

But they did take the lead after 58 minutes. Naas received a second yellow card when Eoin Walshe infringed at a ruck and Mary’s kicked the penalty to touch. From the line-out they set up a driving maul that Naas were powerless to stop, with Daniel Leane being awarded the try. Although the conversion was missed, the home side now led for the first time at 20-19.

With the wind gusting into their faces and now trailing Naas faced a huge task if they were to take anything out of this game, but they responded to the task magnificently. Every player put everything in for the cause and this was emphasised on 67 minutes. The home side set up a driving maul which Naas managed to stop, and then Mary’s went through a long series of pick and drives at the Naas line. A score seemed inevitable, but the Naas defence would not yield and eventually won a penalty. It proved to be a game changer.

On 75 minutes Naas were still defending resolutely before producing a moment of brilliance, with a score which will be a contender for try of the season, not just in this division but the entire All-Ireland League. From a scrum on their own five-yard line Derry Lenehan started the move with a long pass from the base of the scrum. Some quick hands moved the ball to Matt Stapleton who left his opponent Adam McEvoy for dead, before passing to Henry Smith who could not be caught by the desperate Mary’s defence. He sprinted clear for a sensational score and although the conversion was missed, Naas were now back in front by 24-20.

The home side were stunned and were still in a state of shock when they handled in a ruck after 78 minutes, which Craig Ronaldson punished them for with a fine kick to make it 27-20 to Naas. Mary’s made a desperate late attempt to rescue something from the game in the pulsating few minutes of injury time, but there was a sense around the ground that this Naas side were not going to concede. This proved to be correct, every Mary’s player was met with a shuddering Naas tackle, which eventually led to a knock-on and the sweet blast of the full-time whistle by Henry Richmond, leading to jubilant scenes from the Naas players and supporters alike.

This was some victory for Naas. It required a tremendous backs to the wall performance by them in the second-half, with every player displaying untold courage and resilience. It would be unfair to select any player out as this was an all-round team display, but special mention must go to James O’Loughlin who made a fine AIL debut for Naas here. Next up for them is a home fixture, on Saturday afternoon against U.C.C. Kick-off is at 2.30pm and as always all support will be greatly appreciated.

St. Mary’s College: Ruairi Shields, Adam McEvoy, Conor Hickey, Michael O’Gara, Max Svejdar, Conor Dean, Richard Fahy, Adam Mulvihill, Stephen O’Brien, Thomas O’Reilly, Harry McDonald, Liam Corcoran, Daniel Leane, Ethan Baxter, Ronan Watters (capt). Replacements:Richard Halpin, Jack Reidy Walsh, Daniel Lyons, Niall Hurley, Andrew Walsh, Ian Wickham.

Naas: Fionn Higgins, Donal Conroy, Charlie Sheridan, Craig Ronaldson, Matt Stapleton, Bryan Croke, Conor Halpenny, Adam Coyle, Conor Doyle, Peter King, Paul Monahan (capt), David Benn, Cillian Dempsey, Will O’Brien, Ryan Casey. Replacements: Nato Kiripati, Stephen Lackey, James O’Loughlin, Eoin Walshe, Derry Lenehan, Henry Smith.

Referee: Henry Richmond.

Photos thanks to Naas Rugby Photos