Carlow - 10 Clontarf 32 Oak Park is one of the most picturesque rugby venues in the country and with Carlow noted for their hospitality off the pitch it can prove a most beguiling place to visit.
Unfortunately for the home club, who have performed minor miracles to survive in the AIB League Division One, the bonhomie and largesse may be extending to the pitch.
Defeat to Clontarf offers no shame as nine previous opponents in successive matches prior to Carlow will attest but it was the manner of it that should rankle. Carlow player/coach Dan van Zyl is highly regarded as a scrumhalf but on Saturday's evidence he is not equally adept in the number 10 jersey. His kick and chase philosophy might have sufficed if the latter part of the equation had been properly orchestrated, but it wasn't.
Carlow ambled after the ball, coming up in dribs and drabs, the line of chasers possessing more holes than a string vest. It handed back ball to Clontarf and with it the momentum. Such is their quality this season, the Dublin side hardly require any handouts from the opposition.
The match can be encapsulated in the performances of the respective playmakers, van Zyl and Clontarf's Dave Hewitt. The South African struggled, albeit behind a pack that never offered the same platform, while Hewitt, punting aside, brought a vision and breadth to Clontarf's play that inspired many of their better moments.
The cloying pitch surface pitch seemed to have little effect on the outhalf as he danced through tacklers, invariably putting his side on the front foot. Clontarf coach Phil Werahiko cleverly hides Hewitt, shifting him to full back, when the team is defending so as to avoid the heavyweight traffic coming through his channel.
On the few occasions that Carlow threatened territorially Hewitt or full back Darragh O'Shea, who also had a fine match, brought the ball past the first line of tacklers. Clontarf play a simple but hugely effective game, relying heavily on their powerful pack and the straight running of inside centre James Downey.
The forwards once again provided the platform, Dave Moore, hooker Bernard Jackman, Adrian Clarke and Andy Wood very much to the fore, physically dominating their opponents in the tight.
Clontarf started the match as if intent on racking up a half century of points and in all probability would have if they had kept their concentration for longer periods.
The one aspect of Clontarf's game that would have disappointed Werahiko is that many of their switch moves occurred too far away from the gain line, making them easy to defend against. Carlow second row Rory Sheriff guaranteed possession out of touch but the home side tossed away too much ball.
Clontarf were seven points up after three minutes, after a free-wheeling 60-metre move involving backs and forwards finished by Ollie Winchester. When Ben Gissing was wrongly binned - mistaken identity - on 23 minutes Carlow finally managed a foothold and were rewarded with a try from hooker Clive Gee.
Clontarf responded with 10 points before the interval, Hewitt jinking his way over after good work by Clarke. O'Shea kicked a penalty and converted the try to leave the Dublin side 17-7 ahead at the break. O'Shea and van Zyl swapped penalties before the Clontarf full back crossed for a try to put his side pretty much out of sight.
Winchester grabbed a second and with a bonus point on a productive afternoon for the Castle Avenue club. They are now in the playoffs and another win will probably suffice to give them a home semi-final. For Carlow the visit of UCD is probably the pivotal match in their season. They'll have to improve if they're going to survive.
Scoring sequence. 3 mins - Winchester try, O'Shea conversion, 0-7; 24 mins - Gee try, Van Zyl conversion, 7-7; 35 mins - O'Shea penalty, 7-10; 37 mins - Hewitt try, O'Shea conversion, 7-17. Half-time: 7-17. 45 mins - O'Shea penalty, 7-20; 56 mins - Van Zyl penalty, 10-20; 59 mins - O'Shea try, 10-25; 65 mins - Winchester try, O'Shea conversion, 10-32.
CLONTARF: D O'Shea; N O'Brien, D Higgins, J Downey, O Winchester; D Hewitt, R O'Reilly; W O'Kelly (capt), B Jackman, A Clarke; B Gissing, A Wood; D Quinn, D Moore, S O'Donnell. Replacements: G Flynn for O'Donnell 64 mins; G Rossi for O'Brien 71 mins; J Wickham for Clarke 71 mins; M Woods for O'Reilly 74 mins. Yellow card: B Gissing (23-33 mins)
Referee: O Trevor (IRFU).
Carlow: M Logue; M Buckley, M Swetman, R Armstrong, I Dwyer; D Van Zyl, R Jones; P Brennan (capt), C Gee, L Hannon; R Sherriff, L McGowan; D Cox, A Melville, M Cooke. Replacements: D Mallon for Cooke half time; B Murphy for Dwyer 44 mins; P Holden for McGowan 45 mins; K Ashmore for Brennan 65 mins. Yellow card: D Cox (Carlow) 58-68 mins
