Cork Constitution 18 Young Munster 10
Galwegians 29 Dungannon 31
Dungannon will become the first Ulster club to take part in the AIB League final at Lansdowne Road next Saturday when they face Cork Constitution after they recorded contrasting semi-final wins over Galwegians and Young Munster.
Following Cork Con's slightly anti-climactic 18-10 win over Munsters at Temple Hill earlier in the day, Dungannon won 31-29 at Crowley Park, although as in the first semi-final an injury time converted try gave a rather misleading gloss to the scoreline. In both cases there could be no doubt about the merit of the winners.
Dungannon especially played an exciting brand of rugby which ensured their semi-final contained much the better rugby. If it wasn't the collective threat of their slickly worked moves, then the individual, broken running threats of the Cunninghams, Jan and Bryn, Ryan Constable, Tyrone Howe and David Humphreys was liable to cut through a renowned Galwegians defence. This Dungannon lot are a crack outfit.
That said, Dungannon were put to the pins of their collars early on by a Galwegians side which gave a better account of themselves than Young Munster did beforehand. Old adversaries Eric Elwood and David Humphreys having exchanged early penalties, Galwegians struck the first significant blow with a well-worked move when Elwood passed to Tim Alluntt and dummed to loop around him, the centre instead reverse passing to Denver Rumney when he ghosted in off his wing and then stayed on his feet in the tackle to offloading for the supporting Barry Gavin.[QL ]Granted, Dungannon had opened them up out wide with eye-catching ease a couple of times before David Humphreys looped around Johnny Bell and sped through a gap before throwing out a beauty for Ryan Constable to score. Even so a couple more Elwood penalties had 'Wegians 16-8 in front whereupon came possibly the game's biggest turning point on the half-hour.
With both the fighting Aussie outside centres Ryan Constable and Pat Duignan sinbinned, Mark McConnell nicked a Dungannon throw and a big drive generated a two-man overlap out wide. Alas for 'Wegians, Junior Charlie spilled Allnutt's delayed pass and worse followed for them when Dungannon recycled the ensuing ruck ball inside their own 22.
Faced with a line of defenders, Dungannon moved the ball along the line for Jan Cunningham, on his opposite wing, to break one tackle and break 50 metres up field before releasing Howe. He scampered past the covering Gavin Duffy to complete a memorable pitch-length try in the corner.
Galwegians didn't help themselves by running scrum ball inside their own 10 metre line and then turning it over to concede a penalty which Humphreys kicked up the touch line. Johnny Bell took up flat line-out ball and quickly set up drives splintered the defence sufficiently for hooker Nigel Brady to take Stephen Bell's pass and lay it off inside for Justin Fitzpatrick to crash through under the posts.Despite another Elwood penalty a fluid, enthralling half studded with four tries thus ended with Dungannon ahead by 22-19 and having set a stunning benchmark. Although the second-half never scaled those heights, Dungannon were always ahead, Humphreys kicking three more penalties to one by Elwood as Galwegians manfully strove to overcome the additional sinbinnings of Mark McConnell (for over vigorous rucking) and then Michael Swift for punching Paddy Johns.
Somehow they clung on, Denver Rumney covering across the pitch to deny Humphryes a seeming certain touchdown after another twinkle toed break by Bryn Cunningham. Elwood missed a penalty from in front of the posts in the 79th minute which may haunt him but the ensuing restart would have been on half-way rather than the 22. Sure enough, pounding, close-in drives eventually yielded a Swift try which Elwood converted but Humphreys kicked the restart out on the full and referee Olan Trevor signalled the end.
By contrast, the writing was on the wall for much of the earlier semi-final as Ronan O'Gara augmented a couple of penalties with a stunning 40 metre drop goal to open up a 9-0 lead. And it wasn't as if Munsters' didn't have chances, Mick Lynch carving through only for Kieran Gallagher to be held up a yard short of the line, while sadly the rejuvenated out-half - heretofore a lynchpin in every sense in their march to semis - missed three kickable penalties before Munsters' unsuccessfully opted for a sequence of close-in scrums rather than kick a penalty.
Another drop goal and penalty by O'Gara, before the Irish and Lions out-half finally missed one, left the home side in a commanding 15-0 interval lead and O'Gara would go on to miss three more himself in the second period.
The die was pretty much cast through a scoreless third quarter. Munsters had more of the ball and the territory, and launched Mutu Ngarimu to good effect, but the Leo Doyle-Mike Mullins partnership never quite clicked and the Con back-row of Craig Taylor, Donnacha O'Callaghan and Jerry Murray were outstanding defensively.
O'Gara and Lynch traded further penalties before Munsters' were rewarded for throwing the kitchen sink at their hosts when lock Paul O'Connell ran in an overlap for his sixth try of the season.
Coach Brian Hickey attributed the win to his defence and the control of O'Gara, who was quite emotional afterwards in confirming that he would be London bound to link up with his fellow Lions next Saturday as Con take on Dungannon in the final.
Flawed play-off system or not, it's hard not to think that the best two sides have got there in the end.
