Match Report - Old Belvedere v. Cork Constitution 29 January 2011
CORK CON TOO STRONG FOR BELVO
JAN 31 2011 CORK CON 27 OLD BELVEDERE 12
On a perfect day for open rugby in Cork on Saturday, Cork Con proved to be too strong for Belvo and were impressive winners in an open game, unobtrusively refereed by David Wilkinson who awarded a low total of 13 penalties. Belvo started brightly and might have scored a try in the first three minutes but Leo Auva’a chose to make a close in break for the line rather than pass to Eddie Devitt who in any event was covered by the defence and Leo was tackled just short.
The opening score came after 15 minutes – a penalty goal by Jerry Hurley which might have resulted in a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on by Belvo but the penalty had been awarded beforehand for not releasing. Two minutes later, a penalty attempt by Andy Dunne just ped short of the posts. It was gathered by the defence who put together a superb attacking movement from their own line with 2nd row Cathal O’Flaherty dotting down in the right corner after several classic offloads and determined running through tackles. Jerry Hurley converted from far out to rub salt into the wound. Once in the driving seat, Con increased the pressure with some strong running and ground gain in the centre and around the scrum fringes. Simon Zebo caught the eye with several excursions into the centre from his wing. He was put clean through after 20 minutes with a certain score on hand but was called back for a forward pass. Further pain was inflicted in the 24th minute when Dean Moore knocked down a ball in the line-out which bounced up into the hands of 2nd row Brian Hayes who ran through the gap in the line-out, drew Eddie Devitt and put in hooker Denis Fogarty in the left corner, 15-0. Belvo continued to play attacking rugby and were finally rewarded, when in the 35th minute, a chip by Andy Dunne was collected by Danny Riordan who ran a superb line to score with Andy Dunne converting. This gave Belvo a great lift and they ended the first half with several attacking movements. However, on balance, the feeling among our alickadoos was that we had done quite well to be so close at half time (7-15) considering the amount of territorial dominance conceded and heavy hits handed out by a determined Con side.
The second half opened with Con continuing to exert pressure. They were particularly effective through Captain, Frank Cogan, coming through the line-out and charging down clearance kicks. Lack of up-front possession limited opportunities for the backs. Danny Riordan put through a nice chip which he collected and passed to David Mongan but the Con defence had the move covered. A further try was conceded in the 51st minute when yet another block down at the line-out was collected by Brian Hayes who scored. Con were turning the screw at this stage and a miss pass from Andy Dunne left us desperately defending our line once again, this time successfully. A huge hit by Jason Risdon on his opposite number seemed to galvanise Belvo who began to stretch the Con defence. Con had another penalty in the 67th minute to leave the score 27-7. To their great credit, Belvo proceeded to lift their game for the final 13 minutes and after several attacking movements and good offloading, a try was scored by reserve hooker Kieron Buckley. Conal Keane unfortunately missed the conversion. Belvo continued to attack strongly, looking for the bonus point and very nearly succeeded with a try in the right corner which would have been justified by their determined play to the finish.
The final score of 27-12 was a fair reflection on the game with both teams producing an excellent spectacle for the supporters. Our thanks to the large number of Belvederians’ who made the trip to Cork only to be disappointed once again in our failure to overcome Cork Con. Mistakes at the lineout and falling off tackles, along with the physicality of an experienced Cork side which contained some Munster/Munster A players proved to be the difference between the teams. We must now regroup for our meeting with old rivals Blackrock, in Anglesea Road next Saturday (2.30p.m.) Come down in big numbers for the pre-match lunch or the game itself as the lads have greatly entertained us with sparking rugby this season and deserve our support as we get back on track for the League title.
~Written by Niall Pelly, 31 January 2011
Posted on 31 January 2011.
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