“Days like this give me hope for the future”

Club rugby dead? Not so, according to Hugh Farrelly who was amongst the healthy crowd at a lively AIB League derby on Saturday.

IT WAS a day to restore one’s faith in Irish club rugby.

A fine crowd (estimated at almost 1,000), a beautiful, crisp autumn day (whoever said Woodleigh Park was the ‘House of Rain’ hasn’t a clue) and a rollicking AIB League Division 2 derby contest ended with visitors Dolphin holding out for a 25-19 win and Highfield scrapping hard for a well-merited bonus point.

With mobile phone ring tones and the howling of lonely dogs the customary soundtrack for AIL matches in recent years, it was hugely encouraging to hear a large crowd ‘ooh’ and ‘aaah’ again as they followed the spirited events on the pitch.

Dolphin now top the division with three wins from three but that was less important than gaining bragging rights over their neighbours.

Spotted among the crowd was Cork hurling legend Jimmy Barry-Murphy and he must have been impressed by the performance of Dolphin scrum-half, and ex-Cork minor hurler Tomás O’Leary, who was the game’s key contributor.

Confident and decisive at the base of the scrum, O’Leary kicked intelligently all day and was a constant menace with his strong running. He also seems to have inherited his father Seán’s knack for vital scores, with two more tries, one in each half.

The second score was the clincher, putting Dolphin 25-12 up with time running out. O’Leary peeled around a lineout after a John Fitzgerald take and unleashed himself at the Highfield defence from 20 metres. You might argue that some of the tackling was not all it should have been but determination and powerful thighs also had a lot to do with it.

Dave O’Mahony, the Dolphin coach, knows a couple of things about scrum-half play after a distinguished career which saw him capped in the mid-1990s, and although quick to point out afterwards that it was a team performance, his excitement about O’Leary bubbled to the surface.

“Tomás is class act, pure quality. It’s great to have him with Dolphin. He has a good head on him, a great attitude and I have no doubt he will go far in the game.”

After O’Leary’s score, Highfield did very well to snatch a self-converted try from Killian Barry at the end and scoop their third bonus point of the season. Last season’s Division Three champions should retain their place in Division Two for they have a young team with plenty of bottle and their pack, with captain Rory Cogan and lock Greg Holland prominent, troubled the visitors with their mauling game.

“Highfield competed superbly and made it very difficult for us,” acknowledged O’Mahony. “They didn’t allow us to play the way we wanted to and their maul had us in a bit of bother. We were a bit fortunate and delighted to eke out a victory.”

Highfield largely dominated the first-half and, but for a couple of fluffed opportunities, would have led by more than 12-10 at the break. The loss of Conor Quaid to injury after 33 minutes hampered the home side as the out-half’s ability to control proceedings was missed.

Dolphin also had injury problems, losing their out-half points machine John O’Mahony and centre Mick Manning before kick-off but replacements Colin Healy and Jack Purcell both did well, the latter particularly lively.

His centre partner, the Munster-contracted James Storey, scored a superb try at the beginning of the second period and with ex-international wing Darragh O’Mahony making a cameo appearance for the last 15 minutes, the Dolphin backline now has a potent look to it.

“James Storey is a guy who wants to be in the Munster 22 and is unfortunate not be, but I suppose that is fortunate for us,” said the coach. “Darragh O’Mahony is just back in Cork after seven years as pro in England and is a great addition to the squad.”

For those of us who feared for the future of club rugby, Saturday in Woodleigh Park was a revitalising experience. Highfield full-back Brian Roche has been around the AIL block for the best part of a decade and acknowledged that this was an occasion to savour.

“There was a great buzz out there. Derby matches are always a little bit special and the atmosphere reminded me of the good old days in the league,” he said.

Final word goes to David O’Mahony. “A lot of people are writing off club rugby but the clubs still have a big role to play in Irish rugby and days like this give me hope that the competition is on the way back.”