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Apologies for the delay with these, I just forgot about them.
Anyway just click on the photo to get the (Short) slideshow, it got dark and wet after a while…..
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Sorry for the delay with these, here are some pics taken on St. Stephens Day during the Reindeer Tag Blitz, 2009.
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The 1st XV travelled up to Trinity for their first ever time on Saturday last. We got a fabulous welcome from this stalwart 2nd Division club and while we have not got too many ties, the ones that we do have made an impact, none more so than their forwards coach for a couple of years Seamus Twomey. Talk about a game of two halves (maybe four quarters would be a better description).
The game kicked off ten minutes early to allow for the difference in evening light on the east coast compared to those of us more westerly (about half an hour or so, I must check that up some time to get the exact figure). Eight minutes in Bruff put the first points on the Board courtesy of winger Nigel Riordan with Captain Brian Cahill adding the extras. The students duly replied with a breakaway interception somewhat against the run of play five minutes later to level the scores on seven points apiece. The Bruff pack then seemed to take the game by the scruff of the neck and the rest of the half saw them dominate their opposition in the set pieces, strong in the scrums and stealing ball in the lineout. Back row John Shine finished off a great looping move from the back line on the outside to scamper home from the twenty two on 17 minutes and Brian Cahill again added the extras. At this stage the students looked to be out of their depth a little but despite good possession, the referees whistle kept Bruff in check, the only points scoring opportunity a missed penalty from the captain and Bruff ended up going into the break with a fourteen points to seven lead.
The second half started as the first finished, the Bruff pack completely dominating proceedings and finally things started to click. However the students weren’t lying down and taking it and clawed the lead back to four points courtesy of the boot of their high flying full back four minutes into the half. Alan Bourke charged over for a try two minutes later and Garry Leonard touched down for the bonus point three minutes later. At this stage Bruff were cruising and it looked like only a matter of closing out the game and how much they were going to win by.
Suddenly the students found their feet and what followed was a comprehensive demolition of the sixteen point lead courtesy of two converted tries in fifteen minutes and a penalty eight minutes after that to give Trinity a single point lead with seven minutes left on the clock with no reply from Bruff. At this stage Bruff still looked well capable of grinding their way back down and coming home with a win but a sin binning left the Bruff pack one man down and the students managed to work their way into the Bruff twenty two and with the extra man in the pack they spurned a couple of penalty chances and opted for the scrums instead, a good decision as it ground down the remaining time on the clock and after four scrums the Bruff pack were penalised and the referee awarded a penalty try to the students giving them an eight point lead. The losing Bonus looked doomed even for the Bruff side, but they fought back again and the last penalty kick of the game was slotted by the Captain to bring home two valuable league points from the outing. It was one of the best games of the season so far to watch if you weren’t a Bruff supporter. Fair play to the young squad from Trinity, their tenacity paid off in spades.
Final Score Trinity 34, Bruff 29.
Bruff Scorers: Tries: N. Riordan, J. Shine, A Bourke, G. Leonard. Kicks: B. Cahill (3 conv. 1 Pen).
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Wind, rain and a almost nightime lighting conditions made for one of the hardest games seen in Kilballyowen in a few years. Not a day for kickers even though the breeze appeared to come directly from the road end of the main pitch. 15 minutes in the DLSP Scrum half Jinka hit the post with his first effort and caused a scurry around the twenty-two before Bruff managed to clear the lines. Play
Finally against the run of play, the DLSP No. 8 Power touched down for the DLSP first try of the day with Jinka adding the extras to give them a 7 point lead. Cahill’s first penalty effort fell short on thirty-five minutes, And then in injury time Jinka added another to go into the break ont he right side of a 10-nil lead.
The second half began with Bruff doing most of the attacking but unable to convert massive tracts of possession into points. Four minutes in Cahill put over his first kick of the day to eat into the ten point lead but even with wave after wave of attack Bruff took another sixteen minutes before they crossed the whitewash courtesy of winger Cashman, Cahill missing the conversion to claw back the lead to two points.The game continued with Bruff maintaining their onslaught on the DLSP twenty-two but it took right until the 75th minute before Bruff took the lead, J. Shine breaking the defence finally and Brian Cahills conversion putting a little daylight between them, bringing the score to 15 points to ten. DLSP finally got their attack formations together in the final five minutes and were rewarded with less than a minute to go with a try courtesy of Winger Power, Jinka missing the conversion which would have given them the steal. Bruff managed to hold on for the three inutes of injutry time to close out the game level on fifteen points apiece.
Bruff scores: B. Cahill, 1 P, 1 C, Tries: A. Cashman, J. Shine.
I’ll get some photos up on the site later on.
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It looks like the Bruff bandwagon has kept on its wheels in style. Another away win in Ulster on the road to add to the mesmerising collection of away results up north in Bruff’s short AIL history.
This time another established AIL team bent the knee to a great performance which was far more convincing on the pitch than the tight scoreline would lead you to believe.
Two minutes in some nerves and soft defending by the usually magnificent Bruff defence saw the Quins loose head Tim Morton go over for their one and only try of the game. Duly converted by Ulster playing Outhalf Niall O’ Connor, O’ Connor was one of the four Full Ulster Players playing for Quins on the day. The Bruff team gathered behind the posts for some strong words and then things took off.
The Bruff pack took things in hand and asserted their dominance in the set piece and in the loose. Just rewards on ten minutes with a penalty opportunity for captain Brian Cahill but it went to the side and wide. With the game by the scruff of the neck, Bruff launched attack after attack but handling errors and infringements at the ruck gave Quins relief time and time again from the onslaught. By half time, Bruff had spent thirty five of the forty minutes inside the Quins half but all they had to show for it was one converted penalty attempt after 7 minutes of injury time and another missed penalty on 25 mins, Quins also had to be happy with a pair of missed penalty attempts by O’ Connor on twenty and forty minutes. Half time score 7-3 to Quins.
The second half began as the first left off and the breeze stiffened a little to give Bruff whatever slight advantage it offered in the second half. Three minutes after the whistle Cahill slotted penalty number two to close the gap and three minutes later after sustained pressure, Cahill broke to go over for Bruff’s only try of the game, missing the conversion however kept the lead at four points. Following yellow cards (one for each side) in the aftermath of the try, play passed up and down between the Quins half way line and their twenty two, but on their only incursion into the Bruff half, Ten minutes later O’ Connor knocked over his second to close the gap again to a single point but Bruff maintained their momentum and had stretched the lead out to four points again three minutes later. The Bruff line attacked the Quins line the siege being lifted again by turnovers at the ruck. An interception by the Scrum half Paul Marshal saved a two on one overlap and very nearly turned it into a breakaway try when he chipped over the returning Bruff defenderSean Daly, Winger Andrew Cashman won the race to the ball and managed to keep Bruff in the game. A last burst for Quins brought nervous thoughts of last seasons last gasp winning try against the odds but the siege was finally lifted and Bruff held out to finish the game with a 14 point to 10 final score.
Bruff Scorers: Brian Cahill, 1T, 3 pens.
Quins Scorers: Tim Morton (T), Niall O’ Connor 1C, 1 Pens.
Bruff lined out: 15. P. Thomspon, 14. Nigel Riordan, 13. John Malone, 12. Garry Leonard, 11. Andrew Cashman, 10. Brian Cahill, 9. Tony Cahill, 1. Stephen Foster, 2. Cathal O’ regan, 3. Keith Laffan, 4. Alan Bourke, 5. Maurice O’ Connell, 6. David Gardiner, 7. John S. Shine, 8. Mike Carroll. Subs: David Horan, Graham Bolger, Peter Malone, Sean Daly, John Carroll. Ref: John Carville (IRFU), TJ’s: Christopher Wilson & David Fergie.
Pictures will be posted later on this evening.