Photo Credit: leinsterrugby.ie

 

A tightly contested final between AIL rivals saw Clontarf narrowly edge out Lansdowne with a late try from flanker Aaron Coleman ultimately deciding the game. Lansdowne went into the match as defending Leinster Senior Cup champions and seeking out their 30th Senior Cup title whilst Clontarf hadn’t won the cup since 2015.

A hot sunny day in Energia Park saw Rob Hedderman & Liam Molony make their club debuts earning their Lansdowne stripes. It took us a few minutes to get going with Clontarf  on the front foot from the kick-off. A couple of penalties allowed us get some territory in the Clontarf half and from a subsequent lineout just inside the 22 we launched a series of attacks with Juan Beukes barging his way over for our first try, converted by Stephen Madigan and the first score of the game.  However, Clontarf were quick to respond. A tap and go penalty from Clontarf 9 Louis Reilly followed by a chip kick led to a Clontarf scrum on our 5 metre line. Clontarf kept it simple with a few one out runners and some more pick and go’s from the base of the ruck saw Fionn Gilbert touch down 10 metres left of the posts with Conor Kelly adding the conversion to level the score.

Again Lansdowne responded well with debutant full-back Rob Hedderman making a fine 50m break from just outside our 22 which unfortunately came to nothing. Lansdowne will rue a couple of unforced errors and penalties which allowed Clontarf establish themselves in our 22 with a 5 Metre lineout. Unsurprisingly they opted for the lineout maul and Dylan Donnellan drove over for their second try of the afternoon. Conor Kelly added the conversion to make it 14-7  Clontarf. Despite losing Jerry Cahir to the bin for 10 minutes Lansdowne were doing most of the attacking but they couldn’t penetrate a hard Clontarf defence and had to settle for a long distance penalty from Stephen Madigan just before half-time closing the gap. 

The start of the second half saw both defences dominate with some unforced errors denying both teams scoring opportunities with Lansdowne coming closest to scoring when Tom Connolly was held up over the line after some quick thinking from Hedderman saw us get in behind the Tarf defence. Following a blindside attack from Lansdowne it was James Kenny who broke the staunch Clontarf defence with a sniping run from the ruck putting Ruairi Clarke away for a try and giving Lansdowne the lead, with just 10 minutes to go. A determined Clontarf fought their way into the Lansdowne 22 for what seemed like the first time in the 2nd half as they won a lineout close to the Lansdowne try line. A scrum followed and then a quick free kick until finally Aaron Copeland muscled over to score the victorious try.  A frustrated Lansdowne fought right until the end but Clontarf held on to secure the win and the cup. 

Congratulations to Clontarf on their victory which was their first Leinster Senior Cup title in ten years. Hopefully we can get a bit of revenge when we meet again in the AIL.
Next up we start the AIL with a very challenging away fixture away to Garryowen. Let's start as we mean to continue and get down to Limerick to support your team. 

Clontarf: Tries: Fionn Gilbert 1, Dylan Donnellan 1, Aaron Coleman; Cons: Conor Kelly 2

Lansdowne: Tries: Juan Beukes 1, Ruairi Clarke 1;  Cons Steve Madigan 1, Steve McMahon 1; Pens Stephen Madigan 1

 

Lansdowne: Rob Hedderman, Cillian Redmond, Rory Parata, Harry O’Riordan, Sean Galvin; Stephen Madigan, Tadgh Brophy; Jerry Cahir (Ben Popplewell 56), Jack Treanor, Greg McGrath, Conor McMenamin, Juan Beukes, Jack Hamel-Cooke, Liam Molony, Harry van Eeden.

Replacements: Chris Poole, Ben Popplewell, Tom Connolly, Paul Wilson, James Kenny, Steve McMahon, Cathal Eddy

Clontarf: Noah Sheridan; James McKeown, Victor Allen, Tadhg Bird, Seni Reilly-Ashiru, Conor Kelly, Louis Reilly, Charlie Ward, Dylan Donnellan, Ben Griffin , Fionn Gilbert, Jim Peters, Oran Walsh, Aaron Coleman, John Vinson.

Replacements: Barry Gray, Alvin Amianampong, Richard Whelan, William Reilly, Conal Kervick, Peter Maher, Charlie Coglan, Conor Bateman