Lansdowne 41  – 34 Old Belvedere
Now that’s more like it. It was great to win the match and take all five points on offer, but the manner of the victory, the vim and yes, the vigor, were what really lifted the spirits. 

A nervous hum could be heard throughout the club before kickoff. In the bar, a recent past president refused a fourth pint. “No” he said, “I have to concentrate on this match!” And at the lunch, President Gavin Lee (the most popular man on LinkedIn) told tales of his and Stephen Keogh's impressive past glories for fear of what the future might hold.

But they needn’t have worried. Even before the kickoff, the omens were good as the skies cleared for the first time in weeks and the conditions welcomed open running rugby and heralded a ten try feast of rugby. 

The early minutes were laced with drama. The pace in the open was feverish, but the set pieces were fun too. The first of our many scrum penalties came through powerful props George Morris and Greg (Man of the match) McGrath and allowed Hugo McLaughlin hoof the ball deep into their 22 for a lineout. We won their lineout, the fiercely competitive Matt Healy proving a menace in the air (as well as everywhere else) and we won a penalty in the ruck that followed.  Out half Stephen Madigan slotted it over and nervous Lansdowne hearts twittered a little less. 3 - 0

Belvo then came at us with everything they had, but were perhaps over-elaborate in their attack, or as former president Michael “Butch” Cassidy put it, “too fancy by half” and he should know. Fancy or not, their approach opened up the game for everyone and it was end to end stuff. We launched one attack but an ambitious cross field kick was intercepted bringing us back to our own line. Following a series of phases close to our line, their scrum half nipped over for the first try of the game.  3 – 7

But fear not, almost from the restart we made an excellent break in midfield, Mads delaying his pass to Andy Marks enough to give his lethal running an hint of edge. Andy, showing no signs of a recent injury, breaks the gain line in spite of the attentions of three tacklers and offloads to his inside centre, Harry O’Riordain who is just held up at the line. Breathless stuff. From our lineout that followed, we control the maul and edge forward ten meters but hooker Bobby Sheehan breaks off and still has a lot to do to drive over the last five meters almost unaided for our first try. Stephen adds the extra and it’s 10 – 7 with only 20 minutes on the clock.  (OK, I’ll try to type faster).

Belvo were straight back at us again and our hopeful clearance kick was knocked down and a penalty conceded in the ruck that followed. 10 – 10

And yet again from the restart we’re back at the visitors’ throats, an attack leading to a ruck on their 22.  Scrum half Jack Matthews goes blind and passes to Tom Roche and he takes it into their 10 meter. Another ferocious ruck with flanker Paul Wilson protecting the ball like a she-wolf would her cubs, forcing a penalty advantage. Mads is calling for the ball and Bobby Sheehan is also waving from the far touchline for the cross kick. Belvo’s heads are looking all over the pitch to know where danger will strike next and Jack nips in under their noses for a try under the posts. A great scrum half play. 17 – 10

Our pressure and dominance continued and were rewarded one more time before the break with a magnificent team try. A solid scrum inside their half delivers good, go-forward ball to Madigan, he chips deftly over the oncoming centres and Andy Marks wins the arial contest and offloads to Cillian Redmond joining the line from full back. A ruck is formed 15 meters out and with momentum on our side, number eight Barry Fitzpatrick breaks off the back and reaches the line with an immense carry. Another score and conversion. 24 – 10.  Belvo keep in touch with another penalty and we all sit back for a well-earned break at half time 24 – 13.

Belvo came out all guns blazing for Act Two and before long we were under our own posts again following a try by their second row Fionn McWey. 24 – 20. We seemed to have lost some of our energy in the third quarter – who can blame us? – and soon we found ourselves defending inside our 22 again. The ball comes back through their back line, but there’s a fumble somewhere and Captain Andy gets a boot to it and leads the charge back into their half then 22.  Running backwards is harder than forward apparently, so we have the momentum in the ruck that follows and the advantage is ours as they scramble the ball into touch. Our blood up now, the lineout is inch perfect with the maul even better and Juan Buekes goes over in the corner. 29 – 20. 

And our pressure and class continue. Soon after the restart we’re back in their danger zone – God this is fun! – and a ruck in the middle gives Jack Matthews options on both sides. He goes left to Harry O who draws and then offloads to Cillian who glides in to touch down in the corner, calling for an exceptional conversion from the touchline, which Mads delivers. 36 – 20

Belvo come fighting back again and in our exuberance, we lose yet another player to the sin bin. Imagine how good we could be if we played with 15 men on the pitch for the whole game! Our pressure doesn’t diminish in spite of being a man down and, not content with kicking conversions from the East Upper stand of the Aviva Stadium, Stephen Madigan is the next to score a try. 41 – 20. 

With less than ten minutes till the final whistle, and our bonus point in the bag, the game got a bit loose and full marks to the visiting Jesuits, they scored not one but two converted tries. A lot more than mere consolation, this gave them a valuable losing bonus point, so it finished 41 – 34 with a lot of happy campers in the bar afterwards.

There’s a two-week break for the lads now until another important away fixture in Nenagh Ormond. Let’s keep up the great support.

Match Report : Brian Whelan
Match Photos: Michael O'Brien - you can view there HERE