Longford Rugby Club snatch dramatic late win against North Kildare

Longford Senior Men’s First XV entered Round 5 of this season’s Leinster League campaign looking to maintain an unbeaten start with 3 wins and a draw already in the bag that saw them sitting 2nd in the table ahead of the game.

Longford RFC  . . . 13  North Kildare RFC . . . 5

 The visitors to Precision Health Park on Sunday last were North Kildare RFC, always a dangerous opponent and a side that has turned over Longford in each of the past 2 seasons. In perfect conditions, the teams took to the field ahead of what promised to be a full-blooded contest.

The game got underway and it was immediately evident that North Kildare were out to cause an upset with an opening exchange that was direct and very physical. Longford had to land some big hits in defence to keep the visitors at bay and indeed turned over North Kildare possession on numerous occasions to relieve the pressure. 

Longford had several good opportunities in the first half to open the scoring but were denied each time – both by North Kildare aggression on the gain line but also through handling errors that coughed up what should have been scores. 

Padraig O’Farrell was perhaps most unlucky when it looked like he was in at the corner only for the referee to award a turnover to North Kildare. Fred Davis, Mark McHugh & Andrew Farrell also made big line breaks in the first half, but each effort frustratingly broke down at ruck time post tackle.

 Frustration was starting to build within the home side and North Kildare were feeding off it. The first  half ended with a very rare scoreline in rugby of 0-0 with the home side having to reset and refocus on a match that was very much in the balance.

The second half continued in much the same vein as the first ended, with both sides essentially cancelling each other out. Longford had a couple of penalties that sailed just wide and also made several forays deep into North Kildare territory only for the last pass being forced or knocked on.

 Frustration was building and North Kildare sensed it. They made one massive intercept from deep in their half with their winger looking like he was all the way but for a superb cover tackle from Jayden Boshoff. 

Longford were living dangerously and needed to stem the flow. But North Kildare hadn’t read the script and launched again shortly after and opened the scoring with a try on 58 mins that had the home side rattled. The conversion was missed but Longford needed to come back off the ropes and quickly.

Longford were lucky shortly after as North Kildare sent the ball wide where their other winger took off into space and looked like he was all the way until an astonishing cover tackle from Longford’s Conor Craig saved the home side. Conor was unfortunately injured in making the tackle and all wish him a full and speedy recovery. 

This was the final warning for Longford and they took it, with Longford talisman Andrew Farrell taking matters into his own hands on 65 minutes via a storming charge at the North Kildare defence which he broke through before making it over the visitors try line to get the Men in Black on the scoreboard. The conversion was missed however so the sides returned to evens at 5-5.

Remarkably the stalemate continued into the final minutes and it looked like the spoils were going to have to be shared until Longford won a crucial penalty on 75 mins which Outhalf Jayden Boshoff nailed from distance to finally edge the home side ahead at 8-5. 

The lead was a crucial yet dangerous one, as North Kildare did not stop and any score for them could have been fatal for Longford given the game was in the dying minutes. 

But it was the home side who emphatically finished matters on 78 minutes when Longford’s star man Andrew Farrell brilliantly broke the line before fixing the last defender and releasing Shane Farrell who sprinted into the corner and touched down for Longford’s second try of the game. 

The touchline conversion was missed but the scoreboard moved to 13-5 in favour of Longford who left it late but managed to secure what was an absolutely crucial league win. The referee's final  whistle blew shortly after much to the relief of the home crowd in attendance.

This wasn’t a vintage performance from Longford who will know themselves that they were at times too frantic in trying to attempt passes in traffic that could easily have cost the win. The players need to reset and eliminate the errors as really Longford could have been out of sight much earlier but for unforced errors.

However, one thing this squad has in abundance is heart and they never gave up despite the frustrations that were evident throughout. Despite a hugely challenging injury list on the day, the players stood up and improvised and for this they deserve a lot of credit. Put simply, they got the job done. 

North Kildare contributed hugely to the contest and will feel the result wasn’t kind to them, with the 8-point scoreline denying them a losing bonus point. It was a contest they contributed hugely to and they will be a dangerous opponent when the sides meet again next February in Kilcock.

Up front, there were big shifts from Padraig Farrell, Conor Craig, Fred Davis, Mark McHugh and Alan Crowe. Nigel Reilly also made a big impression when he came on in the second half. In the backs, Shane Farrell and Cormac Casey were always dangerous, with big carries the order of the day via Fergal McGlade at 12.

 Ryan McHugh had a huge game at 9 where he kept North Kildare guessing all throughout the game and on any other day would likely have secured the Man of the Match honours. But he was denied by his teammate at 13, Andrew Farrell who grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck exactly when it was needed and made the crucial difference that ultimately delivered the win for Longford. Andrew was deservedly awarded the BMS Player of the Match tankard after the match.

A big positive is that Longford are still unbeaten in the league this season and sit second in the table behind only Coolmine RFC. They enter Round 6 this weekend with another home fixture, this time against Balbriggan RFC. All support is greatly appreciated at Precision Health Park

Longford Squad v North Kildare RFC: 1 – P O’Farrell 2 – C Craig 3 – D Quinn 4 – F Davis 5 – J Geelan 6 – A Crowe (c) 7 – M McHugh 8 – S McKeown 9 – R McHugh 10 – J Boshoff 11 – S Farrell 12 – F McGlade 13 – A Farrell 14 – C Casey 15 – J McGowan 16 – R Collum 17 – J Murray 18 – C Shannon 19 – N Reilly 20 – D Connolly.