Dodd’s army tops of Towns

PROVINCIAL TOWNS CUP FINAL

IT WAS a pulsating encounter from start to finish in Edenderry yesterday, but ultimately it was Dundalk who went away the happier as the Louth side secured their 10th Towns Cup triumph in fine style.

Tullamore had started the game at breakneck speed, and were threatening to run away with it, but Dundalk showed excellent composure to come back into it, with full-back Steven McGee and out-half John Dodd (with 30 points between them) their standout performers.

Having played into the previous two finals, the Offalymen looked the more experienced side going into this clash, and they seemed to use it to their benefit in the opening 10 minutes, taking a 10-0 lead with a try from second-row Dave Hanlon, as well as a conversion and penalty from winger Mark Whelan. But, as Dundalk player-coach Ene Fa'atau said in the aftermath of the game, there is tremendous belief in his team.

“They (Tullamore) came out firing, and they threw everything at us, but we've been talking about belief this whole year, just trusting and believing in ourselves. Just sticking to our system and that's what did it for us in the end,” the former Samoa Sevens star said.

REIGNITE

Indeed, this focus certainly did reignite the challenge of the Mill Road outfit, with Dodd finally opening their account with a penalty on 27 minutes, and they narrowed the gap to two with just four minutes of the half remaining when former Clongowes star McGee touched down to the right of the posts.

They ended the half by taking the lead courtesy of a Dodd penalty on the left wing, and Fa'atau felt it was crucial that they went in ahead.

“I think it was (vital to be ahead at the break). It was a mental thing. The first 20 minutes they were just banging away, but we got back into our groove, and things just started happening for us,” he said.

“The boys were working hard, I just can't say enough for the boys. They deserve it, they put in the work for the whole year. Even today they just kept banging away, and if you knock on the door for long enough it just opens.”

Dundalk were looking for revenge on Tullamore for their two semi-final defeats in 2009 and 2010, and they increased their lead upon the restart with a 30-metre drop-goal from the outstanding Dodd.

Howe ver, the Midlanders soon found themselves back in front with a try from centre Ivor Scully, converted by replacement John Moloney who made a big impact.

Things became frustrating for Dundalk for a while after this setback but they managed to regain the lead with 11 minutes of normal time remaining when wing Stephen Murphy touched down for a brilliant individual try.

Out of everything that happened in an action-packed encounter, Fa'atau felt that this period represented the biggest turning point for his charges.

“When we were only up by a couple of points, we steadied the ship with a drop-kick. Then they came back, but we still seemed to be in control. I think control for us today really was the key, especially in the last 20 minutes,” he said.

Certainly credit must go to Dundalk, as they recorded their first win since 1987 in spectacular fashion, with the dynamic duo of McGee and Dodd grabbing a try apiece, with Dodd's try being particularly eye-catching as he intercepted a Tullamore pass before running unopposed under the posts.

This gave the Division 1A side a deserved 15-point victory and Fa’atau paid tribute to his backroom team.

“I'm lucky enough to have really good people with me like Barry Durnin, Pete Flanagan and Larry Stein,” he said. “Those make it very easy for me, I don't have to worry too much about what's going on on the sideline, and so I can focus on my game.”

DUNDALK – S McGee; S Murphy, C Scully, MJ McKevitt (S Mulligan 77), D Guest (G Lynch 56); J Dodd, J Williams; K Dorian, C McDonald, R Donnelly (K Fearon 56); D Fearon, B Cunningham (S Soraghan 74); P Meegan, M Rowntree, E Fa'atau.

TULLAMORE – M Brazil; C Hughes, K Scally, I Scully (P Gardiner 67), M Whelan (J Moloney 40); A Deverell, R Hughes; G Molloy, C Feighery, A Bracken; D Hanlon (D Milne 56 (D Hanlon)), I Deverell; C Cornally (K Browne 34 (C Cornally 62)), David Milne, A Hanley.

REF – P Haycock (IRFU)

MAGNERS LEAGUE

FRIDAY Edinburgh 27 (T Visser 1 try; G Laidlaw 1 try; C Paterson 1 try, 3 cons, 2 pens) Newport-Gwent D’gons 15 (A Brew 1 try; A Hughes 1 try; J Tovey 1 con, 1 pen) Att: 2,935 Glasgow 29 (T Ryder 1 try; R Jackson 1 con, 4 pens; D van der Merwe 2 tries) Scarlets 37 (T Knoyle 1 try; S Jones 3 cons, 2 pens; B Morgan 1 try; M Stoddart 2 tries; L Reed 1 try) Att: 3,873 Ulster 27 (R Best 1 try; I Humphreys 3 cons, 2 pens D Cave 1 try; A D’Arcy 1 try) Connacht 16 (S Cronin 1 try; I Keatley 1 con, 2 pens, 1 dg) Att: 8,400

SATURDAY Aironi Rugby 8 (G Krause 1 try; T Tebaldi 1 pen) Leinster 20 (S O’Brien 1 try; C Healy 1 try; F McFadden 2 cons, 2 pens) Att: 4,000 Ospreys 20 (D Biggar 2 cons, 1 pen; J Hook 1 pen; A Jones 1 try; Pen Try 1) Munster 22 (R O’Gara 1 con, 5 pens; D Wallace 1 try) Att: 9,481

P WD LB FA Pts Munster .....................21 180 37 474 321 79 Leinster .....................21 141 67 457 333 65 Ulster ..........................21 141 65 460 405 63 Cardiff Blues .........20 131 66 441 326 60 Ospreys......................21 111 913 541 408 59 Scarlets .....................21 111 911 465 430 57 New-Gwent D’s .....209 110 6 403 427 44 Edinburgh ................21 9 012 7 415 429 43 Connacht ..................217 113 9 388 437 39 B Treviso ...................21 8 013 2 343 496 34 Glasgow.....................216 114 7 398 505 33 Aironi Rugby...........21 1 020 7 237 505 11

AVIVA PREMIERSHIP

FRIDAY Newcastle 13 Leicester 24 Sale 24 Exeter 30

SATURDAY London Irish 20 Northampton 26 Wasps 10 Bath 43

YESTERDAY Leeds Carnegie3 Harlequins 38 Saracens 35 Gloucester 12

P WD LB FA Pts Leicester...................21 151 511 562 380 73 Saracens...................21 170 44 468 305 72 Gloucester ...............21 131 78 460 435 62 North’pton ...............21 130 89 502 406 61 Lon Irish.....................21 11 0 10 10 500 427 54 Bath.............................20 111 87 371 344 53 Harlequins ...............219 210 11 469 368 51 Wasps..........................219 111 5 417 476 43 Exeter..........................21 9 012 5 407 452 41 Sale ..............................216 114 6 415 550 32 Newcastle ...............204 115 4 337 497 22 Leeds Carnegie .....21 4 017 6 291 559 22