Tullow pack too much power for Ashbourne

Meath side unable to contain reigning champions in Towns' Cup showdown

Tullow...38

Ashbourne....20

For just a few minutes - a tantalisingly brief few minutes as far as Ashbourne were concerned - it looked like they might derail Tullow in today's Provincial Towns' Cup final at Co Carlow RFC. It looked like they might, just might, dethrone the reigning champions.

The Meath side had gone into the interval 3-14 down and in the opening stages of the second-half they built up a head of steam with the inspirational Gavin Kennedy sniping his way through for a try, which the same player cooly converted. It was 10-14. Game on - or so we thought.

Four minutes later Ashbourne's hope of a revival were hit with all the gentleness of a tank rolling over a small car. They hit back with a try of their own from their back-row player Cillian Murphy with their full-back Adam Johnson converting. That left Ashbourne 'only' trailing 10-21 with most of the second-half still to come yet you just knew it was going to take something special, truly special, for the Meath side to prevail. Tullow did what chamions do and found a response.

Throughout this sunny, warm April afternoon that resembled more a day in June, Ashbourne were on the backfoot as they struggled to grapple with the kind of problems posed by Tullow's very own 'Tank' - Sean O'Brien - and his colleagues who were well capable of taking full advantage of their supremacy in the scrum.

Tullow also built their victory on something else - a bright, upbeat start. After 17 minutes, the Carlow side - who were eager to feed off on their powerful, mobile, savvy pack - hungrily surged into a 14-0 advantage and you feared for Ashbourne. It looked like they were facing into a right Royal pasting.

The fact that they didn't collapse is a tribute to their spirit. It was a tribute too to their attitude, their pride, their cussedness and willingness to fight for the jersey - and each other.

They constantly sought to play their rugby, moving the ball around, showing quick hands and a sense of adventure that brought them back into the reckoning early in that second-half. The just come up against an all-round better side.

The Carlow side, who were well supported in the big attendance, had the edge in the scrums and that's a big platform for any team to build on.

Kennedy was, in this observer's view, Ashbourne's best player. He scored all but one try of his team's total. Much of Kennedy's kicking from hand was well judged and perceptive, helping to put his team's opponents on the backfoot.

The fact that he scored from two penalties and two conversions indicated his accuracy off the tee.

Neil Reilly scored Ashbourne's second try in the second-half after a well-conducted power surge.

At times Ashbourne's tackling was heroic with everybody on the team willing to put in a hard shift. Full-back Max Samuel for instance, put in two try-saving tackles in the opening minutes alone. Throughout the game forwards such as Frank Keegan, James McCaghy, Ciaran Roche were willing to put in the graft; make the hard yards. The backs were busy and industrious.

For all that Tullow deserved to win, no doubt, but Ashbourne were closer to them then the final scoreline suggests too.

The lopsided nature of the final tally was created by the fact that in the closing minutes Tullow ran in for two, quick-fire unconverted tries from Adam Johnson and Martin Cole.

Ashbourne were out on their feet in the heat. They lost but they died with their boots on. That's something to take from the club's second Towns' Cup final defeat in three years. Some morsel of comfort.

Tullow - Adam Johnson, Aka Durrosolo, Oran Farrell, Aho Bloomfield, Jack Hanlon, Garrett Fitzgerald, Ryan O'Neill; Scott Calbeck, Jordan Leybourne, Tom Cashen, Colm Gorry, Martin Cole, Sean O'Brien, Stephen Smith, Cillian Murphy. Subs - Brian Kehoe, Corey Hughes, Joe Waters, Paddy Murphy, Scott O'Sullivan-Magne.

Ashbourne - Max Samuel, Cathal Bradley, Adam Martin, Colm Craigie, Matt Connolly, Gavin Kennedy, Patrick Dillon; Frank Keegan, James McCaghy, Ciaran Roche, Eoin Creaby, Sean McKeon, James Reilly, Neil Reilly, Jack Horgan. Subs - Mark Behoan, Blair Hastie, Daniel Colgan, Sean Lambe, Ben Mahon, Glen Predy, Enda O'Brien, Conor Creaby, Conor Phelan.

Referee - Jack Carvill (IRFU).