Longford Rugby Club lose out to Carlow but secure late bonus point

Longford RFC . . . 10   Carlow RFC . . . 17

With Ireland's disappointing yet heroic exit from the World Cup the night before still lingering, those in attendance were hoping for a “pick me up” and the stage was set for what promised to be a compelling contest.

The players took to the pitch in glorious conditions for October that suggested a free-flowing game was in store. These conditions however would arguably suit Carlow better as they are known for their fast paced and high tempo style of rugby that facilitates the dynamic interplay of both forwards and backs.

 Longford however trained well in the lead up to the fixture and were confident of their own game plan to nullify the Carlow threat.

The game kicked off to an immediate exchange of thundering collisions as both sides tried to establish an early foothold in the game. It was evident early that Carlow had travelled in no mood to cede an inch to Longford who defended bravely in the opening minutes as Carlow launched wave after wave of attack.

 On 4 minutes Longford’s Mark McHugh, playing at Number 8 made a crunching tackle on the Carlow carrier that was deemed by the referee to have been slightly above the horizontal guidelines for releasing the player and was unlucky to be yellow carded.

Longford had to weather the growing onslaught from Carlow with a player down for the next 10 minutes. They defended gallantly but were eventually cut open down the middle after a strong surge by the visitors. The try was converted to give Carlow a 7-point advantage. 

Longford had to find a way to get into the game in terms of territory and possession and began to settle after what was a whirlwind opening to the contest.

Longford rallied well and, on several occasions, had opportunities to convert pressure into advanced field positions.

However, sloppiness in execution resulted in either turnover penalties or indeed failed kicks that eliminated the good work the previous hard yards had delivered. 

That old phrase “frustration” was creeping into the home side's play and calm heads were needed to see out the game to half time. Carlow had a player yellow carded

just before the half time whistle to give the Men in Black a player advantage as they regrouped at the break to access their second half strategy.

The second half got off to a frenetic start with Longford throwing everything at the visitors in an effort to get points on the scoreboard. Up front young Eoin Murtagh was giving a fine display on his Senior League debut at blindside flanker.

 Josefa Rokotakala & Matt Gray put in big shifts from the second row both in play and out of touch, with Seamus McKeown also putting himself about well at the coalface. 

However, it was Fred Davis who stood out perhaps most as he delivered a thundering all round display in a man of the match performance. Some superb rugby was on display from both sides.

It was Carlow though who made the next decisive moves. Another set of self-inflicted errors gave Carlow easy escapes from their half and the momentum to inch their way back towards the Longford 22.

 A penalty was awarded to the visitors who nailed it to give them a 10 point lead and this was swiftly followed by a sucker punch on 57 minutes when during the following phases of play they moved the ball wide to their winger who bagged a try at the Tennis Club end of the pitch.

 Their kicker landed a touchline conversion and before Longford knew it they found

themselves a full 17 points down with nothing to show for their efforts.

Longford now had a mountain to climb in terms of getting anything out of this fixture and a comeback had to happen from the next restart. Longford launched multiple phases of attack with Ian McCormack in particular making several incisive breaks through the visitor’s defence from full back.

 Player Coach Henry Bryce also carried hard through the middle on several occasions and eventually Longford were awarded a penalty of their own which Ryan McHugh slotted to finally get Longford on the board. The score was now 3-17 with 15 minutes still left in the contest.

Longford laid siege to the Carlow defence for the remainder of the game in search for a converted try that would have given the hosts a losing bonus point due to their being within 7 points of the victors. 

The target was now to at least reach 10 points and keep Carlow from adding to their 17 points tally. John Geelan had been introduced at flanker in the 2nd half and he led the charge with the assistance of his back-row teammates Fred Davis and Mark McHugh in the hunt for the final score and get some return for what was a committed overall team effort.

 Carlow were penalised on 74 minutes and received their second yellow card of the fixture to give Longford a slight advantage in the final exchanges.

 Some karma was finally delivered when John Geelan crashed over in the 79th minute after several phases of attack to finally land a try for Longford which Ryan McHugh converted to the sound of the final whistle. 

Longford were in truth slightly unlucky to be so far behind at the crucial point of this contest and had contributed much to what was a cracking battle. 

However, at this level of the Leinster League you must take your chances and eliminate self-inflicted errors. 

Lessons still to be learned for this new and young team. There is a nucleus of quality talent that is getting more experience with every game and they must now stick together to get their season moving properly.

Longford travel to Cill Dara RFC next Sunday, 22nd October for Round 4 of the Leinster League campaign. All travelling support greatly welcomed and appreciated.

Longford Squad v Carlow RFC: 1 – S McKeown 2 – R Collum 3 – L Brady 4 – J Rokotakala 5 – M Gray 6 E Murtagh 7 – F Davis 8 – M McHugh 9 – R Shaw10 – D McHugh 11 – J McGowan 12 – R McHugh 13 – D Connolly 14 – F McGowan 15 – I McCormack 16 – S Davis 17 – P O’Farrell 18 – J Geelan 19 – H Bryce 20 – C Casey.