Ormond starting to be cut adrift after another frustrating defeat to Cork Con
RUGBY: Energia All-Ireland League Division 1A Round 3
Nenagh Ormond 17
Cork Constitution 25
Report: Thomas Conway at New Ormond Park
MATCH DIGEST
Player of the Match: Danny Sheahan (Cork Constitution)
SCORERS – Nenagh Ormond: Tries – Cusack, Blackmore. Cons - McMahon (2). Pen - McMahon (1).
Cork Constitution: Tries - Danny Sheahan (2), Kelleher, Condon. Con - Hicks (1). Pen - Hicks (1).
The table makes for grim reading if you’re from Nenagh Ormond. Zero points from three games is never a good look - but it is not, necessarily, a fair reflection.
In truth, this latest episode of the Division 1A season probably offered more positives than it did negatives. Yes, Nenagh started slowly and conceded an early try. And yes, they made some elementary mistakes with the ball in hand but they challenged Cork Constitution far more aggressively than in their 35-13 loss to the visitors in the Munster Senior Challenge Cup a month ago.
And they finished characteristically strongly, chasing the game relentlessly in the dying seconds, and watching in frustration as two late Conor McMahon penalties drifted wayward.
In the end, Con were the better side, as the result suggested. The win catapulted them to second in the table. Nenagh remain wedded to the bottom, and yet there was a sense that the hosts are slowly growing acclimatised to the standard in the highest echelons of Irish club rugby.
They were competitive for large parts. Just not early on. Con required little under five minutes to register their opening try, bombarding Nenagh with a series of phases, and eventually powering over the line via number 8 Jack Kelleher - who was impressive throughout. Out-half Dylan Hicks failed to connect with the conversion, giving Nenagh a slight reprieve, but seven minutes later he nailed a perfect penalty, shooting the Cork club into an 8-0 lead.
Nenagh were flickering with the ball in hand, knitting together a couple of promising moves but never quite making the final incision in the Con line. Until the seventeenth minute that was, when senior side debutant Sam Cusack streaked through near the posts to open the home team’s account. McMahon added the extras, and suddenly things were looking up.
The lineout was functioning relatively well and Nenagh were threatening on the front foot, with full-back Matt Brice surging forward on multiple occasions. The Australian is deceptively quick and can also execute a crunching tackle - as he demonstrated in the 28th minute, to the delight of the Nenagh faithful.
A nasty injury to Rob Buckley just before the half-hour mark led to a temporary stoppage, and that hiatus seemed to stall Nenagh’s momentum. Sure enough, Cork Con seized the initiative and, in the 33rd minute, hooker Dan Sheahan bustled over for the first of his two tries, which Hicks converted
A McMahon penalty just before half-time would reduce the deficit to five, 15-10, Nenagh very much still in this game.
The opening minutes of the second half seemed at times to resemble the first, with Nenagh conceding another early try some four minutes in, Con winger Seán Condon flying over in the corner, not long after Nenagh had been reduced to fourteen men - Angus Blackmore sent to the bin for what appeared to be a high tackle.
Gaping holes started to appear in the Ormond defence - there just weren't enough bodies and the line was fragile. Sure enough, Con exploited the pockets of space, Danny Sheahan helping himself to a second try in the 52nd minute, powering the Cork club into a 25-10 lead.
Time for Nenagh to bring on the cavalry. Into the action stepped Roman Salanoa, the 27-year-old Hawaiian born tighthead and Munster player whom Nenagh signed just last Thursday. Salanoa has spent the past two seasons almost entirely confined to the sidelines due to injury, but his return to action bodes well for Nenagh, and for the province.
He, along with Derek Corcoran and Luke Kerr, seemed to invigorate Nenagh as the last quarter approached. With twelve minutes remaining, Blackmore - eager to make amends - swept over to land Nenagh’s second try.
For a few moments it seemed like the chase really was on. Willie Coffey, McMahon and Kerr constructed a wonderful zigzag passing movement in the middle of the field, opening up a channel which Kerr zoomed into. But he was quickly cut down and the chance evaporated.
To Nenagh’s credit, they fought until the bitter end, but Con were resilient in defence and kept the danger of a try to a minimum. Instead, they seemed content to concede penalties well outside the 22. Conor McMahon will be disappointed with the two kicks he miscued late on, just as Nenagh will be disappointed with the overall outcome. They are showing signs of improvement. Don’t count them out just yet!
TEAMS - Nenagh Ormond: Matt Brice (8); Conor McMahon (6), Angus Blackmore (7), Willie Coffey (7), Sam Cusack (7); Oscar Davey (6), Nicky Irwin (6); Mikey Doran (7), Dylan Murphy (6), Darragh McSweeney (6); Kevin Seymour (6), Kevin O’Flaherty (7); Rob Buckley (6), John Healy (6), Evan Murphy (6).
Reps: Joe Coffey (6) for Buckley (29 inj), Roman Salanoa (7) for McSweeney (56), Derek Corcoran (7) for Davey (57), Luke Kerr (7) for Irwin (60), Niall O’Gorman (6) for Doran (66), Robbie Tynan (6) for D Murphy (75).
Cork Constitution: George Coomber (7); Seán Condon (8), Eoghan Smyth (7), Rob Hedderman (6), Joe O’Leary (7); Dylan Hicks (8), Adam Maher (7); Mark Donnelly (7), Danny Sheahan (8), Luke Masters (7); Mark Skelly (6), Cian Barry (7); Dave Hyland (7), Peter Hyland (6), Jack Kelleher (8).
Reps: Jacob Sheahan (6) for Skelly (62), Julian Royer (7) for Hedderman (63), Billy Scannell (7) for D Sheahan (73), Louis Kahn (6) for Smyth (73), David Good (6) for Donnelly (76).
Referee: Robbie Jenkinson