Guinness and Tallaght salute Philip with exciting match
By Stephen Leonard
IN WHAT was the first of an annual match to be played in memory of the late Philip Preston, Guinness RFC and Tallaght RFC played out a thriller in the Iveagh Grounds on Friday evening.
It was Tallaght who eventually emerged 25-17 point winners despite the best efforts of their hosts who kept fighting their way back into contention throughout the second period.
Philip was a long-serving player for Guinness RFC before making a huge impact at Tallaght Rugby Club as both player and coach and his sudden passing shook all who knew him.
The two clubs he knew and loved best came together to play a game in his honour and the match itself was the perfect tribute to his memory.
Guinness were that bit quicker to settle and registered the game’s first try after 15 minutes when Gavin Halpin made it over the line after persistent pressure.
The conversion was missed and Tallaght hit back quickly when, from their lineout near the Guinness five-metre line, substitute Jonathan Allison demonstrated great strength to force his way over the line with the aid of several team-mates.
Willie Lambe kicked a conversion to make it 7-5 to Tallaght who appeared more settled after that.
Ciaran Rudd and newcomer Mitchell McGrath were making a big impact in defence while the returning Jack Russell and skipper Adam Nolan were combining superbly in the back row.
Out-half Lambe was running the game well and tagged on two more penalties either side of half-time to help leave Tallaght 13-5 up.
But Guinness were far from done and they came roaring back into the game.
They had a fearsome maul that Tallaght struggled to deal with and Philip’s brother Sean Preston was mauled over for a try, that was converted by Danny Allison to leave just the bare minimum between the teams in favour of Tallaght.
The visitors responded when Lambe put Simon Collie into space, the Australian full-back stepping inside the reach of three tacklers for a superb touchdown that went unconverted.
Still Guinness continued to press with relentless pressure from their big pack.
Yet Guinness mauled the ball over the line again in the corner with Dave Leonard applying the finishing touch and their out-half had a touchline conversion to take the lead.
He struck it superbly and Tallaght’s hearts were in their mouths, but it just grazed the outside left post.
Tallaght needed to get back down the pitch and they toughed it out for several minutes before Andrew Rudd spotted a gap and made a superb break.
He fixed his man with great composure and passed to Man-of-the Match Lambe who scored the decisive try under the posts, before tagging on the extras for a personal haul of 15 points.
After the match Guinness RFC’S Eddie Tyrrell spoke of Philip’s impact on the club before Philip’s father Philip Senior expressed his and his family’s immense gratitude for the tribute both clubs had made to his son.
