Life begins at 40?

By North End Rambler
December 15 2014

Albion’s new defence coach will have plenty to get his teeth into following a brutal 30 minute mauling by the young starlets of Leinster during a sizzling display of slick attacking and lethal finishing skills. To their credit, Albion did not completely disintegrate under the onslaught and gradually altered the character of the game to blunt the Leinster attack and impose some of their own will on the game.

The stark facts of the game are well and accurately documented on the PARFC Official Website and in the Herald match report. The Dublin issue of the Irish Times merely reported the final score before moving on to complain that spectators were charged €10 to watch the Women’s Cup Final which followed on the same pitch. This report seeks to complement the others by adding some personal observations and reflections of the match.

The ground at Donnybrook has had a major revamp since Leinster rugby decamped to the larger RDS and Aviva stadiums. The playing surface is flat, even and recently converted to 4G technology. This should not have been a major handicap to the Albion players because they often use a similar surface on the MoD training ground. The clubhouse is now used by Wesley RFC who play in near identical shirts to Albion’s classic red and green hoops on white. It was just like going home!

Moving on to the Leinster team selection, the home supporters were quick to dispel any repeat of the Carmarthen/Llanelli/ Llandovery ‘amalgamation’. The Leinster A team was being groomed and displayed as the future stars of Leinster and indeed Irish international rugby. When a group of hardened supporters were surveyed to nominate a list of players on display who would be future Ireland international players, a spine of a team found broad support; tight head Peter Dooley, lock Ross Molony, open side flanker Josh van der Flier, scrum half Luke McGrath, right winger Cian Kelleher. But there was one player who received plaudit upon commendation upon hero worship and he was the outside centre, Garry Ringrose. He was voted Young Irish player of the last Youth World Cup and many other awards. So much so that after I had heard so much from so many Leinster men, I was forced to ask one of them if Ringrose was the next Brian O’Driscoll. He thought long and hard before he replied. ‘Maybe not’, but there was enough doubt in his voice to suggest that he could be wrong. It must be said that saying anything against ‘BOD’ in this part of Ireland is akin to doubting the Authority of the Pope. The presence of a large number of senior officers and coaching staff demonstrated the importance they attached to this fixture given that there was also a First XV fixture down the road later in the day. Leinster were not taking this fixture lightly - they wanted to win and to win in style.

On arrival at the ground I enquired about the state of the Albion players after their eventful journey. The answer was a single word, ‘Tired’. And so the stage was set. Albion in their preferred ‘away’ red strip started well enough with some imaginative attacks, but the blue shirts of Leinster held their 22m line well until Albion spilled the ball in contact. Leinster counter-attacked with dazzling speed and rapier-like penetration to stun Albion with a superb try. The next 30 minutes were truly dismal for Albion. The ‘points scored’ box on the scoreboard was moving faster than the clock. The Leinster players as a team were attacking with flair and speed; Albion could not make their tackles stick and covering tackles merely served to expose more gaps for the Leinster attack to exploit. Albion were floundering in the collision areas; when they carried the ball into contact they invariably lost it - and even when able to stem an attack, Leinster were able to recycle the ball so quickly and cleanly that the situation could not in reality be termed as the ‘breakdown’. Albion seemed so lethargic that I was beginning to wonder if the players had been forced to swim across the Irish Sea. The dizzying rapidity of scoring was clearly beginning to affect the spirit of Albion players on and off the pitch. Every time Albion lost the ball, it seemed that rather than rev up the adrenaline to smother the coming attack there was an air of ‘Here we go again’. I felt that if this had been a prize fight, the referee would have sent the fighter back to the red corner to prevent further punishment.

Something had to be done. Leinster would have quite happily played this open, fluent running rugby in near perfect conditions all afternoon. The great hope for Albion’s survival would be to tighten up the game and slowly grind and drain the sparkle out of the Leinster starlets. They had to look for chances to play the game in a manner which suited them. Their chance came with 5 minutes of the first half remaining. A solid scrum on the Leinster 22 allowed some safe handling, good lines to be run and a very satisfactory try near the posts. Half time came and Albion had been handed a lifeline.

The challenge for Albion in the second half was to stifle the mercurial running of the Leinster attack, play pragmatic rugby and hope to restore some balance to the counter. They responded well and soon had the scorer adding more points to their total. It would have taken a minor miracle to achieve parity but a boost to confidence would have been a satisfactory outcome. However, the old motto of ‘When you have your foot on the neck of a snake, keep it there’. Sadly they let it slip a couple of times and sure enough the Leinster viper struck. To their credit, Albion fought to the final whistle and were rewarded with a last move try.

Disappointing as the scoreline is, the second half performance went some way to restore some belief in the team. Indeed, many Leinster supporters saw my cherry, white and green scarf and approached me to say how impressed they were with Albion’s performance in the second half. ‘Not many teams could score four well worked tries against this one’ was a theme of their comments. However, the encouraging display of the second half seemed to do little to lift the spirits of the players and they left the field disconsolate to a man. I hope that a short rest will bring the players back to play to their full potential. I have written to Santa Claus with a request for better fortune in 2015. 

Match Report: Leinster A 59 - 26 PARFC (B&I Cup)

Discussion started by Unofficial Plymouth Albion (IP Logged), 15/12/2014 19:59

Unofficial Plymouth Albion
15/12/2014 19:59

What do you think? You can have your say by posting below.
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.

Reply Quote Report

noibla
15/12/2014 21:53

Good report N.E.R. thanks, an interesting read.

Semper Sersum.

Reply Quote Report

Man Friday
16/12/2014 16:40

Excellent report. Something good came out of Saturday!

Reply Quote Report

Ralbion
18/12/2014 10:21

A truly great read. Very helpful to get a more in depth and fans eye view that more official sites don't have room for. I really hope the whole club can dig deep and keep this famous club playing Championship rugby. We have qualities others lack. Luck certainly isn't with us, nor should we wait for it. There are fans waiting to flock back and make this the club that it should be. But as in any sport it's wins and the psychological uplift it brings that are needed. The city needs it, the players need it, the staff need it. Remember London Welsh? Who'd've thought it. Remember out smarting Exeter to a beautiful victory the year they went up. Now it's Cornish Pirates turn. Play with heart as much as skill. Banish fear. Cover the mistakes and go again. We are with you. C'mon Albion, the time is NOW. Merry Christmas to you all. LET'S DO IT PLYMOUTH.

Reply Quote Report

Forum List Message List Search Log In

Your Name:
Subject:

We record all IP addresses on the Sportnetwork message boards which may be required by the authorities in case of defamatory or abusive comment. We seek to monitor the Message Boards at regular intervals. We do not associate Sportnetwork with any of the comments and do not take responsibility for any statements or opinions expressed on the Message Boards. If you have any cause for concern over any material posted here please let us know as soon as possible by e-mailing abuse@sportnetwork.net