Cashel up to second in AIL table - but win over Old Crescent might have been more

ALL IRELAND LEAGUE DIVISION 2A

CASHEL 14 OLD CRESCENT 8

On a dark dreary day on Saturday last Cashel welcomed Old Crescent to Spafield for round seven of the All Ireland League.
At the start of the day Cashel were two points behind joint leaders Queens University and Blackrock.

Conditions were wet and breezy but the rain did stay away for the first half. Cashel went about their business early on and dominated the first five minutes with the forwards charging forward. They kept the pressure on the visitors and popped the ball to Conor Cashman who charged over for a try. Josh O’Dwyer converted and they were on their way.

Shortly after they were on the way again but were penalised at the breakdown and Crescent cleared their lines. A promising Old Crescent move following a 50/22 was broken up when Jack O'Rourke robbed the ball for Cashel at the breakdown.

During the next five minutes the Cashel pack were pulverising the Old Crescent defence but each time they got near the line they were penalised at the breakdown. There were also a number of overlaps out wide but Casehl made life difficult for themselves by bashing up when a simple pass to the backs would have delivered a least two more tries in the first half.

Crescent came storming back and but were pulled back for crossing and then a kick through just went dead. They did narrow the gap with a penalty on 29 minutes. Cashel quickly regained possession and brought play to inside the Crescent twenty two, the ball was knocked on and Cashel drove the scrum over the Old Crescent line. The defenders infringed and the referee awared Cashel a penalty try. Cashel led 14 points to 3 at half time.

The scoreline could easily have been double that. Particularly prominant in that first half were James Ryan, Richard Moran and Fearghail O’Donoghue.

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The rain returned at the start of the second half and unfortunately the quality of the play mirrored the weather. Cashel totally dominated the scrum and won a penalty on forty seven minutes. They went for the corner but the ball went dead. This was repeated five minutes later after another scrum penalty.

The pressure continued but a number of mistakes kept Old Crescent in the game. Ciaran Ryan made a burst deep into the visitors territory, Michael Hickey sniped but they were held up. Old Crescent went to uncontested scrums and for awhile were down to thirteen men but continued to hold out.

In injury time Cashel gave away three penalties which allowed Crescent clear their lines. They kicked a penalty to the left corner, won the lineout and in one sweeping movement scored an excellent try on the right wing. It was the only clear chance they got in the game and they took it. The referee blew the full time whistle and Cashel had won by 14 points to 8.

It is difficult to be critical when a team wins but there is no doubt Cashel left a try bonus point behind them. There were a lot of positives, particularly the scrum dominance and the ability of the pack to carry ball.

The win propels Cashel into second place. They leapfrog Queens University who were defeated by Nenagh and travel to Belfast next week to take on Queens. They need to be wary of a backlash.

Blackrock are now on top three points ahead of Cashel. After their fine victory over Queens Nenagh are now back in the frame and are in joint fourth place with Barnhall.

Cashel team (1-20). C O'Donnell, N Fitzgerald, B Ryan, B Crosse, F O'Donoghue, C Ryan, R Moran, J Ryan, M Hickey, J O'Dwyer, J O'Rourke, Ben Murray, C Cashman(C), R Kingston, R O'Sullivan, S O'Connell, A Shirley, B O'Connor, L Shine, A McDonald.