UCD v AIB
On what was a dry and clear day in Dublin the UCD Super 4’s met in the Pavilion Changing room number 2 next to the Belfield Bowl. There was a sense of duty amongst the team that I had not seen before. There wasn’t the usual joking and banter, we were all there with a job to do - we were professionals! The atmosphere in the dressing room was akin to standing in the middle of a lightning storm. It was charged, focussed, tense, nervous and I can honestly say that I for one had butterflies in the pit of my stomach! For those of you who haven’t been inside the Pavilion dressing rooms they are huge rooms, with ice baths and wide benches around the walls - Room 2 is the biggest of all but on Saturday it felt like a shoebox of electricity.
Onto the all weather pitch we went to warm up and prepare for battle. Few words were exchanged between us as the clocked ticked down towards 3pm. Then a minute to three we ran onto our own pitch in front of a handsome crowd, finally ready to do what we had been waiting to do for almost 6 weeks - Win the Winters Cup!
We started slowly and found ourselves back in our own half for the first few minutes before a series of kicks from Gilly at scrumhalf and Com O’Keane in the number 10 berth pushed us back up the park. We were beginning to take a bit of shape now and our pack was squeezing the AIB pack back down the pitch. The front row alone weighed in at over 50 stone - Brian Hall, Matt Leonard and Geoff Lavery were literally a stone wall of sheer mass and muscle. On a rare incursion into our half AIB missed a penalty directly in front of the sticks and this gave us a boost and we rumbled back up the pitch.
The backs were getting a lot of ball and Cockroche and Paul Reilly were making inroads all the time with the larger AIB players unable to catch them in the first or second tackles; but none the less we weren’t getting through. From a ruck on the left side of the pitch Colm O’Keane sent the ball flying out the backs through the hands of Roche, Reilly, then Padraic Mulpiter came into the line from full back and drew in his man perfectly before floating a dream pass out to me on the left wing. I was caught by their full back who was covering across but he failed to roll away and the Referee (the best we’ve had all season) gave the penalty. Gilly took it quickly and crossed the line out of nowehere. The large and relatively older AIB players were still scratching around the Astroturf trying to figure out where the mud was as Gilly was lining up his conversion - but the wind pulled it just wide.
AIB were quick to come back at us and we gallantly defended our line for about 7 minutes as they came at us again and again. Mick Barton, Sam Duffy and Niall Collins were magnificent in the back three of the pack but eventually an AIB player crossed over and grounded the ball. They missed the conversion but the two teams on the pitch were back on an equal footing. We had to win our match to go through as a draw meant that as the away team AIB would go through and thus the pressure was on us. All of a sudden we were a little rattled. Regaining composure we moved back up the pitch and though we had chances we failed to convert them into points.
At half time it was 5 all and I duly subbed myself off to allow that Beast of a centre, Tom Hill, on to the park. Roche went onto the wing. After a good chat from our coach extraordinaire John Shuttleworth we went back out with renewed vigour. Eoghan Moriarty and Conor O’Higgins were like large terriers turning over ball and driving the larger AIB pack mad as we stole more and more ball from them. Matt Leonard took a couple of scrums against the head and the AIB players began to get very ratty and tired. A penalty from Gilly spilt to posts at the North end of the field down the middle but was answered two minutes later by a good penalty from AIB. Eight points a piece.
There was no shortage of handbags flying around the park and an AIB player was at last sin binned But when trouble starts who you going to call? - The Kickboxing Champion of the Antipides Mr. Patrick Gamble - that’s who!!! Paddy replaced Eoghan Moriarty who had an amazing game and all of a sudden AIB were on the ropes. Somehow they managed to drag themselves into our half and we gave away a penalty in front of the uprights which they got. 11 points to 8. AIB ahead for the first time all afternoon.
We had been dragged into a dog fight, a war of attrition while or speed weapons in the backs were lying idle not having to do a whole lot of work. A lineout on the far side was gloriously taken by Niall Collins but before he could come back down to earth the lifters were jostled and Collins fell about 10 feet to the ground.
He was immediately unconscious and for an agonising three minutes lay on the ground twitching while Paddy Gamble put his fingers into Niall’s mouth to prevent him swallowing his tongue. Niall’s folks were on the side line as was his brother and we all watched on as the ambulance was called and Niall slowly regained consciousness. It was a horrific moment and yet another reminder of how dangerous this game can be. Thankfully Niall is ok and is having an operation on his shoulder on Friday to fix up the damage there. On this note I am happy to announce that not only does Collins win the man of the Match award but also the Best Super 4 Ambulance Passenger of the Year Award.
During the 20 minutes or so that all the drama was going on it is worth noting that the AIB sat down and drank water for the whole time. When we restarted they looked a little less weary than before hand. Three points behind AIB were quick to capitalise on the re-start and took another soft penalty and three more points. They were leading 14 - 8 now.
From the restart the Super 4’s were frantic and Andy Hornshaw on the left wing took a great pass from Tom Hill to cross the line and score the 5 points we needed to get us back to within a point. But incredibly, an AIB player arrived before the ref and turned Andy over and the ref couldn’t give they try. It was Grotesque, Unbelievable, Bizarre and Unprecedented But as has been the case all season this team just does not know when to give up. We fought and fought and watched the clock tick into the last minute and still we trailed by 6 points.
The crowd on the sideline were praying to every God we knew of, willing this brave team on to somehow cross the line. With every pass and tackle the volume lifted some more Time and again the forwards would surge at the AIB line only to be repelled, Haller was held up, Mick was held up, Matt was held up, Sam was held up, Hell even Gilly was held up. We just couldn’t find a gap. Then from the base of a ruck Gilly let a screamer out to Colm at out half but it was too high and landed in the arms of Mick Barton who charged for the posts.
The crowd fell silent. Everything went into slow motion. The blue sky, a few white fluffy clouds, the posts shivering in the wind. The green of AIB’s jerseys, the dashing St. Patrick’s blue of Collidge, the ball floating into Mick’s arms, his head down, his legs pumping, the line, a sliver of drool from the corner of his mouth as he crosses over the line, a glimmer of hope… and at the last second a green AIB arm knocks the ball from his hands and it falls forward. So close and yet so far.
The final whistle was blown. Our season over.
It has to be remembered though what the Super 4’s achieved in this year. From a team that last year won not a singe game to a team that this year won over half its matches, finished fourth in one of the toughest pools in the J4 league and with a positive points difference and against the top three teams in Pool pushed them all very close when we played them. But above all that, each member of the squad can be proud to have been a part of this season where friendships that will last lifetime have been forged and where the rugby that was played will go down in the annals of the Clubs illustrious history.
Until nest season my friends - Good Night and Good Luck!
Fred Gilligan
Thanks to all the support that we got all season from our fantastic manager David Jones, our coach John Shuttleoworth, our physio’s Aoife who was never failing and Ashling and Eimear. To our fans The Duffy’s, The Collinseses, The O’Higgins, The Gilligan’s, The Cahalane's, our club administrator Rosemary and the Executive Committee and all of the rest of you who said Good luck!