Few, apart from dyed in the wool Young Munster supporters, were happy with the outcome of this match which a crowd of some 3,000 watched in ideal conditions at Tom Clifford Park on Saturday. All 48 points scored came from the foot in a match which did little for the image of what is termed modern rugby.
Not even Clontarf coach, Alex Wyllie, could generate much enthusiasm afterwards. Refusing to be as critical of the refereeing of Olan Trevor as some of his side's supporters, he was critical mainly of the problems which the offside rules, or lack of them, cause for all concerned.
"There are no offside laws really. As things stand teams will always be willing to concede penalties rather than let the opposition in for tries. Something will have to be done to give the advantage back to the teams which want to play open running rugby," he said glumly.
Few would blame him, for this was a match which never really ignited. A long break from competitive rugby could not be entirely to blame. With a dry ball on a firm pitch there were far too many fumbles for the purist.
Oddly enough, it was from two of those fumbles that the decisive points came. Two minutes after the resumption, the ball went astray among the Young Munster half-backs and Tom Cregan was on hand to pop a drop kick over the bar from some 40 yards. Four minutes later, in almost identical circumstances, Cregan was on hand again to send Young Munster into a 15-9 lead.
It was Clontarf who made the early running when in-discipline among the Young Munster defence conceded two penalties which gave Richard Murphy, the Clontarf out-half, no difficulties. After Cregan cut the margin with his first effort from about 45 yards Clontarf stretched their lead on the half hour when Murphy scored the third of his seven penalties. But Cregan's two successful efforts levelled the scores at the break.
Both sides had persisted in kicking the ball in attempts to gain ground in the first half and this pattern continued in the second with Cregan's two drop goal efforts giving the home side the platform on which to build.
Sadly this did not inspire any great inventiveness in either side and the "safety first" attitude continued. To the credit of Young Munster, they played with some fire and passion at times, though their coach "Pako" Fitzgerald was less than happy afterwards. "We played to a pattern for only about 20 minutes in the entire match. We were good when we put it together but I am disappointed that we failed to cross their line," he said.
"This was partly due to their good defence, but there was some bad handling also in our attack and we also gave them penalty opportunities which they used very well.
"We were never in any doubt that this was going to be a difficult match for us and it is good to have a win with Shannon to face in our next match. There is still a lot of hard work to be done".
A total of 48 points from the boot in such a high-scoring match will not attract those who are not already totally committed to the game. If the gospel is to be spread then a more adventurous approach is demanded.
Scoring Sequence: 3 mins: Murphy penalty 3-0; 6: Murphy penalty 6-0; 12: Cregan penalty 6-3; 29: Murphy penalty 9-3; 35: Cregan penalty 9-6; 41: Cregan penalty 9-9. 42: Cregan drop goal 9-12; 46: Cregan drop goal 9-15; 52: Murphy penalty 12-18; 56: Murphy penalty 15-18; 60: Cregan penalty 15-21; 62: Murphy penalty 18-21; 70: Cregan penalty 18-24; 75: Murphy penalty 21-24; 82: Doyle drop goal 21-27.
Young Munster: T Cregan; D O'Dowd, M Mullins, L Doyle, F Hogan; M Lynch, M Prendergast; P Clohessy, M Hayes, M Fotzgerald; M O'Halloran, P O'Connell, I Dillon, I Dillon, B Buckley, M Te Pau. Replacements: G Earls for Buckley (64 mins).
Clontarf: O Winchester; D Rossi, D McElligott, A Reddin, R Casey; R Murphy,R O'Reilly; T Kearns, B Jackman, W O'Kelly; C Power, D Moore, A Dignam, B Devitt, C Brownlie. Replacements: P Ward for Dignam (54 mins) P Noble for Casey (78 mins).
Referee: O Trevor (Munster).
