Clontarf 35 Terenure 0:There was a touch on incredulity as Clontarf folk ruminated on events of Saturday afternoon at Castle Avenue. With the combatants chasing play-off places, it was reasonable to assume the contest would be closely fought. That script was well and truly ripped apart as the home side romped away in stylish fashion.
The conditions, a gale blowing the length of the place, suggested that it would be a game of two halves: the team favoured by the elements would be guaranteed territorial supremacy.
That, too, proved completely wide of the mark as Clontarf's second-half performance, playing into the gale, was better than their display in the first 40 minutes.
Clontarf huffed and puffed for the opening 25 minutes, their only reward a penalty from outhalf Jimmy Dempsey. It appeared they would squander the opportunity of first use of the wind but, to a man, they suddenly raised the tempo and accuracy of their patterns.
It was the pack, in which Warren O'Kelly and number eight Ben Gissing were outstanding as gain line breakers, that transformed their fortunes.
Dempsey kicked a second penalty before left wing Ollie Winchester grabbed the game's first try. Flanker Declan Quinn set up a ruck just inside the visitors' 22 and, five pairs of hands later, Winchester skated outside the cover.
Dempsey converted, and added his third penalty in first-half injury time.
In between those two kicks, Clontarf could, and probably should, have had two more tries at least; all this achieved despite playing nearly 20 minutes of the first half reduced to 14 players as flanker Alan Dignam and wing Daire Higgins were dispatched to the sin bin in separate incidents.
Terenure, trailing 16-0 at the interval, needed a positive start to the second half but they barely raised a gallop. Twice the ball was kicked dead for a scrum back, and it was possible to discern the confidence draining away. Their patterns deteriorated, the gambits became predictable and, as the match went on, poorly executed.
Dermot Blaney, their number eight, was an honourable exception, but he didn't receive the requisite assistance. The final ignominy was the dismissal of flanker Peter O'Malley for striking Donal Sheehan in injury time at the end of the game.
The close-in driving and support play of the Clontarf pack began to cut a swathe through the increasingly feeble Terenure fringe defence.
Clontarf's young, excellent scrumhalf Mike Walls was the first to benefit, sneaking over for a try on 61 minutes. Dempsey converted, as he would do again five minutes later, this time as Alan Reddan glided over under the posts.
The pursuit of the bonus point began in earnest and deservedly came when the outstanding Gissing brushed off a couple of tackles from a five-metre scrum.
No one is talking about the playoffs at Castle Avenue, but if they can repeat this performance then, it will soon become a topic of conversation on Dublin's northside.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 3 mins: Dempsey penalty, 3-0; 27: Dempsey penalty, 6-0; 29: Winchester try, Dempsey conversion, 13-0; 41: Dempsey penalty, 16-0. Half-time: 16-0. 61: Walls try, Dempsey conversion, 23-0; 66: Reddan try, Dempsey conversion, 30-0; 78: Gissing try, 35-0.
CLONTARF: D O'Brien; D Higgins, A Reddan, J Downey, O Winchester; J Dempsey, M Walls; W O'Kelly, M Kennedy, A Clarke; D Sheehan (capt), A Wood; A Dignam, B Gissing, D Quinn. Replacements: A Cullen for Quinn (42 mins); D Moore for Dignam (65 mins); T Foucher for Kennedy (65 mins); M Woods for Dempsey (76 mins); K Nowlan for O'Brien (76 mins).
TERENURE: S Cullen (capt); P Costello, JB Sullivan, D McEnerney, S King; R Governey, K Putt; J Nolan, C Egan, S Barretto; D Quinn, N Allica; A Ryan, D Blaney, P O'Malley. Replacements: D McAllister for Sullivan (h-t); A Kelly for Allica (51 mins); G Deans for Nolan (78 mins).
Yellow cards: A Dignam (Clontarf) 17-27 mins; D Higgins (Clontarf) 36-46 mins. Sent off: P O'Malley (Terenure).
Referee: J Sheehan (Munster).
