Dolphin overcome Crescent to take title

Dolphin29

Plagiarised of course, as is the case with so many other rugby-club anthems, to the tune of "A Nation Once Again" their song rose to the sunny skies and bounced back at us from the empty caverns of the upper decks in Lansdowne Road.

"Dolphin once again", they bellowed, "Dolphin once again", and thus it is. Of the three clubs that had topped their respective divisions during the regular season, they were the only ones in the top-four knockout competition to confirm their number one status.

There was a plethora of reasons. Topping the league meant promotion to the top division, the biggest prize of all, and nothing that happened subsequently could deny them that.

But in this, their centenary season, winning Saturday's Division Two decider was about making a statement, a statement not about the past, not even so much about the present, but about the future.

No more Mr Nice Guy, says out-half John O'Mahony. One hundred years on, heading into a new century, Dolphin are getting down to business.

"Dolphin have developed a bit of a reputation of getting so far but never actually finishing the job.

"We talked about that among ourselves, we had been promoted, but if we hadn't won this, people would have said we were lucky to go up. The fact that it was Crescent we beat was important also.

"They pushed us all the way this season, and there had been talk that they had a stronger side, that they had missed a few chances during the season, so to beat them today was a massive thing for us. We felt we had to win this, and to do so now, after winning promotion, is just the crowning glory."

O'Mahony himself played a massive part in the win.

A metronome with the boot, the first of his five successful penalty kicks set a new Division Two points-total record, but it was his final three kicks, the 72nd, 79th and title-clinching 83rd minutes, into the teeth of a strong wind, that secured the trophy for this close-knit Cork-city side.

It left the veteran feeling doubly satisfied, for himself, and for his club.

"For me personally, I've been back at Dolphin for six years now, and it's been a long six years, not too many days like this. The club is in my family, so it's nice to actually be successful."

Their intensity, their motivation, was evident from the start, 10-0 ahead after ten minutes, 17-7 the score at the break, and they were full value for that lead.

Prop Eddie Knowles got the first try after several phases by both backs and forwards but marked by a fine individual burst from No 8 James Coughlan.

Second-row and captain Dave Pomeroy used his telescopic reach for the second, after the hard yards had been punched by an impressively-mobile front row of Knowles/Darren O'Farrell/John O'Sullivan.

Full-back and captain Jay Cusack had the only Crescent reply, a touchdown wide right well converted by all-purpose (perhaps too many purposes) scrum-half Eoin Reddan.

The second half was backs-to-the-wall stuff for Dolphin, as Old Crescent finally began to show the regular-season form that saw them only narrowly pipped for promotion in what became very much a two-horse race.

Two tries, first from replacement prop PJ McLoughlin, then flying centre Shane Stephens, to come within a single point of Dolphin, with quarter of an hour still to play.

Along with his backrow colleagues Coughlan and the voracious Donncha Murphy, man-of-the-match Madigan had much to do with the fact that in that last quarter, Dolphin managed to rise to the challenge, and finished the stronger side.

"It was definitely slipping", the towering blindside acknowledged; "for twenty minutes we just couldn't get the ball off them."

"They got two tries, and we were lucky they didn't get in for more, they had loads of pace out wide.

"They had us in the scrum too, the first time that's happened this year. We played them in January and did fine, but today we just couldn't hold them.

"I was talking to the props, they tried everything, but they were just too strong. Thank God we managed to hold out, the few penalties in the end made the difference, delighted."

Dolphin once again, champions of the second division, delighted, fully deserved.

DOLPHIN: D. Keeshan; M. Knowles, B. O'Neill, M. Manning (R. Kelleher 48), D. Whelan (J. Purcell 74); J. O'Mahony (5P 2C), D. O'Mahony (inj. 50 K. Murphy); E. Knowles (1T), D. O'Farrell, J. O'Sullivan; D. Pomeroy (capt. 1T), R. McGrath; S. Madigan, D. Murphy, J. Coughlan.

OLD CRESCENT: J. Cusack (capt. 1T); A. O'Loughlin, S. Stephens (1T), M. Brodie, F. Hogan (D. Fitzgerald 49); M. Mullins, E. Reddan (2C); S. Murphy (PJ McLoughlin 40, 1T), L. Browne (A. McMahon 75), J. Cullinane; P. Ryan, I. Bloomer (D. Bowles 44); D. O'Malley, D. McDonagh, M. T'Pau.

Referee: D. Courtney (L.A.R.)