Leinster joy for ’Stones!

Super win in horrid conditions

GREYSTONES RFC MU BARNHALL 10 3

GREYSTONES secured their third senior Leinster trophy in as many years with a hard-fought victory over MU Barnhall in the final of the Leinster Senior League Division 2 on Saturday afternoon. Played as the Senior Shield in previous season, Greystones retained the trophy with a gutsy performance against determined opponents.

In a low-scoring match with few scoring opportunities for either side, the weather was the real villain as heavy overnight rain left the Barnhall pitch barely playable with real doubt over whether the game would kick off at all. Had this not been a final a different decision might have been taken on another day, but as it was, the game went ahead on a surface that allowed neither team to do justice to their abilities.

The opening passages of the first half set the tone for the match with Greystones enjoying most of the territory and possession and Barnhall defending resolutely. The scoring threat in this ’Stones side lies in their exciting backline but they rarely got the opportunity to run at the home defensive line as the conditions made the delivery of fast ball almost impossible with several moves quite literally getting stuck in the mud.

As the first half played out, Greystones applied all the pressure but found it difficult get meaningful possession inside their opponents 22. When the line was threatened, Barnhall defended as if their lives depended on the result, often illegally, resulting in penalty concessions and the eroding of any allowance the referee was giving for the conditions.

As the home side continued to repel Greystones’ attacking efforts from offside positions, the referee’s patience finally ran out and he issued two yellow cards in quick succession to number eight Tom McKeown and prop Geoff Brooks leaving Barnhall with just 13 men on the field for the remainder of the half.

With the numerical advantage in their favour you would have expected Greystones to push on for the opening score but in an error strewn end to the half they squandered the opportunity and allowed Barnhall’s defence to hold firm to end the opening period with the sides scoreless.

The breakthrough finally came early in the second half when the evergreen Bobby Clancy took matters into his own hands and single handedly burst a hole through the Barnhall defence in his own inimitable style and found Jack Keating with a perfectly timed pass with space to run down the right touchline for a score in the corner.

A second try arrived ten minutes later thanks to the quick reactions of centre David Baker. Playing the ball out of defence just outside their 22 Barnhall spilled possession and Baker nipped in to gather up the loose ball and race to the line to put Greystones 10–0 up. With the underfoot conditions making life almost impossible for the place kickers the normally imperious Andrew Kealy failed to find accuracy with either of his conversion attempts. Kealy had an opportunity to put further distance on the score board with what would have been a routine penalty conversion on any other day but saw his effort fall short.

Barrnhall put themselves on the scoreboard with about 15 minutes to play with a close range penalty and set up a nervy end to the match for the visitors with a period of sustained pressure close to the Greystones line. At one point they managed to maul over the line but the referee in consultation with his touch judge ruled the ball had been held up much to the dismay of the home support.

This was followed by a succession of five meter scrums with the first two resulting in a penalty award against Greystones. Confident a third infringement would result in a penalty try the home side opted to scrum again but the not inconsiderable bulk of Greystones two replacement props, Kevin Moes and Antonio Barhona stood firm and set the Barnhall pack on the back foot allowing Greystones to disrupt the ensuing attack, turn over possession and clear the lines.

The final whistle followed soon after and was greeted more with relief than elation by the victors who will be no less satisfied with delivering a trophy and another winning performance.

Both sides will now refocus on the challenges that lie ahead in the All Ireland league happy that Saturdays game went ahead and any disruption to an already busy fixture list was avoided.

The pity is the players were not able to deliver a performance befitting the final of a Leinster Senior competition due to the playing conditions. Maybe next time the decision makers within Leinster Rugby will look to bring these finals to their Donnybrook headquarters where their 4G synthetic surface would have provided a stage befitting the player’s talents.

Andrew Kealy (Captain) Jack Keating, Con Callan, David Baker, Nick Quirk, Killian Marmion, Andrew Roberts, Mike Doyle, Eoin marmion, Bobby Clancy, Oisin Lennon, Barry Fitzpatrick, Conor Pearse, Ben Tou, Gar Connolly. Replacements: Kevin Moes, Antonio Barhona, John Campbell, Shane Mulvany, Jason Curran, Craig Hazelton, Michael Kirk.