So now it's official. This star-studded Dungannon team, sprinkled with seven internationals, are a classy outfit and at Lansdowne Road on Saturday class told.
The nature of this truncated season having for once favoured a top-of-the-ground team, this was Dungannon's seventh win on the trot and when it came to the crunch of the AIB League final, Willie Anderson's team looked what they are - the most potent side this competition has ever seen.
The majority expected two-time winners Constitution to apply their more streetwise, forward orientated game to more telling effect. However, some of us who had been struck by the sheer exuberance of Dungannon's play lately were not surprised that ultimately their high tempo, highly skilled game and pace out wide prevailed.
Some traditionalists and Con diehards might quibble with a system that leaves them trophyless despite topping the table on merit but everyone knew the rules when they started; they themselves were champions two seasons ago despite qualifying second behind Garryowen and besides, right now, Dungannon are playing the best rugby of any club side in the country. Brian Hickey generously admitted as much.
In recording their 10th win out of 11 since kick-starting their season with a 22-16 win over Con after the foot-and-mouth mid-season hiatus, Dungannon maintained their four-tries-per-game average in that prolific spell. Such was Dungannon's eventual dominance though, that they were the first team to keep Con tryless this season and inflicted them with their heaviest defeat in the 11-year history of the league.
This performance wasn't without flaws. Their reception of Conor Mahony's restarts became so edgy after three initial knockons that the fourth was of keystone cops hilarity. However, they soon settled and gradually grew in stature to the extent that the final whistle saved Con from embarrassment.
Benefitting from having all their stars on board for the last three months (in which time they have used only 19 players in 11 starting line-ups), some of Dungannon's continuity and drives were superbly choreographed. The key was their excellent low rucking, an Anderson trademark, which meant they kept numbers to rucks to a minimum and so kept Con fully stretched. Full of positive intentions, Con wilted and were obliged to play catch up.
Though it took Dungannon and the game a while to catch fire, long before the end there was only one winner. Dungannon broke decisively for the winning line at the outset of the second half when turning a 16-9 lead into a 29-9 advantage. It was during this spell that David Humphreys bossed the match with some elan, revelling in his return to Lansdowne Road.
With the Lion away Humphreys called most of the play, landing nine kicks out of 10 as well as a drop goal for a 26-point haul and a new seasonal first division record of 237 which will take some beating. He was thus possibly the game's biggest influence though all the candidates for man of the match wore blue and white hoops and there were many of them.
Nor were they necessarily the more celebrated backs. Up front Justin Fitzpatrick had a big game, augmenting a host of good ball carries with some excellent steals on the deck. Nigel Brady, too, impressed with his skill level while once again Tony McWhirter's huge all-round performance gave credence to Anderson's oft-stated assertion that he is the unluckiest player to miss out on Ireland's 40man squad for summer training in Poland.
Stephen Bell, Bedford-bound, signed off with an industrious game, and in delivering the game's breakthrough try, ended his own drought of 23 tryless games after being their leading scorer two seasons ago. The slimmed down Johnny Bell was excellent, dovetailing seamlessly with Humphreys. Beyond them Constable was arguably the pick of their dangerous outside backs with the real dangerman, Tyrone Howe, underused.
The fairly toothless Con tigers had little to hurt Dungannon with in the absence of their Lion Ronan O'Gara and their prime strike runner Anthony Horgan, and by the time Ultan O'Callaghan was introduced it was too late for the O'Callaghans to beef up the Con effort. The net result was their heaviest defeat ever in the AIL.
For a team which was suffering only a fourth defeat in 17 games, and had pretty much led the top flight all the way, they deserved a better postscript to the season than that. But when they reflect on the campaign in its entirety Constitution have plenty to pat themselves on the back about. They were ultimately the team to beat.
Hence, though it might not have felt that way on Saturday night, it was surely better to have travelled to the final and lost, rather than not to have travelled at all.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 2 mins: Mahony drop goal 0-3; 5: Humphreys penalty 3-3; 7: Humphreys penalty 6-3; 20: O'Meara penalty 6-6; 22: Humphreys penalty 9-6; 29: S Bell try, Humphreys conversion 16-6; 40: O'Meara pen 16-9; 42: Humphreys penalty 19-9; 45: Humphreys drop goal 22-9; 48: J Bell try, Humphreys conversion 299; 68: O'Meara penalty 29-12; 76: Boyd try, Humphreys conversion 36-12; 79: Humphreys penalty 39-12; 81: Howe try, Humphreys conversion 46-12.
CORK CONSTITUTION: B Walsh; D Dillon, J Kelly (capt), R O'Donovan, D O'Dowd; Conor Mahony, B O'Meara; I Murray, F Sheahan, J O'Driscoll, K Murphy, M O'Driscoll, C Taylor, U O'Callaghan, J Murray. Replacements: Cian Mahony for O'Donovan (49 mins), U O'Callaghan for Murphy (49 mins), N Kenneally for Dillon (53 mins), R McGrath for O'Driscoll (71 mins), J Fogarty for Murray (72 mins).
DUNGANNON: B Cunningham; J Cunningham, R Constable, J Bell, T Howe; D Humphreys, S Bell; J Fitzpatrick, N Brady, G Leslie, P Johns (capt), A Kearney, A Boyd, T McWhirter, M Haslett. Replacements: A Hughes for Haslett, R Mackey for Leslie (both 61 mins), A Clarke for Bell (75 mins), R Mercer for S Bell, S Elkinson for Brady, K Walker for Kearney (all 80 mins).
Referee: A Rolland (IRFU).
