No stopping slick Longford RFC in fine win over Edenderry

Longford RFC . . . 37   Edenderry RFC . . . 19 

After a run of frustrating results, the Men in Black knew that this had to be the fixture to redirect the trajectory in terms of their League position and arrived in determined mood to do just that. 

Despite the recent run of poor results, there has been evidence that the side were not far away from a big performance and with it to finally land a win that has since the opening day eluded them.

The game got underway and from the offset it was the visitors who laid siege in a rampant opening exchange that was immediately rewarded by way of a penalty in the first minute. Ryan McHugh calmly slotted the opening points and Longford were up and running, 3-0. 

The visitors immediately ramped up the pressure again from the restart and swarmed over the Edenderry defence, unleashing phase after phase of direct and clever rugby that had the hosts scrambling. 

This pressure was rewarded on 11 minutes by way of a second penalty which again Ryan McHugh slotted to move matters to 6-0 to Longford. 

Edenderry came back into the game and despite a number of occasions when Longford could have further extended their lead, they failed to execute the final pass or were pinged at the breakdown. 

Despite both territorial and possession advantages, the dam still wasn’t breaking and in other fixtures this season that frustration has led to loss of focus that opponents have fed off.

However, this week patience was the key and on 29 minutes Longford spread the ball wide after several close-range drives from the forwards. 

Outhalf Danny McHugh spun the ball laser like to cousin Ryan McHugh who committed the final defender before releasing the ever improving Scott O’Boyle on the wing to get in at the corner and bag the opening try of the fixture. 11-0 to Longford and just reward for a superb opening half hour.

Longford clicked up a gear even further at this point and played some brilliant rugby that had Edenderry in big trouble. Up front Seamus McKeown, Liam Brady, Fred Davis and Alan Crowe were everywhere, both in defence and attack.

 Nigel Reilly was causing chaos at the breakdown and Barry Sullivan never conceded an inch at the coalface.

But it was partners in crime Ger Mullarkey and Andrew Beirne at second row who stole the show in a dominant display that was at the heart of Longford’s vastly improved forward performance. 

Indeed, it was Beirne who made the next impression on the scoreboard on 37 minutes when after receiving a quick tap penalty from 10 metres out, he surged towards the Edenderry try line and even managed a delicate sidestep of the last defender before touching down. 

Ryan McHugh converted to stretch Longford’s advantage to 18-0 with only a couple of minutes to go in the first half. 

Edenderry did however manage a try from the subsequent restart after a well-executed back’s move that brought the first half to a close at 18-5 to Longford.

Longford continued where they left off as the second half got underway with the same intensity and steely focus so evident in the first 40 minutes. 

It was Andrew Farrell who made the next impression on 48 minutes with one of the tries of the season. Taking a pass bang on the halfway line, he set off and took out 4 Edenderry defenders with a brilliant running line that saw him break through into open space and turn on the jets to touch down under the posts. 

Ryan McHugh converted to move Longford 25-2 ahead. On 55 minutes, it was the turn of Ger Mullarkey to keep his impressive try tally this season ticking over with another smart pick and go from close in to touch down

what is fast becoming his trademark move. Ryan McHugh converted, and Longford were 32-5 up and every penny worth the dominant scoreline. 

To their credit, Edenderry kept coming back and the visitors were annoyed at events over the next 10 minutes. On 60 minutes their first centre barged through from close range to bring Edenderry back to 32-12. On 70 minutes Longford were penalised for collapsing a driving lineout maul with a straight penalty try to further close the gap to 32-19.

From the resulting kick off, Edenderry fumbled the drop off and it was blistering winger Scott O’Boyle who smartly collected the loose ball just past the Edenderry 10 metre line before taking off through heavy traffic and jinking his way down the touchline for the game's final try to improve the Longford lead to 37-19. 

This is how it finished, and a very fair reflection of a job well done by a team who know that this is the level required for the rest of the season.

In the backline there were superb performances from Robbie Shaw and Daithi Connolly who controlled the tempo and executed their roles brilliantly. 

However, there was one man above all others in this fixture and that was Andrew Farrell who put on a Man of the Match display that was simply different class. 

Worthy mentions also to the returning Kevin Rodgers and Daire O’Brien who each made big, physical impressions off the bench and contributed significantly to the team performance.

Longford have now set down a marker for themselves for the rest of the season. Having finally put in a performance reflective of this side’s talents, the challenge is to now repeat and maintain this level of display. 

This result will only really matter if it is backed up. With key Outhalf Jayden Boshoff among others still to return to the squad over the coming weeks, there are no more excuses. The charge back into the season has to start here.

Longford have a break this weekend and return on Sunday 24th November at 2:30pm when they host New Ross RFC for Round 7 of this year’s League schedule. All support at the Rugby Club greatly appreciated.

Longford Squad v Edenderry RFC: 1 – S McKeown 2 – B Sullivan 3 – L Brady 4 – G Mullarkey 5 – A Beirne 6 – A Crowe 7 – N Reilly 8 – F Davis 9 – R Shaw 10 – D McHugh 11 –S Farrell 12 – A Farrell 13 – D Connolly 14 – S O’Boyle 15 – R McHugh 16 – R Collum 17 – P Farrell 18 – K Rodgers 19 – D O’Brien 20 – M McCormack.

Longford 2nd XV battle back to beat Edenderry

 Report: Matt Hanley

Longford second squad made the relatively short journey to Edenderry looking to bounce back from the first defeat of the season last week. Promotion to the 1st XV for three players and absences saw a changed backline with Conor English making his starting debut and Kenagh’s Kevin Byrne coming into the centre. 

The squad was bolstered by the return of Peadar Kenny, the evergreen Philly Dardis and Ernest Omoniyi. The home team have had a tough early season, but you would not have thought it as they started like a train. 

Their tidy halfback pairing brought their big carriers on to the ball and Longford infringed to provide an easy 3-point opportunity. The visitors couldn’t get their hands on the ball and when they did a mixture of poor execution and bad decision making handed it back cheaply.

Edenderry tacked on a further 3 points before they looked to be in for a certain try but a superb covering tackle by Danny Casey and turnover by man of the match Brian Hanley briefly relieved the pressure. 

The respite was short lived, and the Offaly men were in for a 5 pointer in the corner following some good hands by their backs.

11-0 was  a sizeable deficit but Longford were roused from their slumber following a dazzling run by Conor English. They worked their way to the opposition line but were held up on a couple of occasions and also lost the ball in contact close to the line and finished the half scoreless.

 The Longford lads regrouped and took the game to the home team  from the restart. The backline moved the ball well across the line and set Adrian Shortt free to dot down in the corner. The difficult conversion was wide. 

Longford took the lead shortly after when the excellent John Geelan drove over from close in with Jack Magan adding the extras. 

The lead stretched to 8 with the same two getting the points from a similar distance but this wasn’t the end of the scoring with the home team driving to the line and getting over for 5 points. Longford held on to their 3-point lead to the end and left the Offaly venue with the 4 points on offer.