Heart-break for Nenagh as ‘Rock snatch late win
RUGBY: Energia All-Ireland League Division 1B/2A Playoff Semi-Final
Blackrock College 10
Nenagh Ormond 8
Report: Thomas Conway in Stradbrook
Sport has a unique capacity to entertain and enthral, but it can also deliver the cruellest of blows, and Nenagh Ormond discovered this last Saturday in Stradbrook in this All-Ireland League Promotion Playoff semi-final against Blackrock College.
For the vast majority of what was a highly attritional contest, they led, and appeared to be in a winning position entering the home straight. Granted, at 8-3, the lead was precarious, but Nenagh seemed to have things under control. Blackrock were attacking forcefully but the Tipp side’s defence was holding up strong, resisting the onrushing waves of navy and white.
Eventually, the home side found a gap. Out-half Peter Quirke, who produced a towering man of the match display, plunged over the line some twenty metres right of the posts. It sent the home support into raptures, and left Nenagh reeling. Crucially, Quirke would land the not-so-easy conversion to send his side 10-8 in front.
There was still time for Nenagh to respond, but deep down, everybody knew - Quirke had just sent his side towards a promotion play-off final against MU Barnhall. He had crushed Nenagh’s dreams and ended their break-out 2022/23 season.
It is difficult to capture or indeed quantify the degree of disappointment Saturday’s loss generated amongst the Nenagh players and supporters. Ormond’s form this season has been nothing short of superb. They’ve bounced back from a torrid 2021/22 campaign and risen to heights which few would have thought possible at the beginning of this year.
A statement victory over Garryowen last September acted as the catalyst for an enthralling journey through Division 2A, and a magical run to the final of the Munster Senior Challenge Cup. The quality of their performances over the course of the season suggested that they deserved promotion, and last Saturday, one could argue that they deserved victory.
In the final analysis, however, there was a sense that Blackrock were, just marginally, the better side. Invigorated by their boisterous fans, the historic south Dublin club defended heroically and produced moments of sublime quality. They subjected Nenagh to a barrage of pressure in the second period and eventually secured their reward. Peter Quirke’s 75th minute try was the culmination of that pressure. His subsequent conversion was a match-winner. Ultimately, it proved the difference between two sides which finished next to one another in the 2A table.
Truth be told, this was an absorbing, frenzied game of rugby. Both sides went at it hammer and tongs from the get-go, fighting tooth and nail for every possession, every ball. On a wet, squalid afternoon the scoring was never going to be high, but the level of entertainment certainly was. There were periods of heroic defending, scintillating attack, aimless kick tennis and much much more.
For large parts of the first-half, Nenagh looked to be the better side, defending valiantly, and securing vital turnovers at critical moments. The most critical moment however, arrived in the 25th minute. Kevin O’Flaherty’s try was a brilliant collective move, finished with great panache by the flanker. A surging passage of play had brought Nenagh to within metres of the line. O’Flaherty positioned himself perfectly, scooping a pass from Willie Coffey and then sweeping in over the try line before grounding thirty metres left of the posts. McMahon's missed conversion would ultimately prove costly, but it didn’t diminish the fact that Nenagh had snatched the momentum.
That momentum was stalled some three minutes later, when Peter Quirke landed Rock’s first score - a well-executed penalty from 25 metres. It reduced the deficit to two and immediately invigorated the home crowd. By half-time, the general consensus was clear - these were two evenly-matched teams, and this game was, more than likely, going to go down to the wire. And so, it did.
Most of the second-half played out inside Nenagh territory, with Blackrock attacking aggressively and very nearly touching down on several occasions. And yet Nenagh were first to register. On a day in which scores came very much at a premium, Conor O’Brien’s 65th minute penalty almost felt like a match-winning kick. He smacked the ball beautifully, splitting the posts with effortless precision and placing Nenagh in pole position.
But there was more action to come and Nenagh knew it. They knew they would have to resist Blackrock for the best part of fifteen minutes, and they knew it wouldn’t be easy. In the end, their defence buckled. Their eight forwards had fought valiantly for 75 minutes, but the Blackrock pressure was just too much.
The Nenagh pack was sucked into a vortex some metres right of the posts, opening up space for Quirke to collect possession and bounce over the line. There was an eerie, almost otherworldly silence before he struck his conversion, but once it became clear that the trajectory was accurate, the clubhouse end burst into a chorus of roars and applause.
Amongst the Nenagh supporters there was only despair. Still, the players never gave up. For the remaining five minutes they kept searching for and seeking a score, but the points eluded them. It was Blackrock’s day, on their own home turf, in their own backyard. Perhaps that was ultimately the difference.
TEAMS - Blackrock College: Brian Colclough (8), Hugo Godson-Treacy (7), Matt Dwan (70, Dave McCarthy (NR), Chris Roland (7), Peter Quirke (8), Ross Baron (8); Andrew Savage (7), Steve McLoughlin (7), Jack Mullany (7), Cian Reale (8), Hugh Doyle (8), Roy Whelan (7), Dave Fortune (7), Matt Cosgrove (7).
Reps: James Burke (7) for McCarthy (5 inj); James Fennelly (7) for Fortune (HT); Mark Edwards (7) for Reale (54); Niall Hardiman (6) for McLoughlin (60); James Moriarty (6) for Doyle (69).
Nenagh Ormond: Josh Rowland (7), Conor McMahon (7), Willie Coffey (8), John Healy (7), Davy Gleeson (7), Derek Corcoran (8), Nicky Irwin (7); Mikey Doran (7), Dylan Murphy (7), Jack O’Keefe (7), Jake O’Kelly (7), Kevin O’Flaherty (8), Rob Buckley (7), John O’Flaherty (7), John Hayes (7).
Reps: Peter O’Connor (7) for D Murphy (HT); Niall O’Gorman (7) for O’Keefe (HT); Evan Murphy (7) for O’Kelly (49); Joe Coffey (7) for Hayes (58); Conor O’Brien (8) for McMahon (60 inj); Cian Ryan (6) for Irwin (67); Patrick Scully (6) for Healy (72).
Referee: Stuart Gaffikin.