All-Ireland League semi-finals/ Cork Constitution 20; Buccaneers 6: Players and coaches come and go, team selection is more prey to Munster call-ups than ever before, yet some things never change, and Constitution duly reached another AIB League final with their great rivals from the modern era at a sun-kissed Temple Hill on Saturday.
Buccaneers were buoyed by a handsome win over Con here in the regular AIL campaign but the experience of three winning semi-finals undoubtedly stood to Con as they earned their fourth Lansdowne Road final while inflicting on Buccs a third semi-final defeat.
Deservedly moving 10-0 ahead during an imposing first half-hour, Con had lost Ultan O'Callaghan and goal-kicking scrumhalf Pat McCarthy, possibly their player of the season, by half-time to possible concussion - which could rule either or both out of the decider.
More pressingly, they had seen their lead whittled down to 10-6 and had replacement Joey Sheahan sin-binned. The force seemed to be with the visitors. Whereupon, in their moment of crisis, Con actually upped their intensity. This was typified by their collective pressure defence and big hits by Brendan O'Connor and Cian Mahony.
Cometh the hour, almost, came the game's biggest play. The impressive O'Connor made front-foot ball out of a retreating seven-man scrum, and Con went right to left using decoy runners closer in to hit Anthony Horgan in space on half-way and he beat Buccs' underused Shane Stephens and Justin Meagher on the outside before he and Cronan Healy in turn offloaded for the supporting Jean-Vincent Igarza to score. One high-tempo rally apart by Buccs, who broke free from their self-imposed shackles too late, that was effectively that.
"In some big games players don't have the confidence to stick with what they're good at when the pressure comes on," admitted Con's impressive rookie coach Brian Walsh, "but we just said today that whatever happened we would try and play a little bit wider."
Just as importantly, the big men had big games up front, Dave Pusey responding to the demands of only his second start for the club, alongside Shane O'Connor and Brendan O'Connor, two fine young talents for whom this game and others of its quality are worth a month in any academy.
Under-21 international Thomas O'Leary also moved seamlessly into his more natural role of scrumhalf.
What irked Buccs coach John McKee the most was the feeling his players were better than this.
"Too many unforced errors, too many missed tackles and suddenly they had scored a try out of nothing," lamented McKee of the period of play which led to the first Con try.
"Obviously that gave Cork Con a lift and I felt our guys went back into their shells a little bit."
Admitting they were briefly "in the box seat" early in the second half, McKee reckoned their normally renowned set pieces let them down. To which might be added a need for more discipline under pressure, as was evidenced by two sin-binnings for needless tetchiness.
The crowd of 2,500 was disappointing for such a big game, even allowing for the fickleness of the Cork rugby public, the ongoing distractions of the Celtic League, declining media interest and the post-Euro Munster hangover.
That said, whatever the great reputation of the fans that make up Munster's Red Army, when it comes to supporting the province's clubs they've either deserted them or they've never seen the sky over an AIL game.
Which is a shame, not least because it was a lovely blue sky at Temple Hill. And Con were probably the happier with that. Buccs aren't the one-dimensional juggernaut of yore, but they played a comparatively more constrained game, whereas the higher the tempo and the wider they got it, the more effective Con were.
To that end, utilising the strong running of Anthony Horgan from full back enabled Con to maximise their potency, while another key factor was the ever-excellent Alain Rolland - probably the best referee in Europe. Rolland commands respect, and if he doesn't get it is quick to impose himself, and allows a game to flow without a procession of penalties and stoppages.
It also helped the Con cause that Buccs' kicking game was poor, inviting Horgan and Thomas O'Leary to counter-attack from the off. With Horgan often requiring three or four men to haul down his gallops, and likewise Pusey and the O'Connors up front, Con had the sharper cutting edge, as evidenced in the 21st minute when Conrad O'Sullivan chased down a box kick by McCarthy that Buccs stood off, Pusey made some yards and neat handling by Igarza and Cian Mahony saw Healy slice through with a superb line and some juggling to score sharply between the posts.
Con had the conch and thereafter weren't inclined to let go of it. They rarely do.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 18 mins: P McGrath drop goal, 3-0; 21: C Healy try, McCarthy con, 10-0; 39: D Connellan pen, 10-3; 50: Connellan pen, 10-6; 55: J-V Igarza try, C O'Sullivan con, 17-6; 64: Igarza drop goal, 20-6
CORK CONSTITUTION: A Horgan; T O'Leary, C Mahony, J-V Igarza, C Healy; C O'Sullivan, P McCarthy; G Murray, D Murray, M Ross, D Pusey, S O'Connor, U O'Callaghan, B O'Connor, J Murray (capt). Replacements: DJ Sheahan for O'Callaghan (16 mins); D Dillon for McCarthy (half-time); K Coughlan for Sheahan (61); D Fogarty for Pusey (77); R McGrath for G Murray; D O'Brien for Igarza (both 84).
BUCCANEERS: N O'Hare; J Meagher, S Stephens, T Allnutt, P O'Sullivan; D Connellan, C Keane; F Boiroux, G Halligan, M Cahill, N Smullen, C Shortt, G Shoeman, D Kelly, E Brennan (capt). Replacements: T Duignan for Kelly (28-34 mins); C Finnerty for Shoeman (64-67) and for Kelly (67); W Wallace for Allnutt (64).
Referee: A Rolland (IRFU).
