All Ireland League matches between rivals Lansdowne & Clontarf rarely disappoint and Saturday’s latest edition in Lansdowne certainly didn’t with a great contest that went right to the final whistle. Clontarf won by four points on their most recent visit to the Aviva Stadium’s back pitch last December.

Lansdowne started the match clearly with a point to prove as they brought great energy and determination to the game. Their early energy was rewarded as they were awarded a scrum on the Tarf 22 which saw Man of the Match No. 8 Donough Lawlor pick from the back of the scrum and attack the Clontarf try line getting stopped about 5 metres short. The ball was quickly recycled with scrum-half Jack Matthews picking our Andy Marks who ran in under the posts unopposed for our first try which Steve Madigan (returning from injury) easily converted.

Clontarf looked to move the ball wide off a lineout on their own 10m line. The move broke down thanks to some lively defence from Lansdowne and Harry O’Riordan picked from the subsequent ruck and ran towards the Tarf 22 ably supported by flanker Rory Suttor who in turn moved the ball onto Andy Marks who scampered over for his 2nd try of the day with a little over 15 minutes gone. 12-0 Lansdowne. Finally Clontarf rumbled into action, a couple of soft penalties from Lansdowne giving them access to the Lansdowne 22. A well executed lineout peel around the front saw back-row Aaron Coleman crash over for their first points of the day followed by an excellent conversion from out-half Conor Kelly to make it 12-7. Clontarf were finding the rhythm now helped by 5 penalties in a row in their favour but the Lansdowne defence held firm and eventually forced the turnover which was quickly kicked downfield into the Tarf half and chased well, so well Clontarf were penalised at the subsequent ruck which Steve Madigan slotted over (with a little help from the right post) to make it 15-7. Both teams traded penalties and we went into half-time 18-10 in favour of Lansdowne.

The 2nd half started off with plenty of industry from both sides but not quite as clinical as the first half with defences largely on top. The first real chance came when Andy Marks intercepted a stray Tarf pass inside the Lansdowne 22 to sprint 60 metres down the pitch only to be brought down by a great cover tackle from Clontarf winger Seni O’Reilly. The ball was moved right to left and a few phase later Lansdowne were awarded a penalty under the Tarf posts and Steve Madigan duly obliged stretching our lead to 21-10. Lansdowne were largely on the front foot until a rare visit from Clontarf to the Lansdowne 22 saw Harry O’Riordan yellow carded for a high tackle. Our defence still held strong forcing errors and penalties from Clontarf until a few minutes later Andy Marks followed Harry to the sin bin for another high tackle leaving Lansdowne with 13 men left on the pitch. Clontarf responded with a kick to touch and some continuous maul drives and finally moved the ball out back for Tadgh Bird to score just left of the posts to make it 21-17 with 6 maybe 7 minutes left.

Lansdowne's resilience shone through as we rallied well winning a couple of penalties to get us down into the Tarf half. A clever lineout saw sub hooker Jack Treanor sprinting down the right hand touchline only to be brought down 10 metres from the try line. We kept the pressure on with several one out runners challenging the Clontarf defence and eventually the ball got moved to Paul Wilson on the left wing to dive over for the deciding try which would clinch a hard fought victory for Lansdowne. The conversion went narrowly wide but it didn’t matter as the ref blew for full-time leaving it 26-17. A brilliant gutsy effort from the lads. Steve Madigan's kicking prowess proved crucial, while Paul Wilson's try was a testament to Lansdowne's determination. Andy Marks' intercept was a game-changing moment that shifted momentum in Lansdowne's favour and Donough Lawlor and his boundless energy did a very good impression of Gladiator. This victory will undoubtedly boost the team's confidence as they continue their campaign in the Energia All-Ireland League. Both teams demonstrated their calibre, with Clontarf pushing Lansdowne to the limit in what was a highly entertaining match for all in attendance. Next up we face Sligo at home in the Bateman Cup semi-final on Friday Nov 22nd .      

LANSDOWNE 26 CLONTARF 17, Lansdowne Road
Scorers: Lansdowne: Tries: Andy Marks 2, Paul Wilson; Con: Stephen Madigan; Pens: Stephen Madigan 3
Clontarf: Tries: Tadhg Bird, Aaron Coleman; Cons: Conor Kelly 2; Pen: Conor Kelly

HT: Lansdowne 18 Clontarf 10

LANSDOWNE: Cathal Eddy; Rory Parata (capt), Andy Marks, Harry O’Riordan, Sean Galvin; Stephen Madigan, Jack Matthews; Jerry Cahir, Chris Poole, Greg McGrath, Juan Beukes, Ruairi Clarke, Rory Suttor, Paul Wilson, Donough Lawlor.

Replacements: Jack Treanor, Tom Connolly, Clive Ross, Louis McGauran, James Kenny, Steve McMahon.

CLONTARF: Noah Sheridan; Mark O’Sullivan, Victor Allen, Tadhg Bird, Seni Reilly Ashiru; Conor Kelly, Will Reilly; Ivan Soroka, Dylan Donnellan (capt), Charlie Ward, Fionn Gilbert, Jim Peters, Callum Smith, Aaron Coleman, John Vinson.

Replacements: Barry Gray, Conor Bateman, Richie Whelan, Sam Owens, James Conroy, Stephen Ryan.

Referee : Stuart Gaffikin

Match Report: Stephen Rooney