God knows, this report is not usually short of flowery or exaggerated claims, but it would be hard to overstate the quality and significance of this performance. So often at the wrong end of close encounters with Terenure - who can forget last season’s playoffs? - this side banished all those bitter memories with one emphatic and dominant performance. This was a powerful purge of the past and a significant statement of intent as the playoffs loom into view.

Terenure came with their familiar lively throngs of support, but on the back of a run of defeats and with some key players having moved on, they must have sensed trouble when they were greeted by a record Lansdowne home crowd and a team clearly on the ascendancy. The opening minutes were cagey with neither side showing their cards, or quality, but some early signs were already there. Our scrum, so often under pressure from the bigger Terenure pack in the past, was like the Rock of Gibraltar with props Greg McGrath and Jerry Cahir imposing their power and technique from the first bind and throughout the rest of the game.

We enjoyed most of the territory and possession, taking care to hoof the play back into the visitors’ half whenever they strayed into ours, but Terenure's defence was solid and resolute and we didn’t really threaten their line for the first quarter. Stephen Madigan took a penalty early, but the game was nearly 25 minutes old before that lethal all-rounder number eight, Harry Van Eeden powered over at the front of a lineout on their 10 meter line. 8 - 0. The caginess continued but it was clear that the home side was the one in charge.  A sustained period of attack started from another great break from Harry Van E and several phases saw the ball come out fast from scrum half Jack Matthews through Madigan and then to lightning winger Rob Hedderman. He has men outside, but he also has momentum and he uses it to power over the line. With the game still very much in the balance, the run into half time was a bit of squeaky bum time as Terenure piled on the pressure, winning a penalty to put us on our own 10 meter defending a lineout. But they throw it crooked and Lansdowne reassert their authority winning a scrum penalty with another incredible drive that allows us exit the danger zone on the break. Half time. 13 - 0

By this point in past games, we might have already been rueing costly errors, problems with discipline or just “bad luck”, but as our great President Conor Shaw summed it up in an exclusive media interview later, “Think of the Young Munster game in reverse - what could go right, did go right!”

Starting, as so many great wins do, with our defence, we pressed and harried Terenure in the maul, ruck and woe betide the midfield when the ball came out the backs. Attacking centres, Rory Parata and Andy Marks showed their defensive chops with lightning rush defence and shuddering tackles crunching hits. Though some Terenure players made noble attempts to escape our ring of steel, Adam Lagrue and Arron Egan in particular, we never gave them a chance to open up the attack. Special mention also to Terenure (and former Lansdowne) outhalf Conor McKeon who took a nasty knock in the first half resulting in a broken ankle. We all wish him well in his recovery. While Terenure’s defence in the first half was brave, disciplined and mostly effective, it was clear that they would struggle to keep it up for the full 80 minutes.  And they didn’t.

A rare early fumble allowed Terenure into our 22 in the early stages of the restart, but again they miscued their lineout and we counter attack into their half like a horde of Visigoths charging into an unprotected village.  The attack is varied and vicious and it takes a penalty to slow it down.  Looking for full reward rather than three points, Madigan puts the ball in the corner for a lineout and yet again, hooker Jack Treanor finds Ruari Clarke with an archer’s precision, a quick maul and a break into the middle of the field from Juan Beukes brings us right to their line. Opting more for lightning strikes than a long attritional siege of their defences, captain Jack Cooke quickly picks the ball from the back of the ruck and scythes over the line for a score under their posts. 20 - 0 with only five minutes of the second half played played. Nice.

Another sign of the Lansdowne dominance (as if it was needed) was their ruthless refusal to let Terenure of their half straight from the restart. Try as they might, we thwarted their every move, turning over the ball and launching our own attack as we entered the final quarter.  Only a bewildering back pass when we might have scored (name withheld) gave ‘Nure a chink of light seeing us scramble back to our own 22. But a lung-busting cover by Andy Marks and his counterattack drew a late tackle and a yellow card for Terenure, adding to their woes. Apart from their scrums suffering, however, the yellow seemed only to galvanize the visitors and they played some exciting, open and dangerous ball in the period that followed.  

The subs benches from both sides were being emptied now, but the pattern remained the same. Now it was Donagh Lalor breaking fast off the back of the scrums and Chris Poole throwing the lineouts, but our dominance remained undimmed. Another penalty, another kick to the corner and another faultless lineout, with captain Jack Cooke finishing off another training ground move and twisting the knife in our great rivals. 27 - 0 with less than 15 minutes to play.

With the bonus point in the bag, we were now playing for fun, while ‘Nure were playing just for pride.  Lagrue tries to escape their 22 again but our sub winger Hugo McLaughlin snuffs out that threat. Back to 15, Terenure work the ball briefly into our half, but fatigue takes its toll and they knock on. From another strong scrum platform, the ball comes out from sub scrum half James Kenny, to Madigan and that man Marks breaks their gain line, then another tackle and is just stopped short of their line.  The Visigoths are right behind him and the inevitable rout is complete when the ball is moved quickly out the backs again. Madigan, Parata, Cillian Redmond and then winger Rob Hedderman for his second. 32 - 0 as final whistle blows.

After a mixed season, this was an emphatic and important performance by a squad that’s going from strength to strength. Let’s see just how far it can take us! See you next week in UCD!

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Match Report: Brian Whelan