Old Belvedere 24 Garryowen 3:OLD BELVEDERE'S capacity to make good use of their opportunities was the decisive factor in their Division One A success at Anglesea Road on Saturday.
They are now three points clear at the top of the table and seemingly in a great position to secure one of the three play-off spots. But Saturday’s encounter did serve as a reminder that nothing can be taken for granted.
It was only in the closing stages that they eventually pulled clear with two tries from number eight Leo Auva’a and left-wing Dave Mongan, both of which were converted by outhalf Andy Dunne. Prior to that, Old Belvedere were, at times, desperately holding on to a 10-3 advantage.
Garryowen belied their position at the bottom of the table to put Old Belvedere under real pressure, but, as so often happens to a side in their situation, little went their way. There’s also the undeniable fact that they lacked that bit of extra craft to finish off their scoring opportunities.
If Garryowen were to cause an upset, they needed to take advantage of the strong wind in the first half. Instead, they found themselves 10-3 down at the interval.
Conal Keane gave Old Belvedere an early 3-0 lead with a penalty before outhalf Declan Cusack equalised with a similar effort for Garryowen. Unfortunately, the Limerick outfit were then to provide their rivals with an attacking platform when they knocked-on from the kick-off.
Typically, the league leaders made them pay by scoring a superb try from the resulting scrum. Auva’a, scrumhalf Simon Keogh and fullback Danny Riordan all handled before right-wing Eddie Devitt crossed in the corner.
To add to Garryowen’s misery, Keane managed to land the conversion in the difficult conditions. Effectively, Garryowen’s chance appeared to have gone when they were still 10-3 behind at the break but they somehow raised their game considerably when playing into the wind in the second half.
Had it not been for some smart defending on the part of Riordan, an excellent break from centre Corey Hircock would surely have provided Garryowen with a try. A number of Garryowen forwards also came close to breaking through but Old Belvedere withstood the pressure and then showed just how to put away your opportunities.
A well-rehearsed lineout routine provided Auva’a with the chance to go over near the right of the posts. And this was added to a few minutes later when a flowing move ended with Mongan demonstrating his finishing skills by scoring a further try.
Both were converted by outhalf and skipper Andy Dunne. Garryowen coach Paul Cunningham summed it up by stating: “They took their chances, we didn’t.”
Phil Werahiko, the Old Belvedere coach, admitted that his team had been made to work exceptionally hard. He said: “Garryowen were never going to allow us to play the game we wanted to play and the conditions were very difficult out there. We probably had just that bit more skill as opposed to physicality, that’s what won it for us.”
OLD BELVEDERE: D Riordan; E Devitt (K Hurrell 75), J Kennedy, C Keane (B Woods 55), D Mongan; A Dunne (Capt), S Keogh; V Soden, D Gilchrist (M Cooney 55), S Maguire, D Moore, D White, K Miller (R O’Sullivan 75), J Risdon, L Auva’a.
GARRYOWEN: L Bourke; L Kunz, C Hircock, C Doyle (Capt), C O’Shea (A Gaughan 67); D Cusack, C Murray-Aran Healy; J P Cooney, R Meyer (J Rael 75), D Lavery (B McNamara 75), F McKenna, A McCloskey (C Fitzgerald 78), P Neville, C Hartigan, A Kavanagh.
Referee: D Phillips (IRFU).
