BOI Munster U14 Boys Plate

Carrick-On-Suir RFC V Charleville & District RFC

Match Report 25/02/24

It was over the border to County Waterford and in the shadow of the Comeragh Mountains that Charleville U14 boys travelled for their first away match in the competition this afternoon. As with walking in mountains that hunker nearby in damp and murky conditions, the unwitting and ill prepared risk getting disorientated and loosing their way. While the rain finally gave out in the half hour before kick off, its relentless drenching of the ground for the hours beforehand left standing water in the pitch, which would be a challenge to flowing rugby.

Carrick-on-Suir would be as keen to defend their home turf as any other and not want to be duped into “opening the gate” letting the opponents in as their forebears had in 1649 for Cromwell’s army.

And so it was with a novice young referee and a pitch that would cut up just by looking at it, that Charleville elected to receive the kick-off.

The conditions interjected from the start. The difficulty under foot hampered the drop kick and the ball, failing to go the required 10m, gave the scrum to Charleville on halfway. This early possession was what Charleville needed to settle into the match and the opportunity to impose themselves on proceedings.

This they did with making strong direct carries forward taking on defenders and get forward momentum. Krzysztof Daszuta embodied this direct approach in the early stages of the game as Charleville caught Carrick cold. A series of quick ruck phases enabled Charleville to work their way up to halfway. With defenders out of position, Harry O’Conner went through a gap on the left hand side. With no defending cover the ball was carried over to under the posts for the opening score converted to give Charleville the ideal start at 0-7.

Charleville had fortunately taken the best the conditions had to offer, as the pitch quickly began to break up and the muddy ball started to quell the promise of open and fast play. The next 16 minutes of the opening third saw a gradual shift in momentum. Slower ball at the breakdown gave Carrick opportunities to turn over and with a couple of big forwards of their own, they managed to make yards into Charleville territory. The hungry for work ethic of Jack Foley was crucial in this period of the game as time after time he put himself on the line for his team with incredible tackling to stem the onslaught. Carrick continued to make surges forward to draw Charleville defenders to them, but their attempts to score were undone by handling in the wide channels or running out of room on the touchline.

As the game unfolded, Charleville knew they were in a match as Carrick, now warmed up, kept applying pressure. In the final minutes of the opening third, Carrick made another assault on the Charleville line helped by a number of penalties at the breakdown for holding on the floor. Carrick managed to strain over the line in a mass of mud caked bodies, only for the ball to have been judged held up off the deck and the scrum awarded to Charleville. This was a crucial moment in defence, which otherwise could have been a game changer for Carrick. As it was, Charleville took a relieving kick from their scrum and looked to put pressure on themselves, only for the ball to be kicked into touch to end the first third.

A seven point lead is nothing and with Carrick finishing the opening third the stronger, Charleville had it all to do to regain the initiative. Charleville needed to avoid getting into a slugfest with Carrick’s pack and try again to get quick ball away from the scrum and ruck.

The early period of the second third saw Charleville apply the plan, with faster ball Charleville were able to create some miss matches and overlaps around the breakdown. In the second minute, a ruck ball was passed to Harry O’Conner, who changed direction to go left off the breakdown and run straight at the solitary defender before putting boot to ball to send it behind him. With the Carrick full back valiantly trying to come back and cover, Harry kicked the ball on once more. Although punted hard, the depth of the in goal area was more generous than his home pitch and Harry was just able to dive on it and not be over turned before the referee caught up with play to award the try. The score was unconverted to make it 0-12.

Charleville looked to keep Carrick pinned in their own half and forced Carrick-on-Suir to kick for touch a number of times. Besides the throw ins at the lineout being more like passes to guarantee Carrick possession, Charleville did manage to disrupt a few and get turnover from them. However, handling was now extremely difficult and the passes made awkward led to knock ons that stopped Charleville from capitalising.

In these conditions territory is as good as points, even when you don’t have the ball. So it proved in 7th minute of the second third when Charleville finally manged to get a clean turnover at the ruck deep inside the 22 before Carrick could kick it out again. At 10m out the ball was picked up from the turnover by Ted Egan who made a run, drew the tackle and popped the ball up to an on rushing Harry O’Conner who strained through the defenders to finish his third score of the day. The conversion drifted across the face of the goal to make it 0-17.

The remainder of the second third followed a similar pattern to the first. Carrick didn’t give up and looked again to their props to make hard carries as they started to play the game in the way Charleville had been told to. It worked for them as they started to get the ball faster from the breakdown and out to the edges more. Only for important last ditch tackles from Muiris O’Riordan, Luke Hogenes and Conor Quinn, Carrick might have found a way back into the match.

In between the periods of fractured play, Alan Krauss and Luke sought to make strong breaks of their own, but Carrick defenders managed to contain these, just.

Despite the middle to latter stages of the match yielding more possession to Carrick-on-Suir, Charleville manged to hold out for the win in the competitive part of the fixture.

The final third saw a re-shuffle of the team, with the available squad brought in to relieve the boys, particularly in the pack, who had to work hard in the challenging conditions.

Carrick were keen to end the day on a high and came at Charleville hard pressing them back deep in their own half for the first three minutes of the period. Camped on their own try line, what followed was arguably a highlight of the day. Having sustained wave after wave of pressure, Charleville managed to win back the ball. Conor Quinn on receiving a pass within the in-goal area, sized up the three defenders in front of him. With characteristic quickness of foot that spat in the face of the pitch conditions, Conor jinked and slalomed through the opposition and set off down the right of the pitch. With two more defenders giving chase, Conor managed to just make it under the posts for a fantastic individual try. Conor had just enough time to catch his breath and slot the kick to convert his score.

With all credit due to Carrick-on-Suir, they did not give up and continued to force Charleville back into their half. They continued to press down the blind side, which gave them good momentum and were rewarded with two tries of their own.

The win on the road today has put Charleville boys at the top of their group ahead of their final match away to Dungarvan next Sunday. Whilst the win has put the boys in an excellent position, today showed that away wins are hard. They are harder still when the pitch does not play to your strengths. With conditions likely to be very much like they were today next week, Charleville will need to adapt, be very focused and put it beyond any doubt that they are ready to step up and beyond to seal the deal in this competition.