All Ireland League Division One semi-finals/Clontarf - 26 Cork Constitution - 6: Clontarf are back for a second AIB League final, and if the epic and colourful 2002 decider against Ballymena is anything to go by, Lansdowne Road next Saturday will be all the better for that. They're a fairly remodelled outfit this season, yet in what has been an outstanding testament to their structures, coaching and ability, they look set to return a more hardened and stronger outfit.
Phil Werahiko reckons he's a better coach now and that Clontarf have learnt from their last four or five years as contenders, not least in the need to match the likes of Shannon for intensity.
They'll need to be, mind, for their opponents are the AIL and Cup-final specialists and constitute the ultimate test. "I guess for us it will be a case of seeing how our guys control their nerves," said Werahiko after this formidable semi-final victory. "And I felt that during the first half against Con some of the lads' nerves were at them, and we didn't take control of the game when we had the line-outs in key positions. In the second half, when we gained some momentum, the line-outs and everything just came together."
Yet although Con had the better of the setpieces, Clontarf bullied them for much of the afternoon. Their list of ball-carriers, starting with props Johnny Wickham - Ireland's try-scorer in the World Under-19 final against New Zealand two years ago - and Rob Sweeney, number eight Jacob Ellison, centre James Downey and the polished Darragh O'Shea at fullback.
Defensively, too, Clontarf were excellent, continually making strong, first-up tackles. The net result, as coach Brian Walsh admitted, was that Con were denied the kind of quick ball that is their lifeblood, so much so that their game-breaking, Leicester-bound scrumhalf Frank Murphy hardly had one opportunity to snipe, even if his class occasionally shone through.
By contrast, Clontarf committed more men to the tackle, or alternatively, when they got rumbling and offloading, they were a far more potent force, so much so that it was their scrumhalf, Fiach O'Loughlin, who had the time and space to have a more profound impact on the match. With O'Shea having worked a counter-attacking switch with Derek Keane, it was O'Loughlin who ran in the first of their four tries off lock Alan Trenier's clever offload.
But it was right-wing Niall O'Brien who provided the kind of cutting edge which must make him a potential provincial signing again after one unfulfilled season with Connacht. Admittedly, the first of his hat-trick was no more than finishing off the good work, initially, of O'Loughlin and Andy Wood, and then Peter O'Brien's long cut-out pass.
With O'Shea having missed a couple of penalties, Niall O'Brien's second (a searing, 60-metre finish up the touchline) and third, when he latched onto Conor Quaid's attempted grubber from close range, clinched the win, as once again a superior force were rewarded late on.
"I like to think we play very similar to a Munster style. We can close a side out if we're allowed to, but we also have the ability to attack a team as well," said Werahiko.
Walsh had no quibbles with the result. "We rely on a lot of quick ball and we didn't get it today. Our setpiece was strong, but our go-forward wasn't nearly good enough, and our work at the breakdown wasn't good enough. Credit to Clontarf, they were very powerful at breakdown time. We didn't win an easy ball all day, so we found it hard to get into any rhythm, and as we forced it then we made a few mistakes and they put us away clinically, in fairness."
It didn't help them, or, as Walsh admitted, either side, that the game degenerated into what Walsh correctly contended was a mess. Had Donal Courtney been clearer in when a tackle became a ruck and ensured players stayed on their feet more, it really would have been a better game.
Con's season may have ended on a bum note, but it's been a good campaign, reaching the semi-finals of the League and winning the inaugural AIB All-Ireland Cup.
Murphy's departure will be offset by the arrival of Duncan Williams from UCC.
Clontarf beat Shannon during the season at Castle Avenue, but the reigning champions will be a good deal stronger this time around, not least because Munster are idle next weekend, which could free up the likes of Mossie Lawlor, Trevor Hogan and others.
But the northsiders will arrive with a spring in their step and hopefully in force.
"When Clontarf are involved in anything," said Werahiko in also citing cricket, "they all come out so I'm looking forward to a big day and I'm sure the support will be there."
SCORING SEQUENCE: 6 mins: Lyons pen 0-3; 8: O'Loughlin 5-3; 15: Lyons pen 5-6; 29: N O'Brien try, O'Shea con 12-6; 61: N O'Brien try, O'Shea con 19-6; 80: N O'Brien try, O'Shea con 26-6.
CLONTARF: D O'Shea; N O'Brien, M Hewitt, J Downey, D Keane; P O'Brien, F O'Loughlin; J Wickham (capt), N Carson, R Sweeney, A Trenier, A Wood, D Quinn, D O'Brien, J Ellison. Replacements: M McDonald for Sweeney (58 mins), K Dorian for Wickham (66 mins), D Geraghty for O'Loughlin, D French for Trenier (both 79 mins), M Woods for P O'Brien, P Whatley for Carson (both 82 mins). Not used: A O'Donnell.
CORK CONSTITUTION: R Lane; D O'Riordan, T Gleeson, C Quaid, C Healy; D Lyons, F Murphy; T Ryan, D Murray, M Ross, J Moloney, S Cottrell, M O'Connell, B Cutriss, F Cogan. Replacements: R O'Donovan for Lyons (67 mins), A Ryan for O'Riordan, L Hill for Cottrell (both 70 mins), E Leamy for Cogan (81 mins). Not used: R Kennealy, B Sieber.
Referee: Donal Courtney (IRFU).
