A terrible beauty is born
By Clontarf October 13 2009
I write out in a verse -
Casey and Kennedy
And Armitage and Lamb
Now and in time to be,
Whenever green is worn
Are changed, changed utterly;
A terrible beauty is born.
With apologies to WB Yeats and those heroes of Friday night not named.
I write out in a verse -
Casey and Kennedy
And Armitage and Lamb
Now and in time to be,
Whenever green is worn
Are changed, changed utterly;
A terrible beauty is born.
With apologies to WB Yeats and those heroes of Friday night not named.
When I awoke in my old childhood bedroom on Saturday morning, late Saturday morning, the changes were plain to see - the decor in the room was infinitely better, the hangover was much worse and Leinster had lost a vital rugby match and I was elated.
The terrible beauty is perhaps more difficult to see. At Dublin airport on Sunday afternoon I bumped into an old classmate who was in town for the Ireland v Italy football match on Saturday and who had watched our game on Friday night with other friends in Clontarf Rugby Club and who said by way of greeting "I suppose you were here for that dreadful game I watched on Friday night"
Since Brian Smith's arrival more than 4 years ago London Irish have developed a beautiful exciting brand of high risk rugby which is joy to watch and which I believe is vital if we are to win the big prizes. But there is still a place in rugby for dogged defence and the ability to stand firm while a confident opposition are throwing everything at you and this victory was as beautiful to me as the 9 try extravaganza at Wasps a few ago. It may not have looked beautiful on the television but in its intensity, commitment, passion and excitement it was a magnificent contest.
An early start on Friday saw us arrive at Gatwick at 0700 hrs. Muttered good mornings and sympathetic nods of the head to other green shirted travellers was all we could manage. This was much too early for conversation especially as there was no coffee for sale at the boarding gate.
Dublin was its usual wet, grey and dreary self when we got to the city centre at midday. We started slowly knowing that this was going to be a marathon rather than a sprint. A relaxed hour of culture with The Impressionists in the Hugh Lane Gallery was followed by a substantial lunch to provide ballast for the remainder of day.
Then with quickening pulses we made our way to The Vaults under Amiens Street Railway Station. Congratulations to the team at London Irish, this was a great venue - 4 or 5 large railway arches with, at least, 2 bars and loads of space for the fans who turned up. I'm not an expert in these things but I'd say there was between 500 and 1000 people there.
The ever smiling Topsy turned up, as did the off duty Caimh and I had a long conversation with Mr Brownlee of Pump Technology, aka Mr Poo, who is passionate about his rugby, Tadley Rugby Club and the South Sea Islanders. At 5 o'clock the bar went into happy hour mode and, at 2 for the price of 1, the Guinness at 5+ euros a pint no longer seemed exorbitant. Bowls of cocktail sausages, chicken wings and chips were doing the rounds and there were green flags for all.
As kick-off approached the breezy confidence of earlier was replaced by nerves; The rain had stopped and the sky had brightened as we made our way to the RDS, with a quick look at the new Lansdowne Road Stadium en route.We took our seats in the uncovered north stand which seemed to be on the western side of the pitch, but who cares for details like that. It was clear that the Leinster supporters around us thought we were candidates for the local loony bin when we suggested that London Irish had a good chance. Leinster are, after all, the Heineken Champions and had just completed a 30 nil demolition of Munster at this venue the previous weekend.
Johnny Sexton kicked off for Leinster and Irish were immediately under pressure. O'Driscoll grabbed a loose ball and made the sort of the break that would normally have me cheering to the rafters. Peter Hewat made the saving tackle but Irish were penalised at the ruck and Sexton slotted the penalty.
3 nil to Leinster after 2 minutes and their supporters around us were jubilant. Maybe we were in for a long night.
From the restart Irish were again under pressure. From our position, behind the goal that Leinster defended in the 1st half, my memory is of Paul Hodgson, at the other end of the pitch, furiously waving his arms and marshalling his defence for the almost constant attacks, as Leinster played a high tempo, physical game and took it to the Irish.
Hewat and Sexton traded penalties around the 10 minute mark as Leinster maintained their 3 point advantage.
Our scrum appeared under pressure in the early stages but as the half progressed the Irish, although defending most of the time, began to look more comfortable. Leinster kicked 2 penalties to the 22 but first the defence and then an uplifting lineout steal ensured they gained no further advantage.
Both sides kicked frequently for position with Leinster in the shape of Nacewa more prepared to run the ball back. A good break by him set up Luke Fitzgerald but Chris Malone brought off a try saving tackle.
When play came down to our end of the pitch a mass outbreak of handbags resulted in yellow cards for David Paice and Jamie Heaslip.
As the half drew to a close it was obvious that the Leinster supporters were not quite as vocal or as confident as they had been at the start and when Peter Hewat engineered a scrum back for an overlong kick by Rob Kearney the referee's parentage and sexual practices started to be questioned. At 6- 3 down I was confident that the Irish changing room would be the happier at half-time but then Sexton missed, Peter Hewat didn't and I went happily down the steps to replenish the Guinness supplies and so I can't comment on the tag rugby or the part played by MH's son in the Birr team.
The 2nd half was in many ways a continuation of the 1st. Both defences looked strong and there were a number of bouts of baseline kick tennis. The Irish were causing Leinster lots of problems in the lineout and in the loose with the Irish backrow winning the battle at the breakdown. The Leinster flankers were pressurising the Irish 1st receiver with the kicking duties sometimes falling to Seilala Mapasua. At one point the Irish decided to run from their own try line and although the passes went to hand and nobody appeared to die of heart attack beside me the Leinster defence managed to stop a breakaway try.
Peter Hewat had an early chance to put Irish ahead but missed and later saw a long range effort fall just short.The strength of the current Irish squad was evident around the 60 minute mark as Danie Coetzee, Ryan Lamb and Paulica Ion came on for David Paice, Chris Malone and Faan and the intensity never faltered.Ryan Lamb got his chance on 65 minutes and calmly kicked Irish into a 6 - 9 lead.
Leinster attacked but the Irish defence was again equal to the task and when it looked that Irish had weathered the storm a kick from Peter Hewat was too long and Leinster had a scrum on the Irish 22. Irish were penalised at the scrum and Johnny Sexton levelled the scores again.
In the 77 minute an Irish charge upfield, by now all attempts at note keeping had disappeared so I've no idea who made break, set up another penalty chance. The absolute silence for the kicks had one the features of the evening and even with the game slipping away from them the Leinster supporters maintained their silence and Ryan Lamb was more than equal to the pressure kick. 9 - 12 to the Irish and 2 minutes on the clock.
Irish failed to control the restart and Leinster threw everything at them. Desperate tackles were made on both wings and finally a chest high wrap around tackle from Chris Hala'Ufia on Johnny Sexton caused momentary flutters before M. Pointe signalled play on. Eoin Reddan kicked ahead and Dodge touched down and that was it.
The Leinster supporters sat in stunned silence, they obviously couldn't believe it and judging by the photos we took of the scoreboard when we sneaked on to the pitch for a private celebration a little later some of them still didn't it believe even an hour after the final whistle.
Scoreboards can lie but at London Irish we know the score.
The terrible beauty is perhaps more difficult to see. At Dublin airport on Sunday afternoon I bumped into an old classmate who was in town for the Ireland v Italy football match on Saturday and who had watched our game on Friday night with other friends in Clontarf Rugby Club and who said by way of greeting "I suppose you were here for that dreadful game I watched on Friday night"
Since Brian Smith's arrival more than 4 years ago London Irish have developed a beautiful exciting brand of high risk rugby which is joy to watch and which I believe is vital if we are to win the big prizes. But there is still a place in rugby for dogged defence and the ability to stand firm while a confident opposition are throwing everything at you and this victory was as beautiful to me as the 9 try extravaganza at Wasps a few ago. It may not have looked beautiful on the television but in its intensity, commitment, passion and excitement it was a magnificent contest.
An early start on Friday saw us arrive at Gatwick at 0700 hrs. Muttered good mornings and sympathetic nods of the head to other green shirted travellers was all we could manage. This was much too early for conversation especially as there was no coffee for sale at the boarding gate.
Dublin was its usual wet, grey and dreary self when we got to the city centre at midday. We started slowly knowing that this was going to be a marathon rather than a sprint. A relaxed hour of culture with The Impressionists in the Hugh Lane Gallery was followed by a substantial lunch to provide ballast for the remainder of day.
Then with quickening pulses we made our way to The Vaults under Amiens Street Railway Station. Congratulations to the team at London Irish, this was a great venue - 4 or 5 large railway arches with, at least, 2 bars and loads of space for the fans who turned up. I'm not an expert in these things but I'd say there was between 500 and 1000 people there.
The ever smiling Topsy turned up, as did the off duty Caimh and I had a long conversation with Mr Brownlee of Pump Technology, aka Mr Poo, who is passionate about his rugby, Tadley Rugby Club and the South Sea Islanders. At 5 o'clock the bar went into happy hour mode and, at 2 for the price of 1, the Guinness at 5+ euros a pint no longer seemed exorbitant. Bowls of cocktail sausages, chicken wings and chips were doing the rounds and there were green flags for all.
As kick-off approached the breezy confidence of earlier was replaced by nerves; The rain had stopped and the sky had brightened as we made our way to the RDS, with a quick look at the new Lansdowne Road Stadium en route.We took our seats in the uncovered north stand which seemed to be on the western side of the pitch, but who cares for details like that. It was clear that the Leinster supporters around us thought we were candidates for the local loony bin when we suggested that London Irish had a good chance. Leinster are, after all, the Heineken Champions and had just completed a 30 nil demolition of Munster at this venue the previous weekend.
Johnny Sexton kicked off for Leinster and Irish were immediately under pressure. O'Driscoll grabbed a loose ball and made the sort of the break that would normally have me cheering to the rafters. Peter Hewat made the saving tackle but Irish were penalised at the ruck and Sexton slotted the penalty.
3 nil to Leinster after 2 minutes and their supporters around us were jubilant. Maybe we were in for a long night.
From the restart Irish were again under pressure. From our position, behind the goal that Leinster defended in the 1st half, my memory is of Paul Hodgson, at the other end of the pitch, furiously waving his arms and marshalling his defence for the almost constant attacks, as Leinster played a high tempo, physical game and took it to the Irish.
Hewat and Sexton traded penalties around the 10 minute mark as Leinster maintained their 3 point advantage.
Our scrum appeared under pressure in the early stages but as the half progressed the Irish, although defending most of the time, began to look more comfortable. Leinster kicked 2 penalties to the 22 but first the defence and then an uplifting lineout steal ensured they gained no further advantage.
Both sides kicked frequently for position with Leinster in the shape of Nacewa more prepared to run the ball back. A good break by him set up Luke Fitzgerald but Chris Malone brought off a try saving tackle.
When play came down to our end of the pitch a mass outbreak of handbags resulted in yellow cards for David Paice and Jamie Heaslip.
As the half drew to a close it was obvious that the Leinster supporters were not quite as vocal or as confident as they had been at the start and when Peter Hewat engineered a scrum back for an overlong kick by Rob Kearney the referee's parentage and sexual practices started to be questioned. At 6- 3 down I was confident that the Irish changing room would be the happier at half-time but then Sexton missed, Peter Hewat didn't and I went happily down the steps to replenish the Guinness supplies and so I can't comment on the tag rugby or the part played by MH's son in the Birr team.
The 2nd half was in many ways a continuation of the 1st. Both defences looked strong and there were a number of bouts of baseline kick tennis. The Irish were causing Leinster lots of problems in the lineout and in the loose with the Irish backrow winning the battle at the breakdown. The Leinster flankers were pressurising the Irish 1st receiver with the kicking duties sometimes falling to Seilala Mapasua. At one point the Irish decided to run from their own try line and although the passes went to hand and nobody appeared to die of heart attack beside me the Leinster defence managed to stop a breakaway try.
Peter Hewat had an early chance to put Irish ahead but missed and later saw a long range effort fall just short.The strength of the current Irish squad was evident around the 60 minute mark as Danie Coetzee, Ryan Lamb and Paulica Ion came on for David Paice, Chris Malone and Faan and the intensity never faltered.Ryan Lamb got his chance on 65 minutes and calmly kicked Irish into a 6 - 9 lead.
Leinster attacked but the Irish defence was again equal to the task and when it looked that Irish had weathered the storm a kick from Peter Hewat was too long and Leinster had a scrum on the Irish 22. Irish were penalised at the scrum and Johnny Sexton levelled the scores again.
In the 77 minute an Irish charge upfield, by now all attempts at note keeping had disappeared so I've no idea who made break, set up another penalty chance. The absolute silence for the kicks had one the features of the evening and even with the game slipping away from them the Leinster supporters maintained their silence and Ryan Lamb was more than equal to the pressure kick. 9 - 12 to the Irish and 2 minutes on the clock.
Irish failed to control the restart and Leinster threw everything at them. Desperate tackles were made on both wings and finally a chest high wrap around tackle from Chris Hala'Ufia on Johnny Sexton caused momentary flutters before M. Pointe signalled play on. Eoin Reddan kicked ahead and Dodge touched down and that was it.
The Leinster supporters sat in stunned silence, they obviously couldn't believe it and judging by the photos we took of the scoreboard when we sneaked on to the pitch for a private celebration a little later some of them still didn't it believe even an hour after the final whistle.
Scoreboards can lie but at London Irish we know the score.
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StumbleuponA terrible beauty is born
Posted by: The Craic www.londonirish.org (IP Logged)
Date: 13/10/2009 21:22
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Re: A terrible beauty is born
Posted by: Eek_the_Weeble (IP Logged)
Date: 14/10/2009 07:22
Great report - Thank you
Re: A terrible beauty is born
Posted by: balpw2. (IP Logged)
Date: 14/10/2009 07:32
Excellent well written report. Watched it on TV but you've captured the atmosphere that you miss when you watch from your armchair. Thanks.
Re: A terrible beauty is born
Posted by: JamesC (IP Logged)
Date: 14/10/2009 07:37
A great read - much better than I could have ever written. Don't expect any favours in the quiz on the 25th Nov though on the back of this
Re: A terrible beauty is born
Posted by: cailín úr (IP Logged)
Date: 14/10/2009 08:57
Smashing report Clontarf! What a night! Still haven't stopped smiling.
Re: A terrible beauty is born
Posted by: Props are not stupid (IP Logged)
Date: 14/10/2009 09:03
I would have been in no estate to write something like this. Well done for keeping yourself sober enough to do it!
Re: A terrible beauty is born
Posted by: MontrealExile (IP Logged)
Date: 14/10/2009 09:31
Well done, a comprehensive report......thanks.
ME
RUGBY PLAYERS DO IT WITH LEATHER BALLS
ME
RUGBY PLAYERS DO IT WITH LEATHER BALLS
Re: A terrible beauty is born
Posted by: mulledwinemarie (IP Logged)
Date: 14/10/2009 13:29
Marvellous - just as I remember it -.........to friends old and new - thank you...................what a night.
MWM
GLORY GLORY London Irish - and loving it -
MWM
GLORY GLORY London Irish - and loving it -
Re: A terrible beauty is born
Posted by: Shawshank (IP Logged)
Date: 14/10/2009 13:57
Brilliant report, best I've read for many a season. Thanks
Re: A terrible beauty is born
Posted by: Clontarf (IP Logged)
Date: 14/10/2009 14:17
Thanks for comments everybody.
I watched the highlights after the game on Friday night and can't remember a single thing about them, I haven't seen the recording yet but as the game was reported in every newspaper in these islands I was able to check anything where the notes were an indecipherable scribble.
It makes it easier than reporting on a game that receives less coverage.
I watched the highlights after the game on Friday night and can't remember a single thing about them, I haven't seen the recording yet but as the game was reported in every newspaper in these islands I was able to check anything where the notes were an indecipherable scribble.
It makes it easier than reporting on a game that receives less coverage.
Re: A terrible beauty is born
Posted by: mackemII (IP Logged)
Date: 14/10/2009 17:36
A great report indeed Brendan. Will you be in the Gateway on Saturday, may partake of the big breakfast there instead of my usual haunt in Oxford?
Re: A terrible beauty is born
Posted by: MH@Biorra (IP Logged)
Date: 14/10/2009 17:47
Clontarf
Been without Internet coverage for 4/5 days, so it was with great pleasure to read your match report. What a game.
Thanks for making mention of Birr Under 12s, they all had a great evening, the talk of the town playing at the RDS.
Been without Internet coverage for 4/5 days, so it was with great pleasure to read your match report. What a game.
Thanks for making mention of Birr Under 12s, they all had a great evening, the talk of the town playing at the RDS.
Re: A terrible beauty is born
Posted by: Clontarf (IP Logged)
Date: 14/10/2009 22:31
Bill
That sounds like agreat idea, haven't been to the Gateway for a while. Unfortunately I couldn't go to there to see the recent Leinster v Munster clash. The landlord, Martin, is from Inishannon (Cork, Munster) and wide smiles and gloating would have been the order of the day.
Does midday sound like a good idea?
I know we have to win on Saturday and I suppose lots of folk think we should romp a 4 try bonus point but I don't know how the team get themselves up for it, I'm still drained from last Friday .........................................
and Saturday ..............................................
and Sunday
That sounds like agreat idea, haven't been to the Gateway for a while. Unfortunately I couldn't go to there to see the recent Leinster v Munster clash. The landlord, Martin, is from Inishannon (Cork, Munster) and wide smiles and gloating would have been the order of the day.
Does midday sound like a good idea?
I know we have to win on Saturday and I suppose lots of folk think we should romp a 4 try bonus point but I don't know how the team get themselves up for it, I'm still drained from last Friday .........................................
and Saturday ..............................................
and Sunday
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