(John O Flaherty wins lineout possession v Dolphin RFC. Credit: Jim Coughlan)

Nenagh Ormond’s impressive form of late continued last Saturday when they travelled to Musgrave Park in Cork for the latest round of the Energia AIL. A bonus point victory helped them consolidate their place in the top 4 where they in fact improved to third place as well as closing the gap to the top spot to a mere 4 points. With four games remaining the race is very much on for the automatic and playoff promotion placings. The final scoreline on Saturday was 49-14 in Nenagh’s favour but it wasn’t all plain sailing over the 80n minutes and particularly in the opening half an hour.

The Cork side, who only have two victories all season in the league, started well with Rob Reardon and Barry Fitzgerald scoring tries to give them a 14-6 lead with just 10 minutes left in the first half.

Nenagh were inspired by the boot of left-wing Conor McMahon, who played a big part in helping them score 36 unanswered points in the second half.

The end result undid a brilliant start by Dolphin, which saw them win a scrum with just 20 seconds on the clock. Just as this drive seem to gather momentum, a penalty was given and the visitors used this to win a line-out on the Dolphin five-metre line.

Dylan Murphy threw this in and the maul was immediately covered in navy jerseys, which prevented Kevin O’Flaherty from cutting through. Nenagh quickly released and sent the ball back to the second row, and once again he was covered in Dolphin jerseys. The pressure paid off when a loose ball was snatched, and the home side cleared their lines.

Their defence was complimented by an almost perfect set-piece routine involving Tomas Quinlan kicking the ball out for a line-out on the Nenagh 22. Cian Scott threw the ball in and Dolphin’s maul pushed the opposition back, almost on their own five-metre line. Unfortunately, a knock-on was spotted by the referee and the drive ended in a Nenagh scrum.

A succession of early penalties meant that there was no real flow to the early minutes of the game, but Dolphin did not mind. Their play was almost seamless and they rightfully dominated possession, they just lacked that final pass that would have given them an early score.

Neagh capitalised on this by picking off a Dolphin line-out and breaking into the Dolphin 22 through some excellent carries by Josh Rowland and McMahon. The left-wing tried to dink the ball through and set up an opportunity but Daryl Foley was in the right place and collected this for Dolphin.

The quick start, resolute defensive work, and set-piece domination were undone by two scored penalties by McMahon and Nenagh took a six-point lead with just over 19 minutes played.

A response was needed and Rob Reardon was the person to deliver it as he cut through the Nenagh line and ran over the first try of the game. Quinlan then split the posts with a close-range conversion and Dolphin went ahead by one point.

On the half-hour mark it got even better for the home team. Dolphin had the opportunity to take on a penalty for the posts. They chose instead to tap the ball, and this allowed Barry Fitzgerald to burrow through and score their second try in quick succession. Quinlan added the conversion and this gave the home side an eight-point cushion as half-time loomed. In fact they turned around ahead and with a little more composure it may have been a different second half.

The double try blow like seemed to have inflamed the tempers of Nenagh though and they cut Dolphin’s lead to one within seconds of the restart. Willie Coffey ran over after a flurry of phases on the goal line and McMahon added the conversion, making it 14-13.

Just one minute was gone in the second half and Nenagh used a line-out to create space for Nicky Irwin, who sprinted over the goal line for his side’s second try. McMahon beat a tight angle to curl over the conversion and build on an impressive personal display and the Tipperary side went up 20-14.

The left-wing kept up his 100% record from place-kicking by adding another penalty to his tally, and Nenagh added three to their lead.

Their win was completed, and all but assured, when a lightning-quick counter-attack allowed Dylan Murphy through and he ran over with ease. Conor McMahon again kicked over the conversion and with just over a quarter of the game left to play, Nenagh were now firmly in control.

Derek Corcoran added another to their tally as did McMahon with the extras before John Hayes ran in the final score of the game. In what was an otherwise faultless kicking display Conor McMahon had his only blemish of the day when missing the final conversion shot.

This was a comprehensive win for Nenagh in the end. They gradually got a handle on the set piece battle up front which laid the platform for Scully and Coffey in the centre in particular to cause terror in the Dolphin rearguard. The games keep coming for Nenagh but on a run such as the one their on they probably relish the chance to keep up their momentum. Ballymena make the long trip to Lisatunny this Saturday before the historic trip to Thomond Park for Nenagh on March 16th to face Young Munster in the Munster Senior Cup final. There in much to look forward to for Nenagh as the season reaches its climax and it may yet be one that delivers some notable milestones if they can sustain their current form.

Scorers for Dolphin: Tries: Reardon, Fitzgerald. Penalties: Cons: Quinlan (2).

Nenagh Ormond: Tries: Coffey, Irwin, Murphy, Corcoran, Hayes, Pens: McMahon Cons: McMahon (4).

DOLPHIN: Foley; Reardon, Mills, Boyle, Pope, Quinlan, Foley, Byrne, Scott, Jennings, O’Mahony, O’Mahony, Barry, Vaughan, Fitzgerald.

Subs: Ansboro for Foley (38), O’Driscoll for Byrne (53), Chester for Scott (57), Denby for Vaughan (57).

NENAGH: Doran; Murphy, Frawley, O’Flaherty, Kelly, Buckley, O’Flaherty, Hayes, Irwin, Corcoran, McMahon, Scully, Coffey, Gleeson, Rowland.

Subs: Ryan for Gleeson (16), O’Gorman for Frawley (34), O’Brien for Irwin, Murphy for Buckley (56), Armitage for Corcoran (63).

Referee: Eddie Hogan O'Connell