Con and Mary’s driven by near misses

PREVIEW: AIB League Division One Final

Con have been at the business end of the tournament for the past four years, finishing top of the pile at the end of the regulation season, but have just one piece of silverware to show for their efforts.

St Mary’s will have plenty of motivation of their own however, as they have to go back to 2000 for the last time they claimed supremacy.

In the build-up to this clash between the teams that finished first and second in the league campaign proper – and who therefore will deservedly battle it out for the title – St Mary’s captain Hugh Hogan related the story often told by club coach Peter Smyth, who won a league medal with the club a decade ago.

“Peter has told us of how much he hoped to add to that medal; he was only 22 at the time and felt fairly confident he had plenty time to get another. But he has now moved on to coaching and the club hasn’t won a title since, so I guess it’s a pretty tough competition to win,” said Hogan.

Con know too well that to be the case. Captain Evan Ryan recalled the frustration of coming so close and yet being so far from glory in recent seasons.

“There were a lot of disappointed people in the club after losing two titles that were up for grabs but, I suppose, it makes you fight harder and want success all the more,” he said.

St Mary’s may have been up there close to the best all these years since Brent Pope’s team took the title ten years ago, but Hogan and his colleagues know now that it’s a prize they really have to earn. Ryan, and many more of this Constitution team know that even better after falling at the final hurdle.

Just over a month after the sides produced a thrilling match at Templeville Road, with the hosts running out 24-20 winners and taking a huge step towards the play-offs, this is set up for a cracker.

Cork Con recovered to book their place in the decider after back-to-back wins over local rivals Dolphin. And skipper Ryan is expecting it to be just as tight at the home of Buccaneers, the ground where they claimed the AIB Cup back in January.

“It’ll be tough, but we’re looking forward to it,” admitted the centre. “We have had two good games against Dolphin, two very tough games. It’s going to be difficult against St Mary’s, we played them twice – we beat them in Cork and then lost to them in Dublin a few weeks back.

“We started quite slow into the season and lost our first two games. We kind of got into a run at things towards Christmas but all of those games were two and three pointers (wins), so we weren’t hammering teams or anything like that.

“That’s the way the league has gone recently, competition has been right up there and it’s arguably the most exciting campaign I have played in. From the club point of view, the AIB Cup run, that was a confidence booster, but the league remains a different dynamic, even if this game is essentially a cup game rather than a league match.”

Ryan is also expecting a high standard of play “The standard of rugby has gone up this year and teams are aiming higher. Intensity and the competitive edge was more evident; that was especially evident in the games against St Mary’s.

“Overall, the league didn’t turn out to be a slog-fest and neither were any of the games that one-sided; what you got was good competitive matches being played week in and week out and there were no cricket scores.”

Playing home and away fixtures appealed to Ryan, but on neutral ground, and in a winner-take-all scenario between two talented and attack-conscious teams, the memories could be lasting.

However, Con’s hopes took a hit yesterday when Tom Gleeson was called up to the Munster squad for the Magners League battle with Cardiff.

Gleeson had been included in the Con team for the game at Dubarry Park before learning that Keith Earls was not fit to join with his Munster colleagues. The Constitution midfield partnership of Gleeson and Ryan, has therefore been broken up and the Cork side has yet to name a replacement.

Already, Con had to juggle their selection in the knowledge that Billy Holland and Scott Deasy were part of the provincial plans.

CORK CONSTITUTION: S Zebo; R Lane, AN Other, E Ryan (capt), C Healy; D Lyons, D William;, M Gately, R Quinn, S Archer; M O’Connell, I Nagle; E Leamy, F Cogan, P O’Mahony.

ST MARY’S COLLEGE: G Dunne; D Fanning, S Grissing, M Sexton, R Doherty; S McCarthy, C McPhillips; Robert Sweeney, Richard Sweeney, J McGrath; R Copeland, S Bradshaw; P Nash, D Hall, H Hogan (capt).

Referee: A Rolland (IRFU).