The horrific injury suffered by Gary Halpin will have taken a little gloss from what was an emphatic and at times high quality performance at Stradbrook on Saturday afternoon. The 34-year-old tighthead prop Halpin, had to receive about 40 stitches, internal and external, to reattach his right ear that was almost severed by a boot.
The incident happened at a ruck on 14 minutes and was spotted by none of the three officials. Blackrock are unhappy about the incident while the player himself was also extremely annoyed and will wait and see what action is taken by the clubs and possibly the IRFU over the matter. It is hardly surprising that such a severe injury put the rugby into perspective.
The cloying surface at Stradbrook was hardly ideal underfoot conditions for the return of Blackrock College centre Brian Carey, happily restored to the playing aspect of the sport after retiring last year with a degenerative knee condition. He hadn't played a competitive first team game in two seasons but lasted 70 minutes on his return.
Indeed it proved an afternoon for rehabilitation. Blackrock College second rows Robert Casey and Leo Cullen both required prominent display for varying reasons. Casey's personal graphy graph has suffered something of a slump since the heady days of making his senior international debut against Australia in the 1999 World Cup. On Saturday he looked more like the player that had been touted as a 50 cap international.
A couple of powerful surges in broken play and some aggressive clearing out at rucks coupled with a decent display out of touch suggests that Casey is rediscovering his game and his appetite. Cullen, has been unfortunate, not to make the Ireland A squad, yet reacted to the disappointment with a positive performance, his work-rate and footballing intelligence evident in a very physical forward battle.
Elsewhere Shane Byrne, Alan McGowan and two try hero Gary Browne, can be very pleased with their contributions. DLSP, with the honourable exception of openside flanker Bruce Wood, wing Andy McClean and centre Damien McCabe, underachieved. The conceded one sloppy try which ruined a combative first half performance and despite starting the second half promising, largely faded from the contest under a welter of mistakes.
Blackrock led 24-0 at the interval through a brace of tries from under-21 international, Browne and 14 points from the boot of McGowan. The outhalf would add another three points after the interval but could not convert Geoff McEvoy's late try. A McClean try and a penalty from McCabe was all DLSP could manage in response.
Scoring sequence: 10 mins: McGowan penalty, 3-0; 20: McGowan penalty, 6-0; 28: McGowan penalty, 9-0; 36: Browne try, 14-0; 43: McGowan penalty, 17-0; 45: Browne try, McGowan conversion, 24-0. Half-time: 24-0. 42: McClean try, 24-5; 49: McCabe penalty, 248; 61: McGowan penalty, 27-8; 76: McEvoy try, 32-8.
BLACKROCK COLLEGE: N Turner; P Noble, B Carey, M Jackson, G Browne; A McGowan, D Popplewell; I McLaughlin, S Byrne, G Halpin; R Casey, L Cullen (capt); T Hogan, D McGettigan, R Rogers. Replacements: N Treston for Halpin (14 mins); C Kilroy for Noble (48 mins); J Ferris for Popplewell (53 mins); G McCarthy for McGettigan (64 mins); G McEvoy for Carey (70 mins); A McSweeney for McLaughlin (77 mins).
DLSP: M Vioreanu; A McClean, S Stephens, D McCabe, E Devitt; S Broughton, B Hogan; K Ashmore, S O'Donnell, D Masters; R Frost, K Wheelock (capt); D O'Brien, A Wood, B Wood. Replacements: M Kavanagh for O'Donnell (14 mins); N O'Rourke for Frost (48 mins).
Referee: G Doyle (IRFU).
