Navan's winning start

As starts go this was as good as Navan could have hoped for in their new surroundings. The Balreask Old side made their way to Co Carlow's Oak Park on Saturday for the first outing in their AIL Div 3 and felled the local side with a component and compact display that augurs well for the rest of the season. This was a case of the upstarts - the newcomers to the AIL - taking on a Co Carlow side made up of seasoned campaigners in the senior ranks who might have been expected to swat away the visitors with contemptuous ease. Instead, what we got was a spirited, at times swashbuckling display, from Navan, still without a number of regulars, who bagged the victory and also snaffled a bonus point to make this the perfect start. The day was mainly dry and blustery which may account for the fact that both Navan's kickers Karl Manning and Ryan Roberts spurned opportunities they might otherwise have taken. As is their way Navan gave their opponents an early lead before focusing on the job in hand and grinding out the win. Just as he did against Instonians the previous week, scrum-half Kieran Mattson showed the way with one try while he was closely involved in the creation of two more. Shane Dawson, David Geraghty and Tonga's Mata Fifita also broke through for touchdowns with Roberts converting three of the tries. Despite their slow start Navan were ahead by 12-3 at the interval and even at that stage they looked the most likely winners. They played the more constructive rugby in the opening 40 minutes and established a supremacy in the set pieces that was to give them the springboard for success. Eoin King, James McCaghy and David King were strong and courageous in the front row, their technique and power too much for their rivals. Behind them Brad Harris and Paul Feeney both returned to the side and provided plenty of steel and know-how in the loose and the tight. Harris was the main receiver and he was excellent in latching onto McCaghy's darts and off-loading quickly to Mattson. Feeney contributed with some crunching tackles. An incident in the second-half was one of the highlights of the game when Feeney showed surprising pace to chase down Co Carlow's winger Matt Buckley who looked set to race upfield as his team counter-attacked. Feeney's tiger-like tackle ensured the danger was snuffed out at source. As is proudly displayed on a sign at the entrance to the Oak Park ground, Co Carlow was formed in 1873. The club is officially known as Co Carlow Football Club because they were set up before the GAA came around and were one of the first five rugby clubs in Ireland. There was a time when they practically owned the Provincial Towns' Cup. In recent times they have experienced a boom and bust. They made it to Div 1 of the AIL for a few seasons, however, the cost of maintaining a team at that altitude proved too much and they have since slipped down the ranks. They have since sought to build a side around local talent. On the evidence of this display they could struggle to maintain their AIL status. They took an early lead on Saturday when out-half Richie White popped the ball between the posts from a drop goal. Otherwise they only rarely threatened to break through a sturdy Navan defence. The home side really struggled in the set-pieces and Navan were not slow in making hay, repeatedly disrupting the Co Carlow line-outs and stealing possession more than once. The confidence Navan had in their scrum could be seen in the second-half when on several occasions they were awarded penalties in front of the posts. Instead of picking up the points they went for the scrum confident they could expose their opponents in that department and bag a try. The approach led to two tries. Mattson was as ever full of little, weaving runs that time and again tore open the Co Carlow defence and he also displayed burning pace to create his team's opening try after 19 minutes. Navan were under pressure when Mattson broke from inside his own half and tore up field chased by a posse of opponents. He was tackled short of the line and grounded. He still managed to off-load to Dawson who got the touchdown. Co Carlow didn't do themselves any favours when they had a player sin-binned in the lead up to the break. They needed all their resources. It was Roberts turn to produce a little piece of magic just before the interval when he delivered a Ronan O'Gara-like crossfield pass to Geraghty who turned on the after-burners to run 50 metres and get a touchdown. Fifita will long remember his AIL debut as he also notched a try after the resumption. Mattson took the ball from the ruck. He looked like he would go one way, went the other, off-loaded to Harris who set up Fifita and he shrugged off a few tackles on his way to the tryline. With the game drawing to a close some neat passing between Des Crinion and Feeney close to the Co Carlow posts gave Mattson the chance to sell a dummy or two before powering over. The Kiwi also had a late 'try' ruled out much to his annoyance, but the visitors eased their way to a deserved win for the perfect start to their AIL adventure. Navan - K Manning, D Geraghty, B Forristal, M Fifita, T Geraghty, R Roberts, K Mattson; E King, J McGaghy, D King, B Harris, P Feeney, D Crinion, S Dawson, L Jackson. Subs - D Harlin for McCaghy, F Power for Harris, E Dunne for D King, P Lawrence for Roberts, S Byrne for Feeney. Co Carlow - B Murphy, T McDonagh, M O'Neill, M Dempsey, M Buckley, R White, D Barron; L McGrath, J Gorman, D Cassidy, W Whitton, D Carly, J Nolan, T Ratahi, S Hennessy. Subs - P Brennan for McGrath, J Bulmer for Nolan. Referee - Ollie Hodges.