After a three week break the Energia All-Ireland League Division 1B resumed last Saturday afternoon when Naas hosted Shannon. The famed Munster club arrived in Naas desperate for a victory, as they went into the contest propping up the bottom of the table. On the other hand the home side could not have been in better form, scoring 57 points in a dismantling of Old Wesley in their previous outing. On that occasion Naas played some scintillating running rugby, but unfortunately due to the terrible weather conditions prevailing on Saturday such rugby was not possible here, and a tight, hard fought battle ensued. Some extremely heavy rain from lunchtime onwards made conditions extremely difficult for both players and spectators alike, but despite this, with the help of a large travelling support, there was a fine crowd in attendance.
There was an extremely cagey opening to the game and despite Shannon losing a man after just three minutes – John O’Sullivan received a yellow card for a deliberate knock on – scoring chances were few and far between. However the visitors managed to break the deadlock after 22 minutes. Naas were awarded a penalty deep in their own 22, but on the intervention of the touch judge, referee Daniel Carson reversed his decision and awarded it to Shannon. The penalty was dispatched to touch, and from the line-out the visitors set up a driving maul which Naas did well to contain. However when the maul was stopped, Cian McCann managed to break free from the side of it and crashed over a try, which Jamie Gavin converted.
They were further ahead after 29 minutes when following a period of sustained pressure they forced their way up to the Naas try line, and a quick pass by scrum-half Ian Leonard found Stephen Kiely on the left touchline and he dived in to score in the corner. Although Jamie Gavin missed the conversion Shannon led by 12 points.
Naas needed a quick response and they got it within three minutes. When Charlie Sheridan picked up a ball on the ten metre line there appeared to be very little on for him, but a neat sidestep split the visiting defence apart and he sprinted clear for a superb score. Peter Osborne added the extras to make it Naas 7 – Shannon 12, which proved to be the interval score.
If anything, conditions got even worse in the second half. The visitors went further in front after 50 minutes when Jamie Gavin slotted a penalty awarded for a high tackle, before there was a contentious decision after 58 minutes. Charlie Sheridan intercepted a ball on half-way and he quickly passed to Peter Osborne who chipped ahead. However after the kick Osborne was cynically taken out, but the referee deemed that it merited just a penalty to Naas, much to the annoyance of the home supporters who were baying for a yellow card.
Peter Osborne did reduce the gap back to five points after 66 minutes when he kicked a penalty, before John O’Sullivan was off target for the visitors with a similar effort on 74 minutes. During this period Naas lost Jack Sheridan to injury and hopefully he will make a quick recovery.
The big Shannon pack were now visibly tired and were taking every possible opportunity to slow up the game which became littered with stoppages. Therefore it was a surprise that referee Carson played only five minutes injury time, when there was at least three or four more merited. The home side nearly snatched victory in the injury-time period. After a high tackle on David O’Sullivan, Naas kicked to the corner. They threw everything at one last attack and powered over the Shannon line, but they could not ground the ball and the visitors were awarded a goal-line drop out.
Soon afterwards the full-time whistle was blown with Shannon victorious by 15 points to ten. This is not a game that will live long in the memory, as the weather dictated that it was very stop/start. But credit to Shannon who dug out what could be a vital victory come the end of the season, and have given themselves a chance of beating the dreaded drop.
Next up for Naas is an away trip up North to Queen’s University next Saturday afternoon. Kick-off is at 2.30pm and all support will be greatly appreciated.
Naas: Peter Osborne, Donal Conroy, Charlie Sheridan, Paddy Taylor, Jack Sheridan, Bryan Croke, Cormac King, John King, Aidan O’Kane, Adam Deay, James O’Loughlin, Eoin Walsh, Muiris Cleary, Will O’Brien (capt), Ryan Casey. Replacements: Francisco Bartorelli, Stephen Lackey, Cillian Dempsey, Paulie Tolofua, Derry Lenehan, David O’Sullivan.
Shannon: John O’Sullivan, Cian O’Halloran, Harry Long (capt), Luke Doyle, Stephen Kiely, Jamie Gavin, Conor Glynn, Gus Harrington, Kieran Ryan, Jack Brady, Jade Kriel, Cian McCann, Kelvin Brown, Lee Nicholas. Replacements: Jordan Prenderville, Darragh McSweeney, Christian Storey, Luke Murphy, Matt Tepou, Cillian Corkery.
