This was going to be our toughest match of the year, no doubt about it. Salesian's Celbridge were through to the Senior
and the Junior finals of the South Dublin Cup. Their seniors beat our seniors last October out in Barnhall by 70-something points to nothing. They had a massive playing pool to select from, and, just to make things difficult, their seniors had just lost their final by five points. They were hungry now, determined to come away from Templeville Road with something to show for their efforts. We were pretty hungry too though. It had been a good year, with some great games and some great rugby being played by us. Too often though we'd been on the verge of success and let it go. This was going to be our day.
It had to be.
At 4.15 the referee insisted we had to get started. We had just enough time for a rousing speech from Andrew Hayden (number 8 and captain) - Andrew had been watching
Braveheart to inspire him, but we don't think Mel Gibson said "lissen boyz" that often! The time for speeches was over, and the long wait through the Easter holidays for this match was finally over; game on.
Salesians kicked off and Aaron MacDonagh (loosehead prop) found himself underneath the ball. He caught it well and went on a charge for the Salesian's half. Eventually three of the Salesian's players combined to bring him to ground but we recycled the ball quickly, giving Mark Reneghan (flanker) the opportunity to go on one of his trademark runs, dragging half the opposition team in his wake. Play got scrappy then for a few minutes and both teams swapped scrums - the scrums were both very well matched but their hooker had a great reach on his leg and often disrupted our ball. We had to adjust to this throughout the game and the feed and put-through were sped up to keep them at bay. This shows the confidence that Cillian Smith (hooker) has in his ability and how quickly he can react to game situations. After a few more phases Salesians eventually went on a breaking run, but Conor Ryan (left wing) tracked well and forced them into touch.
We won our lineout and went back on the attack but we still couldn't quite finish our plays within their twenty-two. We could get there, and we weren't making a huge amount of mistakes, but Salesians had a very tight defensive structure that kept us out.
Every time they pushed us back though, they pushed us back deeper and deeper. Our attacking patterns were solid, and we might have been focused too much on attack, because eventually they breached our line and their inside-centre dotted down. The wind was too erratic for the kicker though and they couldn't convert it.
Funnily enough though, our heads didn't go down. If anything they were raised even more. We were the stronger team, the attacking team; we were going to win this.
We restarted. Jake Miller (scrum-half) put out a perfectly weighted kick, that floated on the wind and then dropped straight into the hands of Jake Carroll (out-half). Our attacks continued, and Jem Cairns (right-wing) dragged us past the gain-line and selflessly let the ball back inside to keep it alive. Soon Conor Ryan crossed the line for our first score. Jake couldn't convert it with the wind but our attacks continued.
Two minutes later we moved the ball quickly from mid-field through the hands of Luke Alford (flanker) and James Murphy and into Sean Redmond's hands (inside-centre). Sean danced up the wing, dodging defenders until he scored our second try. 14 minutes on the clock and we were ahead.
Salesians came back at us hard and we had to soak up a lot of pressure. Two penalties went in our favour in quick succession, allowing us to push back into Salesian's territory. Sean Redmond carried deep again, with some great supporting work from James Murphy (fullback) who wasn't just content to wait on the ball around the back of the pitch; he wanted to attack. Billy Hamilton (tighthead prop) was another great example of someone who was willing to work above and beyond what was expected of them, even when subjected to some of the "dark arts" of the front row by his opponent.
After nineteen minutes had passed we were on our twenty-two and turned over the ball. We put on another strong attack but in the struggle over the ball in the ruck on our wing the ball was spilled forward. While they won their scrum we didn't allow them to gain any forward momentum and kept them locked on the 22. Eventually the frustration got to them and the referee awarded a penalty in our favour. We didn't need a better invitation and within thirty seconds Conor had scored his second. Jake slotted this one easily, bringing us to 17 points to five.
Salesians were finding it difficult to defend against our patterns. We were very quick in passing the ball - usually to the left wing, which is the hardest to defend - but every time they adjusted to this and marked Sean on this wing, Jem went on a flyer down the right with the two centres just inside him. We kept the defense moving laterally, making them work hard and guess what we were doing, making them react to our play, imposing our game on them. We were playing so fast that they had no way of stopping us.
Two more penalties came our way in this half, and Jake Miller took great pleasure in taking a quick-tap and popping the ball into the hands of Aaron MacDonagh each time. Aaron took a lot of stopping but each time Luke Hill (lock) was there to secure the ball, while Mark and William Kelly (outside centre) were able to keep the ball alive and keep the pressure on. We swapped scrums for a few minutes but the clock kept ticking along and soon thirty minutes of play were up.
The clock was red but Salesians were still attacking. It looked like they were through but Jake Miller put in some great defensive tackling, backed up by Charlie Clarke (lock) and turned over the ball. It was a great example of the interplay between forwards and backs, resulting in another try. Half the match over and Conor Ryan already had his hat-trick!
Half-time and we're ahead by 24 point to 5. The wind had been a boon to us in this half, disrupting line-out throws from Salesians, forcing short and tight passing so they couldn't unleash their fast runners - particularly their number 8 - and our pressure on them kept them back well within their own half.
We took advantage of the half-time break to remind ourselves of what our plans were, the systems we had, and the goal we had. We hadn't won the game. There are no medals awarded at half-time. We still had thirty minutes to play. The half-time talk among the lads was very reasoned and balanced, the kind you wouldn't mind holding in front of your grandmother as there were no expletives, no rough phrases, and no angry expressions. Honest.
We felt that Salesians had opted to give us the wind in the first half as they felt confident in their ability to keep us close. They were willing to grant us a lead as they felt they could swarm over us. Their confidence must have risen so as we were our usual sleepy selves in the first few minutes and they got another score on the board. Our nineteen-point lead was cut to fourteen. Just two converted tries.
We had been concerned about the strength of their bench, and maybe this distracted us from how strong ours was. Those reserves would make a big difference in this half. Billy made way for Dylan, but later on when Aaron came off Billy went back on, meaning that Salesians faced one of the most terrifying sights in rugby; two Hamilton props AT THE SAME TIME! Jonathan Kelly was also unleashed on the opposition, giving Sean Redmond a rest and taking some pressure off Jake Carroll too. This fluidity among the backs has been one of our great strengths this year, with players able to move in-or-outside as necessary and no-one having to play in a certain channel.
Back to the game and we were annoyed with ourselves. We'd fallen asleep again and let a try through. A couple of minutes later we had a scrum awarded to us just inside their half and they pushed us off it. It was time for some cool heads and for someone to exert some influence on the game. William Kelly took the ball on between our 22 and the ten-metre line and made a twisting, arcing run through their defenders, unstoppable, until he had scored. He even, kindly, made his way between the posts to make Jake's conversion into the wind that bit easier, despite everyone on the sideline screaming at him to place the ball! A great score, and exactly what we needed to get us back into the game. Jake converted it well too, despite playing on an ankle he'd twisted in a GAA match the night before.
Nine minutes into the second half and we lead 31 points to ten. Salesians needed three converted tries to force a draw, one every seven minutes. Time to start biting nails!
For the next ten minutes we kept the ball tight, and maintained possession or pressure where necessary in the middle of the pitch. The older and wiser heads, like Luke and Andrew, were able to keep people calm and focused. Subs like Eoin, Mark and Ben gave fresh legs to the team and allowed us to keep the clock running down. With twenty minutes gone the score was still the same. Salesians now needed to score three converted tries in ten minutes - one every three minutes and twenty seconds - to force a draw. Not impossible, and far too probable to keep us on our toes. There was still plenty of rugby to play.
Twenty minutes on the clock and we did something for only the second time in the game; we conceded a penalty. Salesians kicked deep, getting some real mileage out of the wind and forced us into our twenty-two for the first time really since they had scored. It was hard work, and it took a lot out of players like Dylan Hamilton and William Kelly who pushed through the pain barrier despite needing some attention, but we kept them out. Poor William got hit by another calf cramp - "worse than childbirth!" while Dylan, Billy and Cillian were being put under considerable pressure in the scrum. The sight of a clock with just eight minutes, 480 seconds, kept everyone going though.
The best form of defense was attack, and so we kept ourselves safer by pushing deeper into their territory, keeping pressure on them, until finally they cracked and Conor Ryan broke Salesian's hearts by scoring his fourth. 36 -10, seven minutes to go. We were beyond them. The game was ours. The rest was postscript. Fulltime score, 36 points to 10. Six tries (three converted) to two tries (none converted).
This is unfair to Salesians though. They were more than worthy opponents on the day and made us work really hard for the win. They never gave up. They never stepped back. They never stopped attacking us. They made us play well, just so we could get past them; that's how good they were. They were the toughest opponents that we've faced this year and they made us work. In the loose, once fast ball was delivered to the backs, we had an edge based on pure pace, but in the tight ... they made us work hard! Every ball we got, whether from scrum, lineout or ruck, they made us earn it. We won, and we won well, but we were only able to do this because of how good they were and how hard they made us work. Thank you to all of the Salesians players, and to their coach, Eoin O'Sullivan.
It's hard to describe the feeling when the ref blew his whistle. It's a strange combination of delight, vindication, relief and guilt. Our "almost" season had become a "we made it" season. We'd won a cup. We'd won a competition. All of the bitterness, annoyance and upset we'd been carrying since last November was gone. This had become a successful season. It's still a strange feeling, a whole week later!
Thank You.
There are more than fifteen parts to a rugby team. We see fifteen players, and eight reserves, out there working hard, but we often don't see the mass of others that help out, that lend support, and that make up the rest of a team. Each of these people deserve thanks.
Where to start thanking people? Thanks to all of the students from St Mac Dara's who came along and supported their team in their free evening. There was a great crowd, and a very vocal one too! The Girl's Squad had a busy afternoon but once they made their way down they let everyone know they were there. Their support showed that really there's just one rugby team in St Mac Dara's.
Thanks also to those teachers who were able to find the time in their busy schedule of exam-setting and correcting to come along. Their support meant a lot. A big thanks too has to go to Mrs Mahon for doing the washing - not a pleasant job but one she has always done with a smile.
The parents of the players also deserve massive gratitude. Mr Hamilton gave up the best seat in the house to walk the line on the far side and we're very grateful to him for that. Karl Kelly made sure the lads were warmed up before the game. Many of the mammies were very ... expressive ... in their support for their little boy (all of whom are not so little any more!) and that helped make the atmosphere so special. Trevor's dad, Mark, took almost three hundred photographs of the match, so a huge thank you to him and all of Trevor's family for their support. Thanks to all the parents for their support throughout the year in everything we've done.
The most important thanks are reserved for the players. The ones who went out there on rainy, mucky nights when the wind was rushing down from the Dublin mountains but felt like it was coming from the North Pole. The ones who shouted and encouraged their teammates, their classmates, their friends to work hard, to commit more, and showed that they were willing to go the extra bit too. The ones who played, laughed, and smiled and made a group of individuals into a team. A team the whole school can be proud of.
Thanks lads.
