Saturday night fever as Buccaneers see the light

Buccaneers 18 Cork Constitution 12

Constitution came away with nothing more than a bonus point but Derham has plenty of ideas how to woo fans back to the club game and will discuss those with club executives this week.

These days it is a rarity for Irish clubs to attract the crowds but Buccaneers had a bumper attendance of close on 2,000, a throwback to the heady days of the League.

Take Young Munster by comparison. Only 300 souls turned up for their second division clash with Dolphin on Saturday. Buccaneers have arguably the best set-up of any club in the league, a standalone pub, decent ground and magnificent stand.

It made sense that people would be attracted to Dubarry Park on a mild October evening.

Judging by their performance the fans will be back. Buccaneers were much the better side and Constitution were, without argument, fortunate to pick up a bonus point. But it was a good game between two under-strength sides.

Justin Meagher was by far the most influential player on the pitch but Chris Keane, for his workload, won the man-of-the-match award. Cian Mahony and Jean Vincent Igarza made plenty of inroads for Constitution but suffered from a lack of possession.

Buccaneers, without dominating totally up front, were still much stronger and their lineout much smarter. They managed to snatch four of Constitution’s throws and never yielded in the scrummaging battle that developed.

Occasionally, Mike Ross, Brendan and Shane O’Connor showed glimpses of their potential but the Buccaneers effort was more cohesive and Martin Cahill was hugely influential. Constitution coach Brian Walsh conceded that the better side won.

“It’s all a bit frantic at this stage of the season because so many players are not available to us. But it was the same for both sides and you have to give credit to Buccaneers for the job they did on us.

“They were solid, composed and took their chances. I’m glad to have picked up a bonus point. That was certainly a plus for us and I didn’t think it was possible for long stages of the match. It showed that the guys have guts for the way they fought back to challenge and come that close in a game that they were really out of for long periods.”

Pat McCarthy put Constitution in front after 16 minutes but within minutes Meagher scythed through for a brilliant try and converted himself.

Barry Keeshan dropped a goal a few minutes later but Buccaneers fully deserved their seven point half-time advantage courtesy of two penalties from Meagher.

McCarthy started the second-half as impressively as the first when he tacked on his second penalty but the game moved out of Constitution’s reach again when Cahill stormed over for a try. McCarthy’s third strike gave Constitution that valuable bonus point but his side were unable to make any further impression on a game deservedly won by the home team.

BUCCANEERS: J.Meagher, O. Grennan, P. O’Sullivan, W. Wallace (captain), C. Lavelle, N. O’Hara, C. Keane, E. Bracken, G. Halligan, M. Cahill, N. Smullen, R. McCann, T. Richardson, D. Kelly, E. Brennan. Replacements. M. Diffley for Bracken (54), G. Schoeman for Richardson (67), M. Madden for Kelly (79).

CORK CONSTITUTION: C. O’Sullivan, N. Kenneally, C. Mahony (captain), J. V. Igarza, C. Healy, B. Keeshan, P. McCarthy, T. Ryan, d. Murray, M. Ross, J. Moloney, S. O’Connor, A. Harte, B. O’Connor, B. Cutriss. Replacements. D. Fogarty for Murray (60), J.J Cahill for B. O’Connor(72, injured).

Referee: A. McKay (Ulster).