Buccaneers - 20 Shnnon -10 Ever since the AIB League was born Shannon have had the capacity to win the matches they've really had to.
However, despite having enough ball to win three matches, the holders and five-times champions came away from the last chance saloon and Ericsson Park on Saturday empty-handed.
After failing to grab even a bonus point from this proverbial ten-pointer, a play-off for the play-offs, Shannon lie six points adrift of fourth-placed Buccaneers with just two rounds to go. Shannon next host Dungannon before a tricky last day trip north to Belfast Harlequins, while Buccs know that wins with bonus points away to UCD and at home to Ballymena will ensure them of a semi-final.
Nevertheless, Buccs can ill-afford any slip-ups as Connacht rivals Galwegians have moved alongside Buccs on 39 points. "It should make things very interesting in the west," said the Buccs and Connacht assistant coach John McKee afterwards with wry understatement. That, it will.
"This is the best day I've ever had in Ireland," said the Aussie as this progressive club's ever-improving facilities - an excellent club house will shortly be augmented by a 600-seater stand - basked in the glow of unseasonal summer rugby. "We didn't have as much ball or the play as we would have liked. But credit to all the players, it was just a fantastic defensive effort."
This was Shannon's first league defeat to Connacht opposition and Buccs' first victory over the AIL standard-bearers was owed in the main to a herculean defensive effort and some well-timed opportunism. It was epitomised by their abrasive young centres William Wallace and Paddy O'Sullivan, who struck stealthily for Buccs' tries in either half as well as putting their bodies on the line with some big tackling.
Wallace forcefully scored a classical centre's try off second phase after Wayne Munn had initially hit the line in clinging on to a 10-10 interval scoreline. Munn was one of five Connacht players who played only half a game against Munster on Friday night (thereby freeing them for this game), and when he departed in the first-half the average age of the Buccs' backs dipped to just 22. But their spirit and mental strength never wavered.
Confined to just three excursions into Shannon territory in the second period, critically outhalf Lee Turner nailed a 45 metre penalty after the hour to give them the lift of something to defend moments after Andrew Thompson had missed a 40 metre penalty for Shannon, and tellingly made the third tell when scrum-half Conor O'Loughlin probed the blind side off a twisted scrum for O'Sullivan to skate in impressively by the corner.
O'Loughlin had been a thorn in Shannon's side all afternoon, often spoiling his opposite number and namesake Fiach at the base of Shannon scrums or rucks. Shannon's Irish under-21 scrumhalf will have to eradicate a tendency to have a look or take a step before moving the ball out if he is to fulfil his undoubted potential.
Outside him David Delaney suffered accordingly, and mixed some good moments and sound distribution with a few wrong options, most notably when ignoring an overlap eight minutes into the second period. That was typical of Shannon's frustrating day and their season; countless handling errors undoing a host of opportunities.
When full of running and recycling toward the end of the first quarter, Eddie Halvey and John Lacey had worked Colm McMahon into space but, after stepping inside Munn, the winger was hightackled by the covering Wallace (the well positioned Referee Dave McHugh thought otherwise even though the tackle drew blood from McMahon's nose), and then a three on two overlap was wasted when Mossie Lawlor overran Thompson's pass.
Halvey went straight through a midfield hole for a nonchalantly taken try, but despite some lively counter-attacking, and strong running by Havley, Tom Hayes and promising centre Eoin Cahill in particular, there was a curious sense of inevitability about the outcome from just past the hour mark on.
"We just seemed to panic and everybody was trying to get their hands on the ball, with no-one working," lamented coach Geoff Moylan, who admitted that Shannon's top four chances were all but gone now. "We didn't clear the ball away from the base quickly enough."
It was also curious to say the least that Shannon only had two kickable penalties all afternoon, especially given Buccs' tenancy to fringe or come up from in front of the hindmost foot with impunity. Shannon might possibly have become a little paranoid about Mr McHugh who has refereed four games of theirs this season, against Galwegians, St Mary's, Lansdowne and Buccs, and, coincidentally, Shannon have lost the lot.
SCORING SEQUENCE
10 mins: Thompson pen 0-3; 11 mins: Wallace try, Turner con 7-3; 26 mins: Halvey try, Thompson con 7-10; 35 mins: Turnere pen 10-10; (half-time 10-10); 62 mins: Turner pen 13-10; 74 mins: O'Sullivan try, Turner con 20-10.
BUCCANEERS: W Munn; J Meagher, P O'Sullivan, W Wallace, D Hunt; L Turner, C O'Loughlin; R McCormack, J McVeigh, M Cahill, R Frost, N Smullen, G Schoeman, C Rigney, E Brennan. Replacements: N O'Hara for Munn (38 mins), C Keane for Hunt (71 mins), D Kelly for Frost (73 mins), F Boiroux for Cahill (83 mins).
SHANNON: J Lacey; C McMahon, A Thompson, E Cahill, M Lawlor; D Delaney, F O'Loughlin, F Roche, J Blaney, T Buckley, M Galwey, T Hogan, T Hayes, D Quinlan (capt), E Halvey. Replacements: N McNamara for Cahill (7-13 mins) and for Lawlor (56 mins), L Hogan for Roche (23 mins), G Noonan for Quinlan (65 mins), B Buckley for Galwey (72 mins), G McNamara for T Buckley (76 mins).
Referee: D McHugh (IRFU)
