Carlow prove there’s a place in the game for all

IRISH rugby is not the preserve of the traditional areas like Dublin, Cork, Belfast and Limerick. There is a place in the game for everybody, or at least there should be in spite of the campaign to get rid of Connacht, and anybody disputing that point of view ought to have been at Thomond Park on Saturday.

The occasion was the AIB League Division One relegation cliffhanger between UL/Bohemians and Co Carlow, which finished 41-26 in the visitors' favour. Carlow held the whiphand as they made the 200-mile return trip to Limerick but they knew that defeat by an eight point margin would plunge them back into the second division from which they had emerged a couple of years ago. They were taking no chances.

Winger Maurice Logue remained in Carlow long enough to be present for the birth of his second son and only arrived at the ground five minutes before the kick-off and was gone as quickly after the final whistle!

Furthermore, a massive support made the journey to cheer on their side and to judge by the applause greeting the teams as they took the pitch, one could certainly be forgiven for believing that Carlow were the home team. And considering the way they started the match, you wondered why Carlow were battling to avoid relegation instead of challenging for the title itself!

Within twelve minutes, they were an incredible 19 points in front thanks to tries by Alan Gallivan, Mark Buckley and Liam O'Byrne, two of them converted by player coach Danny van Zyl. Furthermore, Bohemian flanker Philip Van Esbeck was in the sin bin. Nobody held out much hope for the men in red, but Carlow number eight and keyman Andy Melville wasn't counting any chickens.

"We came here off two great games against UCD and Blackrock in which we felt we had played really well and the adrenalin was really pumping in the first twenty minutes", said the elated 29 year-old New Zealander. "But it's hard to keep that going. The adrenalin disappears and we had to dig deep to get it back and, of course, you have to hand it to UL/Bohs, they came back at us as we knew they would".

Sure enough, it was Carlow's turn to have a man (Matthew Cooke) banished to the bin and for UL/Bohs to come charging back with tries by Jodie Danagher and Keith Matthews, one converted by Ian Costello. A van Zyl penalty on the stroke of half time put Carlow 22-12 ahead but it was still far from a foregone conclusion. Matthews cut through for his second try and Costello converted. The outstanding Melville then crashed over for his side's fourth try and a crucial bonus point but it still wasn't a done deal.

The admirable Matthews completed his hat-trick of tries and Costello's conversion left only a point between the sides, 27-26. Eight more points without reply would have saved UL/Bohs bacon. And who knows what the outcome might have been had it been one of the UL/Bohs speedsters who intercepted a pass on his own 22 instead of substitute scrum-half Dominic Malone.

Munster's reserve number nine was quickly overhauled and a glorious chance had passed. It was that close for Carlow who, to their credit, then proceeded to eliminate all further doubt with a second try by O'Byrne and another by substitute Bobby Baggott, both converted by van Zyl.

"It's a big deal for Carlow to be in the top division, so this was a huge game for the club", enthused Melville, a New Zealander by birth and upbringing but nowadays a naturalised Carlowman having lived in the town for eight or nine years and married a local girl. "I count myself as a Carlowman. Did you see that support out there, there are very few clubs in the country with that kind of support. We're aspiring to play for the full eighty minutes like we did for the first twenty today. We kept losing silly games and missing out on bonus points we should have picked up.

"Today should have been free and easy for us. We have finished with around five bonus points. We're all learning as players. There are only a couple who have played first division before and we have to learn how to stay in these games. Hopefully, everybody will hang around and make it easier at the start of next year."

Melville showed his commitment by leaving the field three times for treatment to a small head wound and returning to the fray each time. And while Co Carlow are now full of hope for the future, the youngsters of UL/Bohs are left to rue the fact that for all their footballing ability, they were found wanting in the physical stakes. The majority of their players are students at UL with their best days yet to come. Coach Mike Tewkesbury hopes that he and the club will be together again next season so that he can work with this impressive array of talent in the less demanding atmosphere of the second division.

"We took a gamble that we would stay within our own ranks and it hasn't paid off", he accepted. "You saw today the kind of rugby we can play but we just lacked the bulk up front. It takes time for these guys to develop to a size where they can compete with the likes of Carlow at the maul that was a defining issue today. I think we are a vastly improved side from last year. As individuals they've come along a lot and their understanding of the game has come on but obviously not enough to stay in the league."