Bateman Cup Semi-final

(H-T Nenagh Ormond 7 Clontarf 22)

New Ormond Park

Referee: Robbie Jenkinson

Report by Mike McMahon

Player of the Match: Peter Maher 

Nenagh Ormond’s first ever tie in the prestigious Bateman Cup ended in defeat but no shame as they went down narrowly to AIL champions Clontarf in a ten try thriller. Both sides qualified for this semi-final by winning their respective provincial senior cups.

Fielding a very strong line-up in a bid to win this trophy for the first time, Clontarf looked like they might dominate in scoring 3 first half tries but they could not shake a plucky Nenagh side who defended well throughout and finished strongly.

The visitors opened the scoring after only 5 minutes when a well-executed cross-field kick found winger Peter Maher, but the home side responded well and went ahead following an excellent John O’Flaherty try at the end of the first quarter. 

With a very powerful scrum and maul, Clontarf were seriously testing the Nenagh defence, but they held firm until two quick tries late in the half from full back Tadhg Bird and out-half Conor Kelly propelled them into a 22-7 lead at the break.

Nenagh began the second half brightly and were rewarded within 5 minutes when back rower John Brislane forced his way over following a 5 metre lineout. Substitute out-half Charlie O’Doherty was getting his side into good positions with some excellent kicking but on 50 minutes they were dealt a sucker punch when an interception led to a breakaway try for the visitors finished by number 7 Sean Lavin.

When Clontarf kicked to the corner 5 minutes later, Nenagh were unable to hold them out and scrum-half Moloney scored his side’s 5th try to put them into a commanding 34-12 lead. That was to be their last score however as the home side finished strongly, scoring 3 unanswered tries through captain Kevin O’Flaherty and substitutes Niall O’Gorman and Robbie Tynan.

With these two sides to meet again in the AIL next month, this performance will surely give Nenagh some confidence that they can get their league campaign back on track following a difficult opening series of games.

Ulster’s Ballynahinch inflicted a heavy defeat on Connacht cup holders Sligo in the other semi-final and so will meet Clontarf in the final later in the season.  Before that, the Ulstermen will travel south to face Nenagh next week when action resumes in round 6 of AIL Division 1A.

Scorers: Nenagh Ormond: Tries: John O’Flaherty, John Brislane, Niall O’Gorman, Kevin O’Flaherty, Robbie Tynan; Con: Conor McMahon x 2.
Clontarf: Tries: Peter Maher, Tadhg Bird, Conor Kelly, Sean Lavin, Michael Moloney; Cons: Conor Kelly x 3; Pen: Conor Kelly.
 
NENAGH ORMOND: 15. Matthew Brice, 14. Conor O’Shaughnessy, 13. Conor McMahon, 12, Patrick Scully, 11. Davy Gleeson, 10. James Finn, 9. Luke Kerr, 1. Mikey Doran, 2. Mateo Santous, 3. Darragh McSweeney, 4. Kevin Seymour, 5. Kevin O’Flaherty (c), 6. John O’Flaherty (c), 7. Joe Coffey, 8. John Brislane.
Replacements: 16. Dylan Murphy, 17. Niall O’Gorman, 18. Sean Frawley, 19. Fionn O’Meara, 20. Robbie Tynan, 21. Nicky Irwin, 22. Charlie O’Doherty, 23. Sam Cusack.

Clontarf: 15. Dylan O’Grady, 14. Alex O’Grady, 13. Dan Hawkshaw, 12. Tadhg Bird, 11. Peter Maher, 10. Conor Kelly, 9. Michael Moloney, 1. Charlie Ward, 2. Dylan Donnellan, 3. Niall Smyth, 4. Fionn Gilbert, 5. Jim Peters, 6. Paul Deeny, 7. Sean Lavin, 8. Jordan Coghlan.
Replacements: 16. Declan Adamson, 17. Alvin Amaniampong, 18. Charlie Coghlan, 19. Sam Owens, 20. Alex Tilly, 21. Mark O’Sullivan, 22. Oran Walsh, 23. Ben Griffin.