Close shave boosts Navan to big victory

THOSE who made their way to Balreask Old for this Leinster League Div 1 game on Sunday could hardly have failed to notice the unusually high percentage of Navan players who sported beards. It was all part of a fundraising exercise for an injured player from Dublin-based club Bective. Later on Sunday evening the Navan players staged a 'shave-in' with the aim of generating some funds. Once this game got underway however, Navan showed little charity to their Dublin opponents as they chalked up another victory that reinforces their place at the top of the division. The Navanmen had a job to do and they did it with a determination and resolve that augurs well for the rest of their campaign. Monkstown travelled to Meath with the comfort of knowing that they were in third place and that a victory, with a bonus point, would put them right up there. Apart from the opening 15 minutes or so that never looked like happening as Navan powered their way through for tries from Simon Hogan and Bernard Smyth to seal the win with Ryan Roberts contributing two penalties and a conversion. Navan were businesslike without being spectacular, producing textbook, controlled rugby especially in the forward division. That provided a solid enough platform to go on and close out the game. When they needed to, Navan kept the ball in hand, moving their way through the phases, making the hard yards until the opportunity came to pounce. The pack was once again immense with the front-row of David King, Eoin King and Conor Brady leading the charge. Behind them Brad Harris and John Duffy combined well as locks while Thomas Clarke, Bernard Smyth and Sylvanus Iro made up a watchful back row, always looking to make profit around the fringes of the rucks and scrums. David King and Iro, in particular, pounded into their opponents with gusto and broke through the gainline time after time. There is a sizeable contingent of Navan players producing what is arguably the best rugby of their careers at the moment, and it"s all underlined by buoyancy brought about by an unbeaten run in the league that includes eight victories from eight outings. Roberts at out-half is combining some good positional kicking with an impressive ratio of points from penalties and conversions. At scrum-half Kieran Mattson is constantly buzzing around looking for openings and is a constant irritant for opponents. In the backs Karl Manning adds another dimension with his jinking runs that frequently turns defence into attack. That bobbing head weaving an impossible path through the Monkstown defence was a feature of this game. Monkstown also brought a big pack into this game and doubtless they had hoped to bludgeon the opposition into submission before sweeping the ball wide to expose gaps. They tried a few times, especially in the closing stages as they desperately went in search of some consolation. Their efforts were to prove fruitless as they made few inroads in a resolute home defence. The Navan backs regularly benefited from quick ball that came from the rucks and that was a factor in creating the two tries, both of which were scored in the second-half. At the interval Navan led 6-0 with Roberts making no mistake from two long-range penalty kicks. The penalty count of four to three in favour of Navan didn"t give a proper indication of just how much possession the home side enjoyed in the opening half. The second-half was only four minutes old when Navan broke through for a try. Navan did what they had been doing well all afternoon by moving the ball carefully through the phases until, suddenly, Eoin King caught the Monkstown defence out by breaking forward before skilfully off-loading to Simon Hogan who touched down in the left corner. Roberts" conversion attempt from near the sideline drifted wide. The cloud of steam rising from the players as they scrumed-down in the frosty air was an indication of the effort put in by both sides in a rugged, full-on encounter. Once again Navan did enough to win and maintain their winning ways. Navan - K Manning, M Harrington, R Conaty, S Donnelly, S Hogan, R Roberts, K Mattson; E King, C Brady, D King, B Harris, J Duffy, T Clarke, B Smyth, S Iro. Subs - P Feeney for Clarke, J Baker for Brady, S Dawson for Harris, T Geraghty for Donnelly, E Dunne for D King. Monkstown - P Twomey, R O"Gara, D Sheridan, D Kilbride, P Noble, E Hogan, D Morris; J Clifford, E Murphy, J Collins, R Bradshaw, M Stewart, A O Mullaghaughan, D Casey, K O"Donnell.