Ireland Club XV Retain Trophy After Dominant Display Against Portugal ‘A’
Ireland Club XV captain Jack Kelleher lifts the trophy following their eight-try victory over Portugal 'A' in Lisbon ©INPHO/Martin Seras Lima
Head coach Adam Craig and captain Jack Kelleher oversaw an emphatic 50-0 win for the Ireland Club XV over Portugal ‘A’ in Lisbon. After last year’s narrow victory, Ireland ran in eight unanswered tries, building off a dominant first-half performance.
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MEN’S CLUB INTERNATIONAL MATCH:
Friday, March 14 –
PORTUGAL ‘A’ 0 IRELAND CLUB XV 50, Agronomia Rugby Club, Lisbon
Scorers: Portugal ‘A’: –
Ireland Club XV: Tries: Lewis Finlay, Conor Hayes, Mark Best, George Pringle, Dylan Donnellan, Conor Rankin, Craig Adams, Fionn Gilbert; Cons: Conor Kelly 5
HT: Portugal ‘A’ 0 Ireland Club XV 36
Ballynahinch boss Craig will be delighted with the performance his Ireland Club XV team (sponsored by Energia) delivered this evening. A game is never over in the opening half, but leading 36-0 at the interval, a lot of the work was done by that stage.
Second half tries from Craig Adams and Fionn Gilbert added further gloss to the scoreboard, as despite delivering a strong showing throughout, Portugal A found it hard to breach an iron-clad green defensive wall.
Tries from Lewis Finlay, Conor Hayes, Mark Best, George Pringle, Dylan Donnellan and Conor Rankin, had given the XV side a strong cushion by the break, with Kelly slotting three conversions.
Representing ten different clubs from three different leagues in the Energia All Ireland League, it showcased just how strong the league is at the moment, being able to put a team like Portugal A to the sword with a ruthless performance.
Returning to action for their All Ireland League clubs next weekend, it will give the squad a lift going into their respective final games. A squad skippered by Cork Constitution flanker Kelleher gelled really quickly in their camps, and most will go back to flaking the heads off each other next weekend.
All of the backs bar Kelly would register a try. The front row of David Begley, Donnellan and Luke Rigney were a strong battering ram when the Irish lads needed to shunt Portugal back. Luney and Gilbert delivered a calm performance in the engine room, while Kelleher, Bailey Faloon and Jordan Coughlan all delivered on their experience to launch attacks and set up that strong defensive shift.
Off the bench, Marcus Hanan, Luke Masters, Sean Rigney, David Whitten, Richie Fahy, Tadhg Bird, Ethan Baxter and Alex Molloy all came on to get their first Ireland caps. Only Adam La Grue and Bobby Sheehan, younger brother of Dan, had been capped previously. The bench brought an added bite, and no doubt Portugal will be looking for revenge next year.
The scoring began in the opening minute, with St Mary’s man Conor Hayes exploiting space on the right flank. His clever chip ahead forced an error from the Portugal defence, allowing City Of Armagh’s Lewis Finlay to pounce on the loose ball knocked forward by Fionn Gilbert’s boot and dot down under the posts. Tarf out half Kelly made no mistake with the conversion, giving the Irish club side an early 7-0 lead.
Ireland doubled their advantage in the 11th minute after a period of sustained pressure. Winning a scrum deep in Portugal territory, they spread the ball wide, and Hayes was on hand to finish in the corner. Kelly’s conversion attempt struck the left upright, leaving the score at 12-0.
Just two minutes later, Ireland extended their lead. A well-executed lineout on the five-meter line set up another dangerous maul, culminating in Hinch’s Mark Best diving over for his side’s third try. Kelly’s conversion attempt narrowly missed, but Ireland were firmly in control at 17-0.
Portugal struggled to gain any foothold in the match, and Ireland continued to capitalize on their errors. In the 28th minute, another Hinch man in George Pringle added his name to the scoresheet, cutting through the Portuguese defence after a slick passing move off a lineout.
Moments later, Clontarf try machine Dylan Donnellan powered over from a maul after Ireland recovered possession from a disrupted lineout. Clubmate Kelly produced a pinpoint conversion to push Ireland’s advantage to 31-0.
On the stroke of halftime, Ireland struck once again. A rapid attacking sequence saw a third Hinch man cross for a try, Conor Rankin diving over in the left corner, capping off a dominant opening forty minutes. The missed conversion left the halftime score at 36-0, the Club XV firmly in control.
The second half started in a more subdued fashion, with Portugal managing to slow Ireland’s attacking rhythm. However, the Irish flair returned in the 70th minute when Kelly’s well-weighted kick over the defence found Terenure speedster Craig Adams. The winger showed blistering pace to gather and race down the left wing, before crossing the whitewash, with Kelly adding another stunning conversion from the left channel.
Ireland thought they had scored again in the 77th minute, when Adams was denied a second try after a last ditch tackle, Rankin collected the bouncing ball and dove over in the corner, only for the referee to rule it out for a knock-on on the Adams tackle.
They wouldn’t be denied for long. In the 79th minute, Fionn Gilbert, the man mountain from Clontarf bulldozed his way through the Portugal defence, shrugging off tackles as he cut his way through, before grounding the ball to round off a dominant performance. Kelly’s conversion rounded off a dominant showing from the Ireland Club XV outfit.
TIME LINE: 1 minute – Ireland Club XV try: Lewis Finlay – 0-5; conversion: Conor Kelly – 0-7; 11 mins – Ireland Club XV try: Conor Hayes – 0-12; conversion: missed by Conor Kelly – 0-12; 14 mins – Ireland Club XV try: Mark Best – 0-17; conversion: missed by Conor Kelly – 0-17; 27 mins – Ireland Club XV try: George Pringle – 0-22; conversion: Conor Kelly – 0-24; 32 mins – Ireland Club XV try: Dylan Donnellan – 0-29; conversion: Conor Kelly – 0-31; 40+3 mins – Ireland Club XV try: Conor Rankin – 0-36; conversion: missed by Conor Kelly – 0-36; Half-time – Portugal ‘A’ 0 Ireland Club XV 36; 70 mins – Ireland Club XV try: Craig Adams – 0-41; conversion: Conor Kelly – 0-43; 79 mins – Ireland Club XV try: Fionn Gilbert – 0-48; conversion: Conor Kelly – 0-50; Full-time – Portugal ‘A’ 0 Ireland Club XV 50
PORTUGAL ‘A’: Francisco Galveias; João Gomes Cardoso, Manuel Reis, Martim Faro, Luís Ferros; Francisco Pissarra, Enzo Lopes; Henrique Freitas, Pedro Vicente, José Lavos, Luís Avides, Duarte Nunes, Guilherme Costa, Francisco Uva, Miguel Romero.
Replacements: Manuel Magrico, Nicolau Turabelidze, Márcio Pinheiro, Diogo Almeida, Guilherme Spratley, Simão Salgueiro, Tomás Amado, Simão Sousa, Afonso Alvarez, Max Coutts.
IRELAND CLUB XV: Conor Rankin (Ballynahinch RFC); Conor Hayes (St. Mary’s College RFC), George Pringle (Ballynahinch RFC), Mark Best (Ballynahinch RFC), Craig Adams (Terenure College RFC); Conor Kelly (Clontarf FC), Lewis Finlay (City of Armagh RFC); David Begley (Young Munster RFC), Dylan Donnellan (Clontarf FC), Luke Rigney (Terenure College RFC), Bradley Luney (Ballynahinch RFC), Fionn Gilbert (Clontarf FC), Jack Kelleher (Cork Constitution FC) (capt), Bailey Faloon (Young Munster RFC), Jordan Coghlan (Terenure College RFC).
Replacements: Bobby Sheehan (UCD RFC), Marcus Hanan (Terenure College RFC), Luke Masters (Cork Constitution FC), Sean Rigney (Young Munster RFC), David Whitten (Instonians RFC), Richie Fahy (St. Mary’s College RFC), Tadhg Bird (Clontarf FC), Adam La Grue (Terenure College RFC), Ethan Baxter (St. Mary’s College RFC), Alex Molloy (Old Wesley RFC).
Referee: Diogo Inacio (Federação Portuguesa de Rugby)