Rampant Longford Rugby Club rattle Mullingar in the Towns Cup

The Provincial Towns Cup rolled into town on Sunday last with Longford RFC drawn to host local rivals Mullingar RFC in a mouth-watering fixture.

Longford RFC . . . 35    Mullingar RFC . . . 20

 This Round 2 encounter drew a large crowd as the Derby opportunity has become less frequent over the past 2 seasons given that Mullingar currently sit in the division above Longford in the Leinster League.

 The Towns Cup is the traditional “holy grail” for provincial rugby, and both sides had serious intent on progressing to the quarter-finals by way of a victory over the “the old enemy”. To a calm and even balmy early spring setting, the sides took to the field ready for the blistering battle predicted in the build-up.

The game took off to a frantic opening tempo, with both sides launching everything at each other to gain an early foothold. Mullingar carried hard through their physical pack showing plenty of early evidence that danger lurked also through their backline.

 Longford managed however to turnover the ball on the 15th minute and from a scrum just outside the Mullingar 22 they set with intent to attack. This they did superbly with Seamus McKeown from 8 feeding the ball to scrumhalf Ryan McHugh who popped a deft ball to centre Andre Farrell who took the ball at pace, ripping through the Mullingar defence and making it home from the 22 metre line to open the scoring for the Men in Black. Outhalf Jayden Boshoff converted and Longford had an early 7-0 lead.

It was Andrew Farrell again on 34 minutes who made the next impact, this time from even further out. Longford launched the ball from ruck, with second row Andrew Beirne the impact pivot who fed Farrell again at full burst from the halfway line. 

There was no stopping the Newtowncashel Express as he surged forward to finally touch down another remarkable solo effort. Scrumhalf Ryan McHugh this time added the extras and Longford were deservedly 14-0 in front.

 The big crowd in attendance barely had time to catch their breath when Farrell yet again did the damage as the first half was closing. After a wave of pick n’go’ s from the pack, the ball was moved to Paddy Duggan at centre who cleverly drew 2 defenders before releasing Farrell on his shoulder through the tightest of gaps for him to barge over from 10 metres. Boshoff this time converted, and Longford were 21-0 up and well worth their remarkable lead. 

Mullingar did manage to open their own account on the stroke of halftime to leave matters 21-3 in favour of Longford at the break. It was a brutally effective first  act from Longford, but nobody was getting carried away as Mullingar are a very good side and despite the scoreline, a response was going to come.

However, it was Longford who immediately set the pace in the second half and emphatically killed the game off after only four minutes of the restart. After some smart phase play, the ball was spread wide to Paddy Duggan at centre who straightened towards the Mullingar 22.

 With smart options on either side of the last defender, he fed the ball back inside to winger Daithi Connolly who ran a superb line at pace to get in at the clubhouse corner for Longford’s fourth try of the day. Outhalf Jayden Boshoff brilliantly converted and Longford were 28-3 ahead. This rampant, relentless and ruthless rugby from the Men in Black.

Mullingar reacted despite the deficit they faced, and to their credit managed a well worked try from distance on 75 minutes to bring back the gap to 28-8. Longford had the next say in what was proving a frantic last few minutes when scrumhalf Ryan McHugh brilliantly broke from the base of a scrum outside the Mullingar 22. 

Showing deft footwork and vision to match, he created space and put Jamie Byrne in under the posts for Longford’s 5th try of the day. Boshoff converted and the score moved to 35-8. Remarkably there was still time for more scores, and it was Mullingar who finished out the game with 2 more tries to bring the numbers to a more respectable 35-20 by the time the final whistle sounded. 

This was a huge win for Longford and a statement performance as the team enters the business end of their season. Every match, League and Cup, is a must win from this point forward with everything to play for on both fronts.

 Literally every player who took to the field contributed massively. The front row of Padraig Farrell, Ronan Collum and  Dylan Quinn were reinforced throughout by the ever-dependable Liam Brady and each had fine games and delivered a solid and, in many instances, dominant scrum platform.

 Andrew Beirne and John Geelan were immense at second row with each delivering big hits and making crucial metres at the coalface. The backrow of Alan Crowe, Mark McHugh and Seamus McKeown collectively had another big impact, never giving Mullingar a second to breath.

In the backs, Ryan McHugh was the maestro at scrumhalf, ably complimented by Jayden Boshoff at 10 who executed the game plan brilliantly. Paddy Duggan was equally brave and clever at center, making and taking big hits in tight spaces to selflessly release others.

 Shane Farrell, Daithi Connolly & Padraig Boyle are forming a very balanced back 3 with seamless interchanges and a telepathic understanding of where each will be. 

But it is yet again Andrew Farrell who takes the Man of the Match honours with another outstanding personal performance that gave Longford all the crucial momentum for this win. His strength and speed are a unique mix, and when blended with a natural footballing skillset he is simply unstoppable when in this form. He is the worthiest winner of this week’s accolade.

After the match, the draw for the Quarter-Finals of the Leinster Provincial Towns Cup was broadcast by Leinster Rugby from Longford Rugby Club. Longford were drawn away to fellow Leinster League 2A side Newbridge RFC for what promises to be another cracking contest on Sunday March 29th.

 In the meantime, Longford turn their focus back to Leinster League duties and the final round fixture v Coolmine RFC at Precision Health Park next Sunday. This is a top of the table fixture where Longford need to repeat the levels displayed v Mullingar in the hope of securing a closing league home win and a place in the play-off’s for Division 1B next season. Another massive game in store at Longford Rugby Club next weekend.

Longford Squad v Mullingar RFC: 1 – P O’Farrell. 2 – R Collum. 3 – D Quinn.  4 – A Beirne.        5 – J Geelan.  6 – A Crowe (captain).  7 – M McHugh. 8 – S McKeown. 9 – R McHugh. 10 – J Boshoff. 11 – S Farrell. 12 – A Farrell. 13 – P Duggan. 14 –D Connolly. 15 – P Boyle. 

16 – B Sullivan. 17 – L Brady. 18 – D Geelan.  19 – D Rogan. 20 – J McGowan. 21 – J Byrne. 22 – C Mulligan.