Clonmel grind out victory to stay on top of the table in Division 2C of All-Ireland League

Clonmel 22 Bruff 20

Clonmel emerged victorious at Ard Gaoithe on Saturday and remain top of Division 2C of the All-Ireland Rugby League after a real dogfight and a serious scare from a very good Bruff side.

This game could not have been closer; eight-all at half-time, three tries each and one penalty goal each. In the end, it came down to the boot of Joe O’Connor, who kicked two conversions to one from Paul Collins on a very tough day for men charged with the kicking responsibility.

After fielding the same team for a number of games, illness, exams and a desire for squad rotation saw Luke Slattery replace Andrew Daly, who is one of the fulcrums of this squad. Liam Maher started on the wing in a reshuffled back line, as influential captain Henry Buttimer swapped his boots for his pencil. Both men showed they are up to the job at this level.

Bruff kicked off on a murky day, with a nasty and unpredictable breeze. Clonmel showed attacking intent from the start but it was Bruff who drew first blood.

READ NEXT: Talented Tipperary entrepreneurs will display their products at Christmas market

A long clearance kick brought play into the Clonmel half after an uncharacteristic knock-on. In mitigation, the ball was as slippery as the proverbial bar of soap.

A strong Bruff pack were rewarded with a scrum penalty, which was kicked to corner. The subsequent maul was unstoppable and gave Bruff a five-point lead when the conversion was missed. It was an ominous start for Clonmel.
However, the response from Clonmel was immediate after a testing restart by Joe O’Connor sowed confusion and the ball was reclaimed by Ben Masuka.

READ NEXT: Sensory grotto at Tipperary arts centre

Smart interplay between O’Connor and Freddie Davies brought play up the right-hand side before the ball went through many hands across to the left. Keith Melbourne did a Tom Ahern impression, making great ground up the left wing and the ball was recycled.

Somehow, Melbourne emerged from the base of the next ruck to crash over for the levelling try. The conversion attempt was into the strong wind and drifted just wide to level the game at five-all after seven minutes.

Clever interplay from a short lineout brought Bruff into the Clonmel 22 but Tomas Stransky executed yet another brave turnover this season to snuff out the danger.

Given the difficult conditions, a number of scrums were inevitable. They breed them big in East Limerick and a strong Bruff scrum earned them a penalty in front of the posts to give them a deserved 8-5 lead after 19 minutes .

Clonmel worked hard but continued to make hard work of it at times. A weighted grubber kick ahead by Musa led to a five-metre scrum for the home side but they could not capitalise on it.

Shortly afterwards, a high tackle on O’Connor brought Clonmel back to within five metres but the Bruff forwards did enough in the maul to earn a turnover and snuff out the threat.

Full back Jack Walsh chipped ahead to keep the Bruff defence honest. The ball was gathered but an expert turnover by Luke Slattery brought Clonmel back into enemy territory.

“Sweets” proved he is “the man” with a strong carry, which led to a penalty in front of the posts that O’Connor was never going to miss despite the gale. The home side were probably the happier with a drawn game at half-time, eight points apiece.

The second half began with two early penalties to Bruff, as Clonmel infringed at both scrum and lineout. The early attacking threat was initially snuffed out with yet another lineout steal – this time from Keith Melbourne.
The relief was temporary, however, as the greasy ball was knocked on in an attempt to re-gather, giving Bruff a scrum near the Clonmel line.

Bruff recycled and carried often and hard before going wide for full back Paul Collins to score on the left-hand side. Collins couldn’t convert his own try into a strong breeze to leave the score 13 points to 8 to the visitors after 48 minutes.

Soon afterwards, an expert 50-22 by Mick Connellan tidied up a bouncing ball and brought Clonmel deep into Bruff territory. It was a highlight for Connellan, who had a fine outing in the 13 position.

The ball squirted out the back of the ensuing maul and was tidied up by Masuka, who has serious energy. A strong run by Tom Ross carried the move forward and Brannock got in on the second row try-scoring act, crashing over from the recycle.
O’Connor hammered home the conversion to give Clonmel a 15 - 13 point lead with half an hour to play.

A warm welcome was afforded for the evergreen Luke Hogan, who went on to prove that he has plenty to offer and that talk of his retirement was indeed premature.

Bruff attacked from the restart but Freddie Davies – more used to sprinting to glory – worked really hard to earn a turnover penalty.

Shortly after the next lineout was lost at the tail, an excellent turnover by Brandon Delicato on the 10-metre line forced a penalty, which was kicked to the right-hand corner.

Captain Tom O’Dea soared high to collect and Clonmel came in waves. However, a succession of errors, allied to a mean defence by Bruff, led to a relieving penalty for the visitors.

A poor knock-on led to a Bruff scrum in the home team’s 22 and shortly afterwards no arms in the tackle on the hard-carrying Bruff number eight saw Bruff go to the corner.

The visitors’ faith in their maul was rewarded with a try. The excellent conversion by Paul Collins put Bruff five points ahead with 15 minutes left on the clock - 20 points to 15.

Bruff were playing well but errors were proving very costly for Clonmel. While costly, the mistakes were not fatal as Clonmel dug deep, forcing a number of penalties to both corners after continued Bruff infringements.

This time Clonmel formed a maul that was only stopped when collapsed by Bruff, as Delicato was about to touch down. However, the referee was on his way under the posts for a penalty try, resulting in the loss of a man for Bruff as well as a loss of the lead as the home team now led 22 points to 20.

There was no score for Delicato on this occasion but he could console himself with the man of the match award that his performance richly deserved.

This was to be the final score, despite a major scare after a Clonmel attacking pass was intercepted and kicked ahead by Bruff. After a serious shift at number eight for the afternoon, Tom O’Dea relived his days as a winger and showed serious wheels to win the foot race.

The home crowd outside the clubhouse nearly spilled their pints with excitement and relief as Clonmel won a penalty after Bruff went off their feet.

Substitutes Zach Cahalane and Ben O’Dwyer were introduced and both made impacts from the bench, as did Davy Coyne in the front row.

The game ended with Bruff trying hard to carry out of defence. It was fitting that Ben Masuka executed the turnover before O’Dwyer kicked out to give Clonmel a narrow win, 22-20.

Bruff went home with pride intact and a losing bonus point. The unchanged tight five all played very well and were complemented with the efforts of a youthful and mobile backrow. Slattery can be proud of his first AIL start and was a little unlucky not to claim a try on his full debut.

The final outing of 2025 is away to Bective Rangers in what is sure to be another challenging assignment. There are some supporters’ spots available on the team bus so contact the club if interested. The kick-off is 2.30 this Saturday, December 13 – let’s hope it’s a lucky one for Clonmel.

Best wishes are also extended to the club’s Male Voice Choir, under the capable direction of Suzanne Buttimer, who were humbled to be asked to sing before the Munster v Gloucester game in Cork at the weekend.

Clonmel: Sean Sweetman, Brandon Delicato, Tomas Stransky, Keith Melbourne, Diarmuid Brannock, Ben Masuka, Luke Slattery, Tom O’Dea, Tom Ross, Drew Musa, Freddie Davies, Joe O’Connor, Michael Connellan, Liam Maher, Jack Walsh.
Replacements: Liam Ryan, David Coyne, Zac Cahalane, Luke Hogan, Ben O’Dwyer.

A minute’s silence was observed before Saturday’s game at Ard Gaoithe game in memory of Eamonn Sheehan. Condolences are extended from all at Clonmel RFC to their friends in Bruff and the Sheehan family on this tragic accident.