Clane 29-7 Tallaght: 2022 begins with a bonus point

Defensive intensity and attacking efficiency were the order of the day as Clane finally arrived in 2022 with a bang, running out comfortable winners against Tallaght.

The home side started quickly, showing no signs of rust in their first outing since the end of November as a couple of knock-ons from Tallaght allowed them to gain territory. Robbie Hyland was prominent all day, and his kick forced the visitors to touch down over their own line. From the resultant scrum, Hyland looped around the backline and released Jimmy McMahon, who scored in the corner.

Tallaght attempted to respond, but lost two balls in their own lineout in quick succession, letting Clane off the hook. They settled for the posts eventually, but missed through Michael Corrigan and continued to trail heading in to the water break.

Having been quiet since the try, Clane looked bright again following the restart. Excellent defensive pressure allowed them to charge down Tallaght’s attempted clearance, and gave Clane the chance to establish field position again. Then, a moment of magic. The ball came to Enda O’Connell, who spotted a gap in behind the onrushing defence. His chip in behind was weighted beautifully, and Hyland had the simple job of touching the ball down in the corner.

Tallaght’s struggles in the set piece continued as they conceded two penalties at scrum time, again allowing Clane to enter their 22. O’Connell and Wayne Fox almost broke through, but when the attacking team switched directions it was Sean Southgate who found the space he needed to score. Hyland converted to give his side a very healthy lead.

Clane wasted no time in adding to their total once the second half began, and once again Hyland and O’Connell were central to the action. The scrum gave the backs a platform, and Hyland passed to O’Connell and looped. O’Connell looked for the run, but instead gave a flat pass to his centre partner Niall McGrath who was travelling at pace. He couldn’t be caught, and secured the try bonus point in the process.

Tallaght had won the reverse fixture, and were keen to show some of the quality displayed in that game. They responded immediately, and made a rare break through the Clane defensive line via Karl Segrave. The ball went to ground but the hosts couldn’t scramble in time, and Robert Browner just about evaded McMahon to squeeze over the line. Corrigan converted, and a ray of light appeared for the visitors.

The Clane defence were keen to put a rare mistake behind them, and help stabilise the game. Tallaght controlled the ball and territory, but some ferocious defending meant they could not repeat their try scoring exploits. O’Connell, McGrath, and Glenn Predy seemed to be everywhere throughout, racking up the tackle count and stopping their opponents in their tracks time and time again.

Clane’s use of the boot was almost as notable as the defence, and they used it to good effect to keep Tallaght at arms’ length. They put pressure on the lineouts that followed, and stole the ball just metres short of the line. Cormac Palmer almost got over, but the ball again fell to O’Connell and Hyland who combined to send McMahon in for his second of the day.

They pushed for more, and some superb hands from James Devine and Owen Daly almost led to the score of the day, but Tallaght recovered well. They could not breach Clane’s line again however, with Clane’s defensive intensity continuing right up to the final whistle.

The match was a tactical battle throughout, as both teams attempted to find gaps behind the defence through their kicking games. Clane were just more efficient in the end though, and converted their trips to the 22 in to tries while Tallaght made too many mistakes in the same areas. Clane were deserved winners, and travel to table topping Portarlington next week hoping to inflict a first defeat of the season on their hosts.