SPIRITUALLY, this game belonged in Hong Kong rather than Temple Hill. Nine tries were scored and it could easily have been a dozen or more. At times it had a "sevens" feel to it as players interpreted a tackle as something to do with fishing.
Con won easily because they were more interested - they had to motivate themselves because there was little else to motivate them. A meaningless, end of season mid table affair which attracted some 350 spectators.
Blackrock, following the big occasion of their anti climactic defeat to Shannon, were half hearted and at half strength. And who could blame them? Their coach, Tony Smeethe, was annoyed by much in an unprofessional display - "our worst of the season" - after the team had travelled down ion Friday in suitably professional manner. Yet he accepted that it helps if players have crowds and/or something tangible to play for. There was neither here.
"I honestly believe that the IRFU should have play-offs. Like, Shannon win a title of some sort and ten grand prize money or whatever but then the top have home semi finals against the third and fourth. You've got to have play offs, because if you look at the table, right down to Con in eighth place we would all still be in the running for top four positions. The rest are avoiding relegation, so every one is interested.
"To me it needs marketing. I went to the first ever English Cup final in 1971 at Twickenham. There were 5,000 there. Now it's a guaranteed sell out."
In the opening years of the league, the title race invariably threw up a play off of sorts. But not last season, no this, which is meandering to a limp end. Imagine the interest, say, for Con's trip to Terenure and Blackrock's home game with St Mary's next week if the prospect of semi finals and a "Lansdowne Road final were still in the offing?
The Munster clubs are happy enough; they have their better supported provincial cup to look forward to. But how parochial can you get? Play offs and/or an all Ireland cup would stimulate the club game. As things stand, Blackrock's season is basically over and it showed.
Blackrock were particularly lax when playing with the wind in the first half. Johnny Mion's second and third throws slipped through Mick O'Neill's hands. Alan McGowan's first four restarts were on the button but not one of them was won.
Meantime, Rock hardly made a tackle on the gain line, giving Con all the room they wanted. Set in motion by the peerless passing of Brian O'Meara, every time Con moved the ball out they looked likely to score, plundering four tries for a 22-7 interval lead.
As Ray Coughlan has maintained, Con's young, restructured back row would improve as the season progressed in this transitional year for the club. The first shoots of a serious recovery are already evident.
Ronan O'Gara is beginning to look the part of an out half. The rejuvenated Brian Walsh and Kenny Murphy ran freely, the latter nimbly providing the first two try scoring passes. The support play of their well balanced backrow - Jerry Murray, Ultan O'Callaghan and Jim Canning - was rewarded with tries for each of them.
Only when Walsh and David O'Brien skillfully put Niall Murray over for his fourth league try and Con's fifth of the day - O'Gara adding the conversion and a penalty - did the prospect of a heavy mauling stir Blackrock.
They realigned their "five up" defence; Alan McGowan moving out and, having tightened things up, the Rock pack began to set up plenty of ruck ball. They began running from everywhere, scoring a counter attacking try from inside their 22. McGowan, another rejuvenated figure, carved through all but one of the Con team on the restart, Aidan Guinan being penalised for a double move when "scoring".
After conceding the softest of blind side set piece tries to Kenny Murphy, Nicky Assafs lovely long pass saw McGowan's skip over.
