Clane 30-24 Dublin Dogos: Victory in final home game of 2021.
The low winter sun illuminated a brilliant game of rugby on Sunday 14th November, as Clane and Dublin Dogos put on a show for the large crowd in attendance. Both sides came to play, but their contrasting styles made for an enthralling game from start to finish as Clane saw out their final home game of 2021.
The Dogos were in town, but it was Clane who shot like a greyhound out of the blocks. Robbie Hyland slotted a penalty within 3 minutes, followed immediately by a try from Glenn Predy. Clane forced their opponents to dot the ball down over their own line, and dominated the resultant scrum. A quick ball to Predy allowed him to find the soft shoulder and touch down.
Dogos hadn’t had possession of the ball up to that point, but would be leading the game within minutes. The hosts conceded a penalty from the kick off, and weren’t ready for Dogos’ early tap. The Dublin side spread the ball unopposed and Conor Rubalcava was able to run freely from the 22 and score. A high tackle meant Dogos had a penalty from kick off, and they made the most of it. Clane’s defence was better this time, but fast work at the breakdown allowed William Hansen the space he needed to crash over.
Having had all the play up to that point, Clane suddenly found themselves 6 points down to a side who had shown their ability to rack up the score in their previous outings. They weren’t rattled however, and the game settled down after the frantic opening. The home side had the edge on proceedings, with their scrum asserting its dominance time and time again. Some superb work from Killian Morar in defence saved them from conceding another try however, scrambling back after a kick went awry.
A yellow card for Dara Higgins gave Clane the break they were looking for. They started to apply the pressure, forcing Dogos into multiple penalties in their own 22. Just as it looked like they might get over before half time, Dogos turned the ball over. However, the ball was lying in the visitors’ in-goal area, and some quick thinking from James Devine allowed him to tap down for the simplest of tries.
The opening to the second half was almost as breathless as the first. Dogos were turned around by some well placed kicks by Clane, allowing the home side to push up in defence and cause problems. After winning the ball back, Hyland stepped superbly to create space and was tackled with metres to go. Some textbook rugby followed as Clane used the full width of the pitch. The ball came to Hyland again, and he left Scott Sterling with the task of scoring in the corner, who duly obliged.
Dogos weren’t to be outdone, and scored a try of their own in response. Clane were unable to clear their lines amid pressure from the visitors, and while their defence was good, the concession of penalties meant Dogos could keep probing until the defence broke. Break it did, with Cathal Dempsey finally punching a hole through the tacklers. It was almost another quickfire double, but Sterling intervened with a brilliant low hit to allow his teammates to recover back and keep their opponents out.
You sensed the next score would be decisive, and it was Clane who got it. Strong running from the pack stretched the Dogos defence as they tackled high, and twinkling footwork from Shane Redmond allowed him to break the line. With defenders scrambling, Enda O’Connell took advantage and put his head down, scoring a deceptively simple try in the end and giving Clane a try-scoring bonus point.
Any sense of relief was quickly extinguished however, as the travelling team once again fought back. Another last ditch tackle from Sterling came in, but this time Dogos recycled quickly at the ruck. The defence didn’t get the chance to reset, and Sam Stephenson snuck in to set the game up for a tense conclusion, putting his side only 3 points behind.
The game tightened up a touch as both sides were afraid of making a mistake which could decide proceedings. Hyland missed a penalty which would have given Clane some breathing room, but compensated with a brilliant kick in behind to put Mario Curtis under pressure. His pass was forward, and the home side put the squeeze on from the resultant scrum. The referee blew the whistle, and Hyland made no mistake this time.
There was to be no response this time for the Dogos. Their opponent’s defence fronted up, and another long kick in behind followed by a big hit from O’Connell kept them pushed back. They knocked on under duress from a scrum soon after, fitting due to Clane’s dominance at the set piece, and that was that.
It was another highscoring affair from Clane, who have given their supporters plenty of entertainment so far this season. After losing to Tallaght last week, this was a great way to bounce back. After a tough triple header, the lads leave with 2 wins and move within 3 points of Dogos in the promotion playoff spot. The team has a well deserved two weeks off now, facing off against North Meath/Athboy on the 28th November, and rounding off the year with a rematch against Portarlington the following week.
Superb win lads!
Clane: Cathal Maguire, Jimmy McMahon, Enda O’Connell, Oisin Shortt, Killian Morar, Robbie Hyland, Scott Sterling, Shane Redmond, James Devine, Glenn Predy, Luke Gannon, Ronan Connolly, Stephen Dwyer, Owen Daly, Wayne Fox.
Subs: Lawrence Cooper, Cillian Shortt, Olan King, Christian McAlinden, Ciaran McMahon, Mark Lynam, Jon Slattery.
Dogos: Andres Villar, Sam Stephenson, Andrés Lopez, Francesco Ianno, Jack Scroope , Conor Rubalcava, Agustin Tancredi, Christopher Golding, David O’Brien, Cathal Dempsey, Cal O’Donovan, William Hansen, Pierre Couperier, Dara Higgins, Ben Scroope
Subs: Michael Rogerson , Alan Glynn, Oliver Hamilton, Christopher Waters, Gonzalo Saenz, Mario Curtis, Gideon Lubanza