Tallaght complete a double
TALLAGHT RFC Men's first team completed a double after they beat DLSP 18-10 to raise the John Madden Cup title in Malahide on Saturday.
The team had secured the Metro Seven League prize only the week before, and they were first out of the blocks in their pursuit of the cup last weekend.
After his side won a penalty near the DSLP line, Tallaght skipper Adam Nolan opted against kicking for points and instead took a quick tap.
He was stopped, but after a couple of phases, hooker Ken McGovern forced his way over the line for a try that was converted by Rob Hudson.
Tallaght continued to dominate with centre Padraig Jones making good yards on each carry. Second row Alan Moore was also terrorising the DSLP lineout with several steals.
Their pressure eventually led to a penalty near the posts which Hudson converted to make it 10-0 with 25 minutes gone.
Matters grew worse for DLSP after they lost the services of outhalf Warren Doyle and centre Des Ryan to injury, but they dug deep to get off the mark by way of a Gavin Rundle touchdown on to which Shane Cranny tagged the extras to reduce the gap back to three by the halftime break.
In the second half Tallaght had the wind at their backs, but their discipline let them down as they conceded penalty after penalty, Cranny converting one of them to restore parity.
Tallaght were under pressure now and suffered a further blow when vice-captain Simon Collie, who had been immense in defense, was forced to withdraw after taking a knock to the head.
But they regained their composure and won a penalty just inside their own half which Nolan kicked superbly, seeing the ball clip the left post as it travelled over to put his side back in front.
Nolan then put Tallaght is a good position late on with a fine kick into the DLSP twenty two from a penalty before the pack took over and eventually McGovern, aided by a strong shove by Andy Caswell, forced his way over for his second try of the match.
“We probably weren’t at our best today” admitted Tallaght coach Tom Leigh. “We had a good start but then we got a little sloppy. But I think the win last week was crucial in terms of our belief.
“Even when things weren’t going great, we didn’t panic or throw the towel in. Instead we took the blows and came back stronger which I believe is a mark of the maturity of the team. Fair play to DLSP, they gave us a tough match like always but it was played in a fair spirit.”
“It’s been great to have the success, but this is just a beginning and we’re already looking forward to moving up a division and seeing how we adjust to a higher level.
“We also want to have two Tallaght teams next season and we hope anyone who’s been inspired by our success will come up to play for us next season as new players are always welcome” he stressed.
