A league campaign invariably contains both highs and lows and this game was certainly a low point as the J1s slumped to a disappointing loss in their last away game of the season. The game was played in sticky conditions on a heavy pitch away in Barnhall, in the early afternoon of the Ireland v England rugby international. You can make excuses but really the game showed the unpredictable nature of this division with any team in it able to beat another whether at the top of the table or fighting relegation.

This game opened brightly for the J1 outfit who scored early on following good work by the forward pack which allowed Ben Popplewell to crash over from close in with the conversion added by the reliable Jack Connolly 7-0. However, the home side who had a lively together pack of forwards were quicker to master the conditions on their home patch. They exerted pressure on the J1s and this pressure eventually led to a persistent forwards try which was converted and levelled the scores 7-7 after 25 minutes.
The J1s responded almost straight away with good interplay between Tom Bohan and Dylan O'Keeffe to allow the latter break through the home defence and score to the left of the posts adding to his recent try run and with Connolly's conversion the J1's led 14 -7.

Again, the pattern was that the home side took control through their forwards. They were getting go forward ball and in so doing good field position and put pressure on the J1 close to their own line. Several phases later their prop forward broke through from close in to score again near the right-hand posts levelling the scores with the conversion at 14 -14 which was the halftime score. It has to be said that the J1s were playing with the bare bones of a team as Oisin Devitt got injured in the warm up and was out as a result. This meant that there was only one player on the bench and so very little option for changes in the second half. This was not at all ideal, especially with the conditions underfoot with the heavy pitch and tiring players. It was very disappointing with so many regulars unavailable or out for this game especially given the league position of this team.

After the break, it was Barnhall who exacted control over the ball and used their kicking game to good effect. For me, this second half was the most forgettable half of the season. It was filled with a lot of extremely scrappy play without any direction and littered with handling errors meaning a lot of scrums and so breaks in the game. It was one of those halves that you just wanted to end as a war of attrition broke out with both sides cancelling each other out for the most part.

The breakdown was a problem area in this game for us. Although the J1s were winning a lot of primary possession every time the ball was a contest on the ground it was Barnhall who were coming up with the ball.  A lot of the credit for that was down to Smiley Callinan who used to play for us who executed a number of Jackals. That said our forwards tried hard and towards the end of the game there was more balance in this area.

With the second half progressing, the score line remained dead locked. Then just after the midway point after a block down kick and follow up from the Barnhall the ball ended up 10 meters from the J1 line. Their hard-working forwards did the rest hammering away at the goal line. It was left to their lock to break the defensive line and score close to the posts with the conversion added and the score was now 21 - 14.

There was still plenty of time on the clock for the comeback. The J1s were having an off-colour day and one felt a real strike runner was needed to make the difference. The play by and large was compressed and narrow with both teams being sucked into the middle of the pitch with nothing going on out wide. As hard as the team tried every time they seemed to go forward a mistake would lead to the long clearing kick from the Barnhall out half wind assisted. From one of these long kicks, they were awarded a penalty just inside the 22 to the left of the posts surely leaving an easy kick for the out half to increase the lead to 10 points. Inexplicably the ball shook off the kicker's foot and went to the right of the posts and wide. You would say a big let off and surely this would raise the J1 from their slumber to try to get something out of this game. 
They enjoyed a period of possession and finally used that possession to get into the red zone within the barnhall ‘22. There followed a yellow card and a number of penalties which were kicked to the corner. However, although securing possession from the ensuing lineouts and trying the rolling mall, the home side repelled the attacks repeatedly and the inevitable dropped ball occurred leading to a turnover with barnhall clearing the ball. Also, the referee who was going to the international no doubt had one eye on his watch. 
This dour game petered out much to the relief of the spectators who were there, and there were not that many. This forgettable half of rugby was over with the home side deservedly winning. We wish them well in their struggle against relegation as they are hugely committed lot.

This result was a poor one for the J1 and they have now lost their lead at the top of the division with Terenure taking over from them. It is now a three-way fight for two places between Terenure, Lansdowne and St. Mary's. There are two games to play for the J1 both against the university sides at home in the coming weeks. Wins with bonus points will be required from both games.
The most frustrating thing about this game is the hard work of earlier games is jeopardized by poor preparation for this fixture in a tight division. I do want to mention this week Ben Popplewell in the front row who had a fine game in defeat, and Cathal Boyle who played at flanker who had some good carries and certainly tried his very best in a losing cause.

One other thing of note from this week is the draw for the Metropolitan cup first round was made with the J1s being given a bye to round two. They then play the winners of Old Belvedere or Old Wesley in Round 2. This competition begins in March and will run through into mid-April.