Saturday 3rd March, Ballcuris Park, Ballymun

And so it came to the final match day of the league in North Dublin. Win and we take the pennant, lose and should Railway win against St. Mary’s then the opportunity was gone. Railway did beat the Templeville Road outfit, but to no avail as win we did and in some style, ultimately coming away on the right side of a 6-2 try count. With fifteen minutes to go the Leinster Branch official headed to his car to get out the medals and pennant and despite shipping two late tries to a manful Unidare RFC his confidence was well founded. After the final whistle and handshakes we convened in the centre of the park, surrounded by a newly built housing estate in the heart of Ballymun, to listen to the presentation and drink some sparkling white wine of dubious vintage. You can have a look at the table and gallery below, I think both make for pleasant viewing.

Report

The match started at a fine pace with Unidare coming out of the blocks with real ambition. A couple of breaks through the middle could have troubled the score-keeper bar some good scramble defence and we were in a game. When we finally got hands on ball and played some smart territory we got within striking distance. Ian went up the middle (as he did all day with impressive robustness) to set up a good platform for the forwards to punch another hole up the middle. Third phase saw quick hands out the three quarters before Peter Glynn crossed for the first of an impressive brace in the left corner. Indeed the Westmeath native would go on the claim the man of the match prize, closely followed by Ian and Nick.

The second try was scored by the in form Kevin McCarthy from a good rumble and slipped pass from Willie Lalor. Peter grabbed his second wide to the right in a similar pattern play and Nick got a well deserved try from a sniping break off the back of an advancing maul in the left corner after good line out work. We finished the half four tries to the good.

The second half was a more stop start affair as we understandably lost some shape hunting for tries and in some cases personal glory with a fine helping of white line fever (your correspondent guilty on both counts). We did play some good stuff however, Tom O’Connell making a searing break on the blind side from a pick and drive was one such instance. He was eventually hauled to ground sixty meters later, only for the barnstorming Simon Workman to pick the ball from the ruck and fall over the line for the second of his brace. His first came after some really nice back and forward play leading to a break up the left touchline. Simon gathered the final pass and pinned the ears back from 20 yards, the Northern lock crashing over in the left corner under pressure. Tim O’Connell, the touch judge standing at least two metres from the try line at the time, “couldn’t tell ref” when asked if the try was legitimate leaving the ref to make up his own mind, which he did in our favour.

We shipped two poor tries in the last ten minutes as tiredness and poor decision making came into play, however it mattered little. Leinster League, J4 Section C champions – the first official Leinster Branch pennant in the club’s 105 year history. That has a nice ring to it.

Click continue reading for loads of pictures from the day. continue reading…

Saturday 25th of February 2012

Parkmore managed a comprehensive victory over local rival Tallaght to maintain our tilt at the title in this penultimate game in the Leinster J4 section C league encounter near the foothills of the Dublin Mountains.

There were six tries scored from Farnan, Kevin, Declan, Ian, Willie and Tommy. Colin had a good day at the office with five from six conversions landed along with a penalty.

A horrid day in Lakelands, capped off with the most amazing scoreline, sees Parkmore at the top of the J4 Section C league table with two games to play after defeating Railway Union. To sum up briefly we took to the pitch for a late kick off at 3pm playing with the wind in the first half (a big thank you to Terenure for re-jigging all their own matches to accommodate us and keep our home advantage).  The wind was joined by rain for most of the afternoon and it is fair to say both teams struggled to take advantage of the elements.

As you would expect we had the better of territory and possession in the first half. Ed had a drop goal hit the bar and Smythee had one effort sail right and one effort sail true in the first half. That score came at around the half hour mark and few thought it would be billy no mates by the end. Other than the chances and the score above it was mostly tackling by the Railway Union lads in their half and when they did have the ball numerous pick and drives and close in back moves that we defended well.

When we went in at the break with only that slim advantage the scales did seem to be tipping in the Sydney Parade men’s favour. However, if the first half was typified by stoic defending from the light-blue and whites the second half effort to keep the opposition at bay must be classified as simply bloody-minded.

Railway had a penalty hit the post and drop into a puddle six inches from our line (Shay flopped on the ball and we successfully defended the danger). Our discipline at breakdown time was the best all season and the hustle defence saw no clear line breaks as we kept the visitors scoreless. When in possession we began to relax and become more methodical as the half went on, gaining valuable yards and also penalties. We finished the match with Lalor of Laois hacking the ball to touch from the back of a ruck after much encouragement from his team mates. This was at the end of a sustained drive, retaining the ball and doing the needful when time was up. Pretty sweet. To be fair to Railway this was a match that could have gone either way with both teams deserving the points. There are two more games to go against Tallaght and Unidare and we need to win both.

There are some pictures here.

A 2.30pm kick off on the second’s pitch in Terenure’s Lakelands saw a bumper crowd of home support (tenish people) cheer on the light blue and whites as we managed to sneak past a well organised Millmount side. The result puts us at the top of the league (see the table below). Our two main rivals both have a game in hand, however, lending a precarious edge to our balancing act as leaders.

 J4 Metro League, Section C.

As we move towards the business end of the J4 league Parkmore just about managed to keep apace with the league’s front runners in this tightly fought contest on a crisp Saturday in South Dublin. Malahide are a good side with a strong pack and straight running backs, if lacking a little élan in the wide berths. As a result of this and an aggressive start to the match we were on the back heels for the first 10 minutes of the game or so. Two missed penalties from the North County Dublin outfit from kickable positions was evidence of their greater territory and possession; thankfully without troubling the score-keepers.
Perversely, they crossed for their only try during a period of dominance from the light-blue and whites. At the end of a number of good phases we threw a speculative pass out wide that hit the deck. Their number six pounced on the loose ball and with nobody at home managed to run 60 meters to touch down in the far right corner. Inexplicably their kicker nailed the touch-line conversion to bring the score to 7-0.

An immediate reply was the order for the day and a long drop off with good pressure on the ball carriers lead to a penalty for the lakesiders. Smythee missed narrowly but it mattered not as from the 22 drop out we went through the gears, punching up the middle with runners before releasing the backs with simple hands and depth. Mark Gahan was on the end of the final pass and managed to ride two strong tackles after making the line break to score from about twenty meters. The conversion to the left of the posts was missed but we were back in the game. Smythee tacked on a penalty before half time and we went in 9 – 7 to the good.

The second half was a tense affair with most of the rugby taking place between the twenty twos. More tactical kicking and some hotly contested rucks was the order of the day. Our scrum maintained its dominance with three turnovers coming against the head swipes with the rest of the scrums resulting in bad to terrible ball for their backs. Thislimited their ability to threaten out wide. However, with about ten minutes to go we were penalised for holding on in front of the posts about thirty metres out. The Malahide number ten (now playing in the centre) slotted the kick high and not particularly handsome. With the clock against us we set about moving up the pitch and our high pressure defence managed to gift us a penalty about thirty five meters out and to the right of the posts. A tricky little bugger of a kick. But the young Westmeath native stepped up and lashed it straight and through the posts. 11-10 entering endgame and you couldn’t separate the teams with anything wider than a cigarette paper.

Squeaky bum time as a gruff Glaswegian famously remarked – some missed touches, dropped passes, good hustle defence and covering out wide kept everyone entertained until we cleared our lines from a scrum just before the last play. Their counter attack went wide and to the right, a chip was put through and the covering Noodle went down on the ball, popped to Smythee who did the necessary and put the ball (eventually) out of play. The shrill sound of the final whistle was greeted with tired contentment and warm celebrations. One point off St. Mary’s RFC at the summit of the table is a good return from a decent start to the New Year*.

*Railway Union have a game in hand.

Parkmore recorded a easy victory against Kilkenny Normans on a dry mild Saturday in Knocktopher on the 7th January.

Open air changing room

Knowing only a victory would do, Parkmore prepared well for our first game since the Christmas and arrived early and focussed. Having got over the fact that there were no dressing rooms or shower facilities, Tomas O Connell got the ball rolling after some good structured phase play early on with a breakaway try. Normans big pack and kicking game forced us back into our own 22 for the next 15 minutes though and only good defensive work from Willie Lalor & Maurice Coyle held up two successive drives over the line from the Normans pack. However once we stopped coughing up penalties and forced our way out of our 22 our superiority in attacking play began to show. Further tries out on the right after some pick and drives from the pack from Willie Lalor and another after a break from Kevin McCarthy after some good phase play put us well on our way. Tomas O Conell touched down for a 2nd try after a pass from Shay out on the left. A final try of the 1st half went to Nick Leonard when he appeared out on the wing to touch down in the corner! Score at half time was 32-0 after Smythee converted 3 from 5.

Parkmore began the second half with hill advantage and also whatever wind was available. The superiority of our backs meant that we didn’t need to use our kicking game. An early try out wide on the left wing by Stano was quickly followed by a try following a blind side break by Smythee and Stano who linked up well from inside halfway to put Smythee over in the corner. This finished the game as a contest although credit must be given to Normans for not losing their discipline and keeping the game alive despite being up against it.
At this stage it was becoming a bit of a free for all with Parkmore backs scoring at will. Stan got over for his second try out wide on the left again after some good back line play put Ed over in the corner, Shay Deegan and Ed put Mark Gahan through an opening in the middle to touch down under the posts and Shay touched down in the right corner after being put through on an overlap by Smythee. Tomas O Connell capped his man of the match performance with another try after a break from the back of the scrum. Smythee converted 4 from 6 in the second half to leave the final score 69-0.

Overall, a job done well. There were a number of players playing for places due to absentees and all did very well. Selection for next week will involve some difficult decisions. We have some very important games coming up if we are to be in the mix at the end of the season. Training tonight at 7pm for all who can make it down and Wednesday at 7pm (compulsory).

Parkmore briefly appeared at the top of the table for an hour or two on Saturday only to be gazumped by St. Marys later that day (see league table below). Our lack of bonus points in our losses coming back to haunt us. Thanks to Normans for putting on some lovely grub afterwards to feed the troops before the journey home and to Ray and Tim for making the trip down to support the team. Also welcome back to Ed and Simon making their first appearance on the season. They both showed that they can add something to the team performance.

Scorers:

Tomas O Connell – 3 try
Andrew Smith – 2 try
Colin Smyth – 1 try, 7 conv
Kevin McCarthy – 1 try
Mark Gahan – 1 try
Willie Lalor – 1 try
Nick Leonard 1 try
Shay Deering 1 try

Parkmore continued their improved form with a hard fought win against table toppers St. Marys on a cold Saturday afternoon in Terenure. Assisted by the visitors being down numbers at the start of the game Parkmore roared into a 12-0 lead after 5 minutes as they templeville road outfit got their heads in the game. Marys struggled to match the intensity Parkmore brought to the game in the first 15 minutes and their lack of preparation showed as Ronan Workman and Ian Riordain crossed the line early on.

Mary’s only response was a penalty sandwiched between those trys. As our scrum dominated further pressure and good phase play lead to Peter Glynn crossing for a try in the corner after some good hands by the backs . However as the game wore on St. Marys gradually started to get to grips with Parkmore. This showed particularly with their use of a very strong maul at lineout. Parkmore’s continuous infringements at ruck and maul time resulted in a number of penalties. Marys took advantage and following a lineout on the 22 they attacked the blind side to find Parkmore’s cover wanting and crossed for a soft try in the corner.

We got back into the game though and some improved territorial play brought us back down into St. Mary’s 22. We stretched their defence out wide and after Maurice made a good punch up the middle to off-load to Willie Lalor he made a quick break up the middle to cross over for another try before half time. We went into the break at 24-8 after playing with the wind.

A much more organised St. Marys took to the field in the 2nd half and with the assistance of some rather dubious refereeing decisions at the breakdown the be-starred outfit sought to control the game. However this was not before a great breakaway try from Tomas O Connell. He raced over from inside his own half after multiple phases had scattered the opposition defenders to put the match beyond their reach (or at least we thought at that stage). Penaltys came back to haunt us and Parkmore’s lead of 29-8 was gradually whittled away. Once again we found themselves on the wrong side of the referee and continuous infringements resulted in us coughing up territory, possession and eventually points. A further two penalties brought the score back to 29-14 and then a try in the corner which was well converted brought the game back in the balance.

We put the ball deep into their half after that score and applied the right pressure to keep possesion in their twenty two to see out the result at 29-21. The good start we had put the game beyond reach and Tomas’s early score in the 2nd half was a real hammer blow to a re-vitalised Marys. It was a great team performance on the day particularly the in the scrum. James Rogers in the lineout and Peter Glynn and Tomas O Connell in open play really standing out as well. Once again we drew on all of our resources with subs coming in and making a difference. Man of the Match as voted by the team fterwards was Ronan Workman who capped up an all round performance with an early try in the game. The centres consistently made yeards and there were no breaks up the middle in a very good defensive effort (both tries were conceded in the corner). The less said about the Parkmore place-kicking game the better. Needless to say I will be practicing from in front of the posts over the break!

Thanks to all the support who came down and braved the bitterly cold afternoon. Next game is away to Kilkenny on the 7th January. Training continues this Wednesday night and we are back training after Christmas on Wednesday the 4th January. Merry Christmas to all and good luck to James who is getting married over the Christmas break. See you all in the New Year.

Parkmore take on Marys in the final match up the calendar year. Do come along.