Clontarf 10
Terenure College 16
Eleven points from the boot of James Thornton helped Terenure College to stave off the stubborn challenge of Clontarf at a rain-soaked Castle Avenue last night.
Centre Stephen O’Neill also contributed a first half try to ensure Terenure triumphed 16-10 and remain undefeated in Division 1A. They are second in the current standings, just a point behind leaders UCC.
Sean Skehan’s side had to overcome the sending-off of Robbie Deegan, and with replacements Tadgh McElroy and Sean Kearns making a strong impact, Clontarf were well in contention coming down the home stretch.
Playing on the all-weather pitch, it was Terenure who dominated the early exchanges. The early sin-binning of opposition flanker Cian Walsh helped them to create an attacking platform and they camped inside the ’Tarf 22 for large spells.
Nonetheless, it was the north Dubliners who almost broke the deadlock in the 11th minute. A powerful break forward by scrum half Angus Lloyd edged the hosts towards the whitewash, and only scrambled ‘Nure defence ultimately halted the speedy half-back’s progress.
With Sam Dardis and Jake Swaine impressing in the back-three, Terenure’s own attack was looking potent. Dardis was forced into touch in the nick of time, before the visitors finally made the breakthrough nearing the half hour mark.
After a Liam Hyland carry had put ‘Nure on the front foot, O’Neill burst through a gap to claim the opening try. Out-half Thornton tagged on the extras in fine style and proceeded to add a brace of penalties prior to the interval.
Skehan’s charges took a 13-0 advantage into the second period, but they suffered a serious setback when centre Robbie Deegan received a red card after being deemed to have taken out ‘Tarf full-back Jack Power in the air. There was a delay of almost 10 minutes as Power was treated on the field.
Initially, ‘Nure coped admirably while down to 14 men. Yet, ‘Tarf’s extra man inevitably had a impact and their patience was rewarded with a converted try inside the final quarter. Former Ireland Under-20 hooker McElroy applied the finishing touches to a well-executed lineout maul on the left.
Back came ‘Nure, securing a penalty inside the ‘Tarf half and the reliable Thornton made no mistake with his fourth kick of the night. A Sean Kearns penalty moved Clontarf into losing bonus point territory. They had a couple of opportunities right at the death, but Terenure’s terrific defence turned them over.
Clontarf scorers: Try: Tadgh McElroy; Con: Sean Kearns; Pen: Sean KearnsTerenure College scorers: Try: Stephen O’Neill; Con: James Thornton; Pens: James Thornton 3
CLONTARF: Jack Power; Seni Reilly Ashiru, Fiachra Smith, Matt D’Arcy, Cian O’Donoghue; Gearoid Lyons, Angus Lloyd; Ivan Soroka, Dylan Donnellan, JP Phelan, Cormac Daly, Ben Reilly, Tom Ryan, Cian Walsh, Michael Noone (capt).
Replacements: Tadgh McElroy, Charlie Ward, Ruadhan Byron, Andrew Feeney, Sean Kearns.
TERENURE COLLEGE: Jake Swaine; Matthew Byrne, Robbie Deegan, Stephen O’Neill, Sam Coghlan Murray; James Thornton, Jamie Glynn; Dewald Barnard, Robbie Smyth, Liam Hyland, Stephen Caffrey, Michael Melia, Niall O’Sullivan, Paddy Thornton (capt), Eoin Joyce.
Replacements: Adam Clarkin, Tiernan Creagh, Niall Lalor, Mark O’Neill, Sam Dardis.