New Scoreboard Reflects Reality!

Sunday last at 1 p.m. – our new scoreboard switched on – it looked great but the final score took some of the lustre from it. It seemed very early for a Garryowen Cup match, but when the season starts we have to be ready. The occasion had shades of Ireland’s world cup warm-up, with a lot of the team off-colour. Thurles kicked off and after a few minutes it became obvious that this would be a lots-of cobwebs encounter, with both teams guilty of a litany of errors. An early run by David Joyce augured well and the Harney brothers in midfield looked dangerous, but in truth the back division lacked penetration.

The pack then took up the challenge and drove into the Thurles half, with Stephen Pyke making his presence felt. A good rumble forced Thurles back and captain John Long was quickest to react, going over to put Clonmel 5-0 ahead. Clonmel now perked up with some good backs moves, but careless passes rendered them futile. But Clonmel were definitely on top here and a nice backs move saw Conor Cooney go in under the posts to put the home side 10-0 ahead. Morgan Lyons’ conversion put Clonmel further ahead at 12-0. Clonmel were now comfortable – too comfortable, which proved to be their downfall. The rest of this half was eminently forgetful, with a huge amount of basic errors which must have had Coach Fergus tearing his hair out. Both teams were now in cruise mode, with Clonmel assuming they had the game won and Thurles feeling they had lost it. But a penalty just on half-time by Jason Moore for Thurles reduced the arrears to 12-3 as half-time arrived

The second half kicked off in the same low-intensity manner with Clonmel in slumberland – poor passing and some terrible kicking opened the door to Thurles who were slowly coming out of their early-season fog – they now had a sense that this game wasn’t over. The arrival of John Kelly and Ronan Crosse for Neville Melbourne and Stephen Pyke after 15 minutes still didn’t shake Clonmel up and now Thurles were slowly getting the upper hand. A Thurles penalty pushed Clonmel back on their line and after a good drive, Thurles’ Ollie Small went over in the corner – 12-8. To make matters worse, fullback Jason Moore kicked a difficult conversion to bring it to 12-10. Pressure on now but Clonmel just could not rise above the ordinary and Thurles scented the victory.

A hack down field by Thurles on 30 minutes put the pressure back on Clonmel. This resulted in a Clonmel scrum close to their own line – the home side were pushed off their own ball and the ball fell nicely to the Thurles flanker who went over in the corner. The failed conversion attempt left the visitors leading 17-12. Clonmel did get back down into the Thurles “22” but typically turned the ball over – story of the day. The final whistle saw no change and Clonmel were left to ponder what might have been. It was a pity that a cup that was so hard-won was handed back so easily. The only consolation for Clonmel here is that this was an early, and forceful, kick in the pants – this team is much better than this. It was also uplifting to see the new, young faces pushing for a first-team place. It can only get better. Last season’s exploits are now a distant memory – it’s time to move on – the team now have time to put matters right before the league campaign commences in a few weeks.