Naas brave the conditions to secure bonus point win away to Thomond

Naas                29 Thomond       10 Ulster Bank League round 8 Naas senior squad travelled to Fitzgerald Park in Limerick for their eighth round Ulster Bank League game against Thomond on Saturday last (28^st November). The game kicked off at 2pm in blustery conditions and was watched by a large group of enthusiastic supporters.   Naas signalled their intent early with a brilliant opening try scored by lock, David Benn. This arose from an attack on the left flank involving Andrew Kearney and Johne Murphy which resulted in a lineout on the Thomond 22. Naas then secured and switched their attack swiftly to the right flank involving David Barron, Peter Osborne and Henry Bryce. At the subsequent ruck wing, Rob O’Connor combined with David Benn who powered over in the right corner. The conversion by Peter Osborne drifted narrowly wide giving Naas a 5 point lead in the 7^th minute.   Thomond threatened over the next few minutes with excellent continuity play and showed their fast offloading skills which at times, Naas struggled to contain. In the 13^th minute they pressed into the Naas 22 with menacing carries by their influential locks, Mike McMahon and Darragh Payne, but were eventually penalised at the breakdown which allowing Naas to clear.   In the 16^th minute, Naas scrum-half David Barron skillfully disrupted the Thomond scrum on halfway and forced a knock-on. Naas then attacked off their scrum involving Peter Osborne, John Sutton and Rob O’Connor taking play to the Thomond 22 on the right flank. Thomond lock Darragh Payne was then penalised and sent to the bin for not rolling away. Naas kicked for a 5m lineout but after securing they were driven back to their 22 due to intense pressure from Thomond and inaccurate passing. [caption id="attachment_60635" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Naas openside Will O'Brien spots a gap in the Thomond defence.[/caption] In the 26^th minute, Naas were penalised for going offside at a ruck 35m out. Thomond out-half Fionn McGibney opted to kick for goal from the centre but the attempt drifted narrowly wide in the blustery conditions.   Naas lock David Benn touched down for a second outstanding try in the 33^rd minute. This followed a brilliant attack by Rob O’Connor from the Naas 10m line which also involved Henry Bryce, Adam Coyle and Paul Monahan taking play to the Thomond 22. David Benn then gathered and powered his way over in the left corner to extend the Naas lead to 10 points.   Thomond again responded using their high tempo offloading game and menacing carries and brought play to the Naas 5m line where they were awarded an offside penalty. However this was reversed for foul play allowing Naas to kick for a lineout on their 10m line. After securing possession Naas scrum-half David Barron combined with Peter Osborne who made a brilliant 40m attack through the centre. From the subsequent ruck Henry Bryce pressed forward and combined with Rob O’Connor who score a superb try under the posts, which was converted by Peter Osborne to give Naas a significant 17 point lead at the interval (score 17 - 0).   In the 49^th minute, Naas back-row Paul Tolofua scored an outstanding bonus point try which was skilfully converted by Peter Osborne to extend the Naas lead to 24 points. This followed from a ruck 35m out which was secured by Bob Bryan and Adam Coyle. Paul Tolofua then gathered and showed great determination to power his way through a resilient Thomond defence to touch down right of posts. [caption id="attachment_60636" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Naas winger Rob O'Connor breaks clear of a stranded Thomond defence.[/caption] A further superb Naas try, scored by flanker Will O’Brien off a 5m lineout in the 57^th minute effectively ended the game as a contest. This opportunity arose when Niall O’Neill gathered from a ruck on halfway and then combined with David Aherne who kicked brilliantly to the right touchline. The subsequent Thomond lineout ball was snatched by Will O’Brien who seized the fifth and final try for Naas to give a score of 29-0.   Despite the significant points deficit, Thomond continued to challenge Naas throughout the final quarter and were rewarded with two outstanding tries both of which came from counter attacking moves wide on the right flank. The first of these was scored by back-row David O’Halloran in the 62^nd minute and the second by influential wing Eugene O’Carroll in the 77^th minute.   Naas senior squad host Nenagh Ormond at Forenaughts on Saturday 5^th December for the final home UBL game of the year, which kicks off at the usual time of 2:30 pm. All visitors are welcome to come out and enjoy an entertaining afternoon of sport in the relaxed and friendly atmosphere of Naas Rugby Club.   Scores / Scorers: Thomond 10: (David O’Halloran 1 try, Eugene O’Carroll 1 try) Naas 29: (Peter Osborne 2 cons, David Benn 2 tries, Rob O’Connor 1 try, Paul Tolofua 1 try, Will O’Brien 1 try)   Naas Team:

15. Fionn Higgins 14. Rob O’Connor 13. Henry Bryce 12. Ben Swindlehurst 11. Johne Murphy (David Aherne, 50’) 10. Peter Osborne 9. David Barron (Niall O’Neill, 50’) 1. Bob Bryan 2. John Sutton (Charles Kings, 55’) 3. Adam Coyle (Shane Reilly, 65’) 4. Paul Monahan 5. David Benn 6. Andrew Kearney (Capt.) 7. William O’Brien (John Sutton, 67’) 8. Paul Tolofua (Ryan Casey , 50’). Replacements: 16. Charles Kings 17. Shane Reilly 18. Ryan Casey 19. Niall O’Neill 20. David Aherne

  Thomond Team:

15. Jamie McGarry 14. Eugene O’Carroll 13. Niall Sheehan 12. Darragh Hartery 11. Cian Coady 10. Fionn McGibney 9. Mike Darcy 1. Darragh Fitzgerald 2. Eugene Payne 3. T. J. Reilhan 4. Mike McMahon 5. Darragh Payne 6. Colin Liston 7. Leonard Slattery 8. Wayne Mullaney. Replacements: 16. Geoffery O’Donoghue 17. Alex Slijepcevic 18. Eoin Cunnane 19. David O’Halloran 20. Kevin O’Mahoney