Heroic Tullamore end season on high note

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference, Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts. Attitude and courage were on display in abundance on Sunday as Tullamore made the long trip to Ashbourne to take on a very strong Navan side.

Leinster Rugby Anderson Cup Final

Tullamore 25

Navan 7

After a facile win over a weak Gorey side and a narrow win over a physical yet limited enough Roscrea team, Navan proved to be a different bag of hammers.

After an incredible season that started way back on the first week of October, Tullamore had won 16 out of 17 matches and looked to cap off a brilliant season by adding the Anderson Cup to the Metro 9 league title they had already bagged back in March.

Tullamore’s Petit General Colin Draper missed the final through injury which was a huge pity as he has been in electric form recently and scoring tries for fun. Youngster Rory Lynch was tasked with filling his boots and did not disappoint, running the backline well and always willing to challenge the Navan defence through his strong running game. Rory showed great composure and physicality for a young man and looks to have a huge future in the club.

Navan started the better using their big pack to go through the phases, but stout defence from Senan Carroll and Shane Minnock kept them at bay and when Glen Bagnall forced the knock on Tullamore were able to clear their lines through Lynch’s sledgehammer boot.

Odhran ‘the predator’ Hickey, Tullamore’s lineout king all season won plenty of clean ball and was an absolute pest on North Meath’s throw, putting their hooker through a strange and weirdly satisfying sort of hell. Indeed it was his lineout turnover on 15 minutes that led to an excellent break from Tom Gilligan and when Hickey was interfered with on the ground at the ruck the ball was kicked to touch and after several strong carries from the forwards, silver bearded warrior Eddie Connor crashed over for the opening try. John Tobin is a real sharpshooter from the tee and his goalkicking has been a key part of Tullamore's success this season and he nailed the difficult conversion for a 7-0 lead.

Tullamore had plenty of possession after this and big carries from Dan Cronin and John Connolly took play up to the Navan line only for the ball to be turned over at the ruck. Ben Doyle came on for Connor who had emptied the tank and given everything. Doyle immediately made a huge, bone crunching tackle to stem a Navan attack. At half time the match was delicately balanced, Tullamore certainly would not have been happy with just a 7 point lead given the amount of possession and territory they had.

Kevin Browne came off the bench to add his experience and immediately made a big impression. Although the thatch on his head is a bit sparse and not having played much rugby this season, Browne has stayed fit and strong from working in the piggery and he made several strong carries, cradling the ball under one arm like a farmer carrying a young Bonham to market. It was one of his big carries that led to Tullamore breaking through and almost scoring. Navan then came back into the match and looked to spread the ball wide where they had numbers, only for Tom Gilligan to get the intercept and run in the try from all of 60 metres out to extend the lead to 12-0.

Ger Molloy was pumped up on the sideline and chomping on the bit. When big Ger was brought on he immediately made a monstrous carry, bowling over Navan defenders like skittles in a bowling alley. This led to Tullamore breaking the line through Brian Gilligan and Scott Bradley. Bradley, deceptively quick and with a killer sidestep caused Navan all kinds of problems with his counterattacking game and his broken field running was a joy to watch and it was his try on 55 minutes that pushed the lead out to 17-0. Navan were not done and responded with a converted try before Tobin then kicked a huge penalty from 40 metres out to leave the score at 20-7.

Navan emptied the bench and brought on a new front row of veterans. Huge men, they struggled with the pace of the game and proved to be as useful as a trapdoor in a canoe. Brian Gilligan took advantage of the tired Navan defence and put the icing on the cake with the final try on 78 minutes.

Tullamore held out and closed out the game through solid defence from Carroll, Tom Gilligan and Mark Devine. ‘’Game over, thanks for the use of the hall’’ quipped team manager Seamus Minnock. All that was left to do was for Captain John Connolly to life the cup.

Everyone has his day, and some days last longer than others.

Tullamore fielded no fewer than three former club captains in Mike Tormey, Tim Gilligan and Kenny Browne and this trio along with grizzled old warriors Eddie Connor, Ger Molloy and John Connolly were all key and their experience vital.

On the day Mike Tormey had yet another massive game in the pack, tackling his heart out aswell as making some great carries.

Senan Carroll is the Duracell bunny in the pack and has a serious engine and he picked up from where he left off against Roscrea with some key turnovers and over 20 tackles.

Rory Lynch had a fine game, running the backline well, taking the ball to the line and never taking a backward step in defence. Tom Gilligan and John Tobin were very solid in defence and never gave the Navan back line a chance to create space.

This scribes man of the match goes to John Connolly, he gave a real captain's performance leading from the front all afternoon.

So, after a long and drawn out season which started in early October the curtain finally comes down on the most successful season that Tullamore J2’s have ever had. With the J1 team winning the metro 4 league too it truly was a brilliant year in the club for junior rugby.

Tullamore won 13 out of 14 of their Metro 9 league matches as well as bagging the Metro div 9 trophy, beating Portarlington on March 16th in the final. An incredible and very enjoyable season with 42 players used and even more importantly a great stepping stone for some of the younger players who will hope to push on up to the J1 and Senior teams over the next number of seasons. Unfortunately a squad of only 20 players was allowed to be used for the final. It was a pity as players such as James Rabbitte, Kevin Foley, Conor Sampson, Dan Flynn, Brendan Leavy, Josh donoghue and James Griffin all made valuable contributions and were unlucky to miss out on selection for the final aswell as Mark Brolly who very unfortunately got injured in the warm up but all can be proud of their efforts throughout the season.

Huge credit must go to the management and coaching team of Ian McGlinchey, Seamus Minnock, Rob Connor, Dave Hanlon and Ray Quinn who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to enable things to run smoothly.

It took a lot of work to get the team out for away matches in the Metro league as most were on Friday nights in Dublin so coordinating lifts etc. was vital.

Rob Connor was instrumental in getting the J2 team up and running again after a number of years when Tullamore only managed to field two senior teams due to lack of players. Indeed there were several weekends throughout the season when three full senior men’s squads were fielded on the same day, an incredible achievement in itself. Rob Connor and Dave Hanlon were both always willing to help out on match days and with thirds training and both coaches helped to develop and nurture the younger players. Rob and Dave are two exceptional young coaches who look to have a huge future in coaching rugby.

This group of players is comprised of a few older heads in Colin Draper, John Connolly, Mike Tormey, Eddie Connor, Kenny Browne, Tom and Brian Gilligan, Gerry Molloy and big Kevin Foley, all using their experience to help develop and nurture the younger talent coming through.
Some of the younger players have already pushed on up to play for the J1 team and the likes of Scott Bradley, Rory Lynch, Ben Doyle, Dan Flynn, Brendan Leavy and Mark Devine will surely have long careers in the club.

So the double now achieved and two more trophies safely tucked up in Spollanstown, roll on next season where this group of players will surely fancy their chances of having a good crack at winning Metro 8 as well as defending the Anderson cup.

Tullamore: Eddie Connor, Shane Minnock, Dan Cronin, Odhran Hickey, Mike Tormey, Senan Carroll, Glen Bagnall, John Connolly, Bryn Gilligan, Rory Lynch, Sean Dunne, Tom Gilligan, John Tobin, Nick Judge, Scott Bradley. Subs used: Ben Doyle, Kenny Brown, Ger Molloy, Mark Devine, Dermot hickey.