Outstanding Nenagh Ormond lose little in defeat

By Shane Brophy

If ever the phrase “the better team lost” applies to a game, this would be it.

That will be a small crumb of comfort for Nenagh Ormond who came oh so close to winning one of the most remarkable Munster Senior Challenge Cup titles in the 139 year history of the competition.

First of all, this game was a fantastic advertisement for club rugby, disappointingly allowed to drift by the powers that be in Dublin 4, but with the depth of talent coming through at underage level in Ireland and just four professional provinces to spread them around to, a strong top tier club competition might be a good approach to take to ensure players are exposed to a good level of rugby within these shores.

This Young Munster team contained a former Ireland Under 20 Grand Slam winner Patrick Campbell at full back who has played for Munster on a number of occasions this season but you wouldn’t have known he was the standout player on the field such as Nenagh’s performance where to a man they were outstanding, with particular praise for captain Willie Coffey, Josh Rowland and John Healy while Jake O’Kelly and John Hayes were outstanding in the pack.

Showing few nerves, Nenagh dominated from the off and showed that the pristine Thomond Park surface as ideal for their expansive style of play, and having the experience of former Young Munster player Derek Corcoran running things at out-half, they controlled the game to such an extent in the first half that you would have thought that they were the 1A team from the AIL, not Young Munster.

Maybe Young Munster took Nenagh for granted a little but the longer the first half went on, they struggled to get to grips with an Ormond side whose carries were strong and effective, easily getting over the gain-line and allowing the backs to thrive with David Gleeson going over for the first try, and John Healy the second, both finished on the wings after flowing moves.

One area you felt Nenagh might struggle in comparison to Young Munster would be physicality but Ormond were able to match that both in attack and defence where they rarely looked like being breached for the first hour with Munsters’ first half try coming from a maul which was a potent weapon Nenagh just about managed to deal with from there on.

Nenagh also showed their bullishness for the occasion when just before half time they turned down an easy three points, going for the corner, where a training ground move saw Dylan Murphy throw to John Hayes at the front of the lineout which caught Munsters completely cold as the back row barrelled over for the third try, converted by Patrick Scully who stepped in on the goal-kicking duties as regular kicker Colm McMahon was cup-tied having played for Shannon in the opening round prior to return to his home club.

If that try was good, even better was to come straight after half time as a superb move off a lineout just inside the Young Munster half saw David Gleeson run onto a reverse pass to break the line and race into the 22 before off-loading to the supporting Nicky Irwin whose momentum carried him over the line for an outstanding try and a 24-10 lead.

At this stage, the Ormond supporters in the large crowd sensed it could be their day but there was a long way to go. Young Munster are too good a side to panic plus playing in more intense games in 1A meant they were able to sustain their energy for longer compared to Nenagh and that started to show around the 50 minute mark when Ormond started to get on the wrong side of the referee with persistent penalties conceded, which led to a sin-binning for Derek Corcoran.

If there was one player Nenagh couldn’t afford to lose at such a crucial juncture it was their experience out-half and head coach who might have been able to get his side up the field. Instead, Nenagh were pinned back but heroic defending saw them hold out Young Munster on the line on at least two occasions but the pressure was growing as tiredness crept in, plus the Limerick sides bench made an impact, leading to a penalty try being conceded in a scrum on seventy minutes.

Nenagh were under the cosh, conceding the score would allow them to get up field but Young Munster sense blood and went for it with replacement James Horrigan burrowing over and suddenly the game was level.

With both sides having crucial league games ahead, the last thing both sides needed was extra time and that loomed large with five minutes to go so who could hold their nerve

Nenagh had the first opportunity with John Hayes making one of his trademark turnovers on the ground leading to a kickable penalty. Patrick Scully had gone off the field at this stage so the Nenagh management made a smart call to bring on Conor O’Brien for Josh Rowland, with the Portroe native a noted place-kicker and with his first touch it looked like he had given Nenagh the lead but his kick tailed at the last moment and came back off the post.

As the clock entered the red, Young Munster had one last opportunity to attack and a tired missed tackle in midfield led to captain Alan Kennedy making the decisive break to get his side into the 22. For the next four minutes, Nenagh’s defence was heroic as they held out Young Munster who eventually had to move the ball wide after getting little joy around the fringes. David Gleeson sensed an opportunity and was inches away from an interception and running the length of the field for the match-winning score. Instead, he was pinged for a deliberate knock-on, presenting Evan Cusack with the opportunity to win the game for Young Munster which he duly did.

What Nenagh Ormond lost in defeat they gained hugely in belief. This can now be the start of something. This is still a relatively young side, who if they are kept together, can certainly get up to a higher level in the AIL and compete confidently there. The big clubs in Limerick will have noted some of Nenagh’s key players and try to cherry-pick them away but Nenagh have the opportunity to build something special over the next few years if they can keep this playing and management group in place, plus adding a couple of extra pieces to deepen the squad.

Hopefully the exertions of what they gave in terms of effort won’t be too severe as they go into their final three games of the league campaign, starting with Cashel this Friday night. However, their poor recent record against their Tipperary rivals should be enough to focus their minds and get the result they need to secure at least a promotion playoff berth going into the final two games where they can target finishing top and with it automatic promotion. With this level of performance, they certainly showed they can play at a higher level.