Tallaght men secure League Final berth
TALLAGHT RFC secured their place in the Metro League Division Six Final with two games to spare after they beat Trinity College 31-0 in a game moved from Santry to the Iveagh Gardens in Crumlin on Saturday.
Played in the horrendous conditions that Storm Dennis brought, Tallaght made use of the strong wind at their backs, opening the scoring when a box kick was blocked down by Niall Mahon who regathered to register his first try for the club’s first team.
Tallaght RFC players listen up to a team talk on Saturday
Rob Hudson kicked an excellent conversion and it was not long before Tallaght were on the scoresheet again, Kevin Quinn forcing his way over to score his first try of the season for the firsts with Hudson again tagging on the extras.
Tallaght full back Simon Collie then opted to run a kick back and took off on a fantastic break, slipping several tackles only to lose his footing 10 metres from the line.
However the ball was recycled and eventually Rob Hudson forced his way over from close range before Jack Russell got over the line to score his first try of the season, after a break from Denny McCarthy, leaving it 26-0 at half-time.
Playing into the wind in the second half, Tallaght found themselves pinned back in their own 22 for much of the opening 15 minutes.
The Tallaght defence held out, but suffered a blow when centre Denny McCarthy was shown a red card for a tip tackle.
Nevertheless, strong carries from replacements Andy Caswell and Joe Ivers got Tallaght into a strong position as they won a scrum five metres out from which Adam Nolan broke towards the line, scrum-half Andy Rudd then sniping from the ruck to make it 31-0.
The win marked the fourth year in row that Tallaght made their league final and Head Coach Tom Leigh was delighted with his players’ efforts saying “This is our first year in this league, so to make the final with two games remaining is a great tribute to all the hard work the players and coaches have put in.
“But we’re not going to rest on our laurels as we know one more win will guarantee us a home final for the first time ever” he added.
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