Armagh came back empty handed after a brave but unsuccessful attempt to try and keep their good record in away fixtures. The real difference between the sides was that Clontarf had almost a new team from last season with only 6 players actually playing from last season. Armagh had 12 players from the corresponding game last season. Clontarf were able to recruit heavily getting players from Trinity and UCD to bolster their squad. The game was also played on a 4G pitch, not to Armagh’s liking.
An injury to Paul Mullen meant that Cameron Doak started at loosehead with Sam Glasgow also not available. A knock also prevented Evon Crummie from playing so Rocky Olsen went back in at outhalf. Armagh lost the toss and Clontarf elected to play against a strong breeze and like the previous week, too many penalties were given away and this enabled Clontarf to use their very effective maul. In all I counted 17 penalties conceded for numerous offences, particularly in the first half, when in the first 20 minutes they had given away 6. The team were further weakened when captain Simpson took a nasty knock to his thumb which somewhat restricted his game. To be fair, referee Fogerty was consistent in most of his calls but he was particularly sharp on holding on. In fact, Dylan Nelson, playing with his usual enthusiasm was penalised twice in succession early in the game.
Armagh actually took the lead when Kyle Faloon kicked a 40 metre penalty after 23 minutes. This lead didn’t last long as Clontarf hooker, Dylan Donnellan, went over for his first of 2 tries. This score was converted but Armagh bounced back with a try of their own when Andrew Willis, running a good support line, barged over. Kyle Faloon, with a great kick, converted to leave the score 7-10. With the wind in his favour, Faloon kicked another magnificent penalty from his own half to further increase Armagh’s led to 7-13. Clontarf were not quite finished and in first half injury time, from a penalty on Armagh’s line, Donnellan tapped and went early. With Armagh hanging on through terrific defence and with Neil Faloon in the sin bin, centre, Bird dived in under the posts for Kelly to convert, leaving the halftime score 14-13 in Clontarf’s favour. This was not bad considering that Armagh had given away so many penalties. The message at the break from the coaching staff was to improve their discipline in the second half.
It was not to be however, with another penalty given away and from the lineout, Donnellan powered over from the maul, converted by Kelly. This indeed was Donnellan’s last involvement in the game when he dislocated his finger. Bravely Armagh tried to move the ball away from the big Clontarf pack and a bit of sheer determination saw Sam Cunningham going over for a super try in the corner. The scoreline was now 21-18 but Armagh’s defence could only hold out for so long as they continued to annoy referee, Fogerty. Outhalf, Kelly who took over the Clontarf captaincy evaded the Armagh defence to get the bonus point score despite the referee warning him and his players to watch their language and their own discipline. Niall Carville was then penalised in a scrum for going in at an angle and the lineout and maul worked again for substitute hooker, Kelly to go in for Clontarf’s fifth try. Despite this, Armagh had chances of their own as penalties started coming their way. Unfortunately, the lineout had a few issues and Clontarf were able to steal a couple of promising Armagh lineouts. Armagh should possibly have been awarded a penalty try when their own maul was stopped illegally. Rocky Olsen then charged down a clearance but could not quite gather the ball to score. He was also tackled very late on one occasion which should have resulted in a yellow card. This resulted in tempers being frayed with the referee having to warn the Clontarf team again. With the clock ticking down, Armagh had one final score when Kyle Faloon counter attacked from inside his own half and evaded 4 would-be tacklers to score under the posts for a really fine individual try. He chipped over the conversion to leave the final score. Clontarf 35, City of Armagh 25.
What was the difference between the two teams? Clontarf had more bulk and their bench had a big impact on the game and secondly, Armagh did not yet again use the wind in the first half and gave away far too many penalties. They did however show courage in defence and commitment throughout this game. Their resources however are now stretched with injuries now mounting up. They have had not much support from Ulster with both McCormack and McNabney not released to play in this vital game. As a result, the gap between Armagh in eighth place in the league and UCD and Garryowen is narrowing with both the lower sides picking up bonus points last weekend. One cannot fault the team’s effort so far this season but luck has deserted them at vital times.
Head coach Chris Parker commented after the game that he felt his side were in the game for long periods and his players, as always, displayed a fantastic attitude and work rate. He thought Clontarf were a quality side and showed a ruthless edge when they got into the Armagh 22. Giving away so many penalties hurt the side, allowing them good field position. He looked forward to another tough assignment next week when the team face a tricky encounter away to Instonians in the Bank of Ireland senior Cup. He stated that the team need to improve their own 22 entries and make the opposition work harder. For his general all-round play and fantastic solo try, Kyle Faloon was awarded the Man of the Match award.
