Longford Rugby Club strike late blow to knock out Cill Dara

Longford RFC . . . 10   Cill Dara RFC . . . 7 

The “Rope a Dope” strategy made so famous that night proved decisive as Ali delivered a late rally to catch his favoured adversary off guard and land the counter attack punches that delivered one of his most famous victories. 

And so it proved at CPL Park on Sunday last, as Longford delivered their very own “Rope a Dope” strategy to stun a frustrated Cill Dara.

For context, Longford lost their opening league fixture of the season 18-12 away to Cill Dara in September. In what was ultimately also a single score game, both sides are in truth equally matched across the park.

 This Round 8 fixture was always going to be tight and so it proved. The match day squad was again tested via injuries from last week with several changes enforced.

 Most notable perhaps was the return of the timeless Colm Glynn back to outhalf after his most recent retirement.

The first half was a drab affair with both sides essentially cancelling each other out for large periods. It was a classic slugfest with Cill Dara edging both territory and possession. 

After 13 minutes, Longford finally got their hands on the ball and managed to build a march out of their own 22 and into the Cill Dara half. 

Some smart phase play edged Longford to the outside of their opponents 22 when they were awarded a penalty central to the posts. Ryan McHugh calmly slotted the opening points to give Longford a 3-0 lead against the run of play.

Cill Dara piled on the pressure again and Longford spent much of the next period defending their line. 

After 10 minutes of determined aggression in the tackle, the referee pinged his whistle to award Cill Dara a penalty in front of the Longford posts. This was compounded by a yellow card that saw Longford reduced to 14 men.

 Discipline again was Longford’s enemy and unnecessary added pressure was gifted to a determined Cill Dara. It was the 28th minute and they decided to opt for a scrum, with their No. 8 carrying aggressively from the base. Although the first wave was thwarted, the second “pick & go” proved too much for Longford to keep out and Cill Dara were on the board. A successful conversion made it 3-7 to Cill Dara.

Longford really had to hang in given their 1-man disadvantage and did so admirably for the following 10 minutes before being returned to their full compliment. The effect was immediate, as the team finally started to get some possession and work their way into the seldom visited Cill Dara half. 

Some very tidy rugby through the backs saw Joe McGowan released on 39 minutes from just inside the Cill Dara half. After a brilliant angled sprint to the corner, it looked for all the world that he had made it only to be foiled by a superb last-ditch cover tackle by Cill Dara. 

This was the last act of an overall frustrating first half, but perhaps a late reminder that there is rugby in the team if they get the ball wide.

The second half began in similar fashion to the first with Cill Dara dominating possession and territory. The game had the feeling of one of those that just wouldn’t come Longford’s way. 

Penalties were starting to pile up against the home side and this was crystallised on 65 minutes when Longford received their second yellow card of the match. This was another very avoidable, self-inflicted handicap that should have proved decisive in favour of the more dominant Cill Dara effort to this point. 

But as can happen in sport, in adversity true character can come shining through and so was the case. The “Rope a Dope” phase of the match was coming to an end, and Longford were about to come out swinging for the remainder of the game.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, Longford began to really cut into Cill Dara. Up front Podge Farrell, Liam Brady, Benny McManus and John Geelan were more aggressive, and holes started appearing in the Cill Dara defensive line. 

Dermot Masterson was introduced on the right wing and immediately had an effect – carrying superbly up the line before putting in a very clever grubber kick to pin Cill Dara into their own corner. 

Longford secured possession and began a number of rumbles towards the Cill Dara line. After multiple efforts that came up just shy, the ever-dependable Kieran O’Gorman took matters into his own hands to burst through and score under the posts on 70 minutes. The try was converted by Ryan McHugh to swing the scoreboard 10-7 in favour of Longford.

The remainder of the game was played at great intensity by both sides, with Mark McHugh and Tom Gilheany in particular competing ferociously at every breakdown up front. George McDermott and Cormac Casey in the backs were also influential both with and without the ball. Longford remarkably grew stronger as the final minutes wound down and held their shape and discipline to see out the clock. 

What seemed like a most improbable win was secured – one that should give this team the belief that the league comeback is on this season. This wasn’t a pretty performance, but one that secured a win when in truth the team were off their optimum. That is in itself encouraging – better discipline, a fuller performance and execution will deliver better league days in the new year.

Special mention again in closing to Colm Glynn. On Sunday’s evidence, there is certainly life in the old dog yet!

LONGFORD: 1 – P O’Farrell 2 – M McHugh 3 – L Brady 4 – J Geelan 5 – B McManus 6 – A McCormack 7 – T Gilheany 8 – K O’Gorman 9 – F McGowan 10 – C Glynn 11 – R Farrell 12 – R McHugh 13 – G McDermott 14 – C Casey 15 – J McGowan 16 – B Hanley 17 – S McKeown 18 – D Geelan 19 – R Shaw 20 – D Masterson.