J2s Stamp Authority on League with Commanding Win over Terenure

If there is a sweet-spot in our great club – and there are probably many – you’d have to say it’s inhabited by the J2s.  These lads not only play seriously good ball, but they have seriously good fun doing it.  This reset fixture on Thursday (a school) night at HQ might have been a flat affair but was electrified by a masterclass in flowing attacking rugby, surpassed only by the grit and accuracy of defence. A joy to watch, imagine what fun it was to play!

Terenure came with a strong pack, particularly in the scrum and a few good backs (though probably not a full deck, it has to be said). However, they got an early warning of what they were up against when we went in under the posts from the first play.  They tried to counter attack  from Conor “Lenny” Lenihan’s kick out but met a brick wall of defence that blocked their exit from their half. Matters got worse as number 8, captain and master jackeller, James “Cheese” Power, won a penalty in the ruck in the middle of the pitch. Lenny nudges it into the corner and we win the lineout that follows. But their counter maul is well organized and powerful and they push us back. No problem, scrum half Stephen “Insert nickname” Browne sees the danger and moves the ball out. Cheese is the first runner and brings the ball into the middle of the pitch and another ruck follows. Steve shifts it quickly again this time to blindside flanker Will Sadlier on a charging run and he crashes through the defence to touch down under their posts.  Lenny tops it off and we’re 7 – 0 up in two minutes.

But the following 15 minutes were a different story as “Collegians” showed they could play and we were pinned inside our 22 for most of the period.  Wave after wave they came, varying their attack from the middle to wide lines, their handling pristine. But try as they might, they couldn’t breach the extraordinary defence we set up.  You can single out (and I will) people like openside flanker Arthur Henry whose hits could be heard in Ranelagh, or pint-sized second row Caoilim Fassbender and his shuddering tackles of a man twice his size, and even the normally docile prop, Johnny Barry who clattered into first runners, but was back on his feet in a flash to retake his position on the battlements. And that was what made this passage of play where the match was really won.  Not only did each man do his job with gusto, but each quickly recovered and reformed the line. Terenure were good and ambitious, but after 20 or 30 phases, they were actually losing ground, and added to the fact that those hits must have hurt, you could see the spirit drain out of them.

One of the more spectacular tackles came from our antipodean toddler, Dylan Bretton. After we had returned briefly into their half, they counter attacked and their lively winger sprinted into our territory. As if outraged by the cheek of it, Dylan speeds after him at alarming pace, closing him down and felling him from behind, like a cheetah would an antelope on the Serengeti.  On the sideline, fans queued up to shake the hand of his dad, Greg, just off the plane from Canberra, congratulating him for his wonderful genes. “It's all from his mother’s side”, says Greg, adding helpfully. “She’s a ballroom dancer!” (Thanks for sharing, Greg!).

This tackle seemed to mark the end of Terenure’s attacking phase and effectively their part in the game.  We win a scrum penalty against a much bigger pack, wily veteran prop Brennie O’Malley, explaining later “I was starting to get the hang of them by then”. Lenny puts it into their half, another lineout and from the ruck that follows in the middle of the pitch, the ball goes right to Dylan. He has two men outside and the covering defenders are stretched so Dylan prizes open a gap and thunders through it, scoring under the posts. And there’s more.  Straight from the re start Dylan leaps into the sky to take the ball like Irish/Aussie Rules legend Jim Stynes in his heyday, and … yes, you guessed it … he cleaves a path through the forlorn defenders and scores again. Even sharpshooting score keeper, Brian Moran is struggling to keep the score board up to date … 21 - 0.

And now the floodgates were well and truly open.  We camped in their territory for the remainder of the half and just as the half time respite beckoned for them, Terenure’s troubles deepened as we ran a perfect play from coaches, Mark “Face” Quinn and Adam “Thai Green” Curry’s playbook and powerful winger Jack Loscher ran a perfect line to score under the posts. 28 - 0 and a bonus point at the break.

The second half was just as good as the first, with our zeal for points and fitness showing no signs of flagging. It was only three minutes old in fact when another attack saw Jack Loscher go over four our fifth try in the corner. Just outside Lenny’s range, it was 33 - 0 and the visitors looked like they had no answer. They tried to run out of their half, but exhaustion and desperation are dangerous bedfellows and as more gaps appeared, one of them was seized by scrum half Steve and we’re up to 40 - 0. Moments later, the same gap seems to appear in the same place and this time it’s evergreen Hiberno/Venezuelan Luis Castro that intercepts and overcame horrendous opposition, with no thought for his own safety or wellbeing, defied the normal rules of physics to score one of the most glorious tries of the season, or possibly ever. 47 - 0

We only had to wait another few minutes before our dominance would get Moran’s fingers working again on the scoreboard. “Teak Tough” Tadhg Brennan also had a lot of work to do (not as much as Luis did, of course) to finish an excellent try in the corner. Sub outhalf and exemplar of “play well on and off the pitch” philosophy of junior rugby, JJ Walsh nearly crowned it with an excellent, but just short kick from the touchline.

At 52 - 0, a lesser team or club might have thrown in the towel, but fair play to the Collegians, they played out the game with courage and honour, scoring two tries in the last few minutes to put a slightly more respectable look on the scoreline.

It finished 52 - 14. A wonderful performance, with an indestructible defence forming the platform for a spectacular attacking game. And judging from the photos in the Whatsapp group later, the sterling work of these lads had just begun!

Match Report - Brian Whelan