All Ireland League - Thread

[Donny B.]

Was at Marys-Lansdowne this evening.

Marys scrum and lineout was under pressure througout but they showed some heart and were only a point down around the 55 minute mark. Then Sean McCarthy (how did Leinster sign this useless lump?) got binned and the whole thing fell apart. Lansdowne scored four tries then, one after another, two for Tom Farrell. Cathal Marsh got a late try to make the final score 38-20 to Lansdowne. Marys in real trouble this season.

From a Leinster point of view, Marsh and McCarthy started along with under-20s Nick Timoney, David O'Connor and Conor Oliver. Timoney started brightly and scored Marys first try.

Lansdowne had Farrell, Tom Daly, Cian Kelleher (who got the first try) starting in the backs, plus Tyrone Moran in the pack. Under-20s Stephen Gardiner and Conor McKeon also started for them.

[Donny B.]

Sounds like Nure came back from the dead against UCD tonight – 17-8 down after 64 minutes and ended up winning 17-26. What a run!

Wow!

This lot seem to have forgotten how to lose.

[Ruckedtobits]

Donny, they were never dead! 12-3 down at half-time after one excellent try by Sam C-M from 50 metres out and a mauled, messy try from College, but Terenure got a vital penalty against a gale just on half time.

The Leinster Academy side scored one try in the second half against three for the 'Nure who were pushing for a bonus point in the last five minutes. Good standard of rugby from both sides with ball in hand but the Terenure kick-chase out of defence in the second half was far more efficient. Dardis, Ringrose, Sam C-M and No 8 Timmins were the pick of the UCD team but Duke (No 6), scrum-half O'Neill and No 8 Kyle McCoy for Terenure looked the best players on the park and didn't suffer by comparison with their representative opponents.

Nothing flukey in this 17-26 win for Terenure and UCD get nothing at home.

[FrankBurke]

In The Gulag last Saturday I saw Cork Con 6 Young Munster 9. Tonight it was Dolphin 6 Cork Con 6. 160 minutes (& plenty of injury time) of rugby and not a sniff of a try. Munster back play at its finest!!!

[Donny B.]

Donny, they were never dead!

Never said they were, that was Hugo. Don't think he was intimating they were flukey either, although he can speak for himself.

Cheers for the mini match report though. In Duke, O'Neill and McCoy 'Nure have a backrow of contrasting talents which combine superbly well and can take on anyone in the league.

[Ruckedtobits]

Apologies Donny, a quick mis-read!

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Great comeback for Terenure. Don't quite know how they hung on at times in the first half and when down to 14 men but they did and finished the game incredibly strongly. UCD seemed to want to run everything but were very hesitant about it and ended up running into a really good defensive line.

McCarthy and Ross Byrne were good in patches but they ended up losing control a bit and they blew several chances to move the ball wide when they had numbers on the Terenure line. Not smart at all. SCM looked lively and did some really good things, then had one howler of a knock on when Terenure were cranking up the pressure, Timmins was the same on both counts. He threw one huge pass off his left after a break through the middle which gave SCM space and he finished from very far out. Outstanding skill from Timmins and then pace from SCM. This is with the caveat that I asked missed the first quarter but Adam Byrne was anonymous aside from one horrendous missed tackle. Dardis looked extremely composed and was neat and tidy in everything he did, but for me he didn't do enough in terms of trying to beat people. He has a magic step but his first instinct was to pass. Nothing wrong with that as such, but think he could have had a go a few times.

Terenure are just so well drilled and fought for everything. Set piece was excellent and they were brilliant at taking advantage of any space that arose. Really clinical too. Kev O'Neill is the scrumhalf that Donny mentioned. Honestly think Leinster should offer him a short term deal. Thought he was unlucky not to make the academy and everything I've seen since then supports that. At one stage tonight he drove Timmins back a good 7/8 metres off the back of a scrum but the rest of his game is very strong too. His brother Stephen (there's three on the team) is quality too. He's very small for a 13 but he's an outstanding rugby player.

[Donny B.]

Terenure's run final ends. Were leading 13-12 in injury time but lost 15-13 away to Lansdowne.

[FrankBurke]

Cork Con 13 Tarf 10 in a monsoon. Draw would have been a fair result.

Con scored winning try in last minute. Ref allows less than a minute of injury time.....

[Donny B.]

Marys 21 Young Munsters 15

Marsh kicked like a dream, 7/7 and a good few of them not gimme's

[ormond lad]

Marys 21 Old Scummy Munsters 15

Marsh kicked like a dream, 7/7 and a good few of them not gimme's

Good to see Marsh, ex team mate of mine going well....
Ah Munsters aren't that scummy....

We got a win today v City Of Derry but no bp. We one of tightest defences in league but poorest attack but judging by our performances we seem to have purposely not played an offloading game in this first half of the season which is where we're at our best....

[FrankBurke]

Dolphin 6 Landsdowne 13. I have never seen a team give away as many penalties as Landsdowne today. They dominated Dolphin in set piece completely but all they had to show was a penalty try from a scrum on the line.
Money must be tight @ Dolphin - floodlights weren't turned on. Game ended in murky gloom.

[leinster4life13]

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/c ... -1.2046522

So are they going to sell up and move up the Dublin mountains like DSLP, Bective et all, or sell the back pitches for apts or something?

[ormond lad]

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/c ... -1.2046522

So are they going to sell up and move up the Dublin mountains like DSLP, Bective et all, or sell the back pitches for apts or something?

Shame for Blackrock but its their own fault theyre in this position. Really need to see wholesale changes in the club. Cant attract so many top players coming out of school. Should they look at developing a youths structure to help in producing players? ... different issue..
Don't see them going up Dublin mountains.
Bective, Wesley Lansdowne etc have places up close to Palmo's place as they need the pitches as not enough space in Lansdowne/Donnybrook but do Blackrock need to go up and sell out of where their playing base etc is from.

[FrankBurke]

Dolphin 34 UCD 15. Dolphin well worth the win; hungrier on the deck & more organised overall. Dolphin out-half, Rory Scannell, looks a useful prospect.

SCM & Adam Byrne looked useful for UCD but didn't see much of the ball.

[Armchair]

Great win for Mary's & Dolphin and and a big win 35-0 for Lansdowne away to Clontarf

[FrankBurke]

Sunday's Well 24 Kanturk 15. Old School rugby!

Ref was ok. Better than any Scottish refs I've seen.

[FrankBurke]

Cork Con 13 St Marys 15. In sunshine, rain, sleet and sunshine!

Marys well worth the win. Really dug it out showing plenty of skill and heart in difficult conditions.

[FrankBurke]

Dolphin 13 Old Belvedere 3. Easily the worst game I have seen this season.

Dolphin mediocre, Belvo woeful. Belvo incapable of catching the ball. Their out-half (Crosbie?) missed a penalty form in front of the posts at the end. Sums it all up.

[Leoslovechild]

What a brilliant last two weeks to division 1A with all I think bar 1 game being meaningful.Absolutely brilliant they way things changed minute by minute

So the playoffs really worked this year otherwise there would have been 8 teams playing for nothing for the last few weeks

Semi's should be good on 25th and then the final in Aviva to come