ABBEYFEALE was no place for the faint of heart on Saturday as Ennis took on Chorca Dhuibhne of Dingle in their Munster semi-final clash.
Ennis 14
Corcha Dhuibhne 14
Ennis with the very strong wind at their back in the first half were finding it hard to settle into any sort of rhythm as play was constantly being interrupted by the man with the whistle. Strong carries from Ennis would bring play into the Chorca Dhuibhne 22 but repeated penalties would see Ennis pushed back inside their own half. This was the theme of the first half until outside centre Andrew Cahir Whelan read the play perfectly to pick off a midfield pass from the Chorca Dhuibhne 12 to go through and score under the posts. Odhrán Flynn converted and Ennis finished the half 7-0 up.
The strength of the wind – and the standard of the opposition – made this a tenuous lead and Dingle piled on the pressure early in the second half, with Ennis pinned back on their try-line. Some miss-communication saw the ball spill from the Ennis ruck to be touched down by the greatful Chorca Dhuibhne player. The try was converted and the scores were level.
Ennis’s visits into the Chorca Dhuibhne half were few and far between as the Kerry outfit used the wind brilliantly pinning Ennis back with some good kicks from their outhalf and fullback. A crossfield kick into the Ennis 22 caught the defending midfield by surprise. Good football skills from the Kerry boy saw him pluck the ball from the sky and break through to score, leaving Ennis trailing 14 – 7.
With the pressure on Ennis stuck to their plan. Strong carries from Jacob Casson-Rennie, Caoibhne Enright, John Sweeney and Luke Kennedy say Ennis make a rare visit into the Chorca Dhuibhne 22. A quick penalty from Seán Queally set Jacob through for a strong carry. After two quick phases, it was Jacob again finding a gap in the Chorca Dhuibhne defence breaking through three would-be tacklers to cross the line with two opposing players hanging off him. This left Ennis two points down, with an impossible conversion to come. Odhrán Flynn lined up his kick, 2 meters from the sideline, only to have it blown of the kicking T such was the strength of the wind . Diarmuid Boyle did the honours and lay down to hold the ball steady. Flynn calmly stepped back and eyed his target again. No one was expecting him to even come close but he drove the ball straight over the blackspot splitting the posts. The sides were level with less than two minutes to play.
Ennis gathered the restart and were determined to hold onto possession. A number of phases later and with time up, Ennis knocked the ball on in contact. The final whistle sounded and with that Ennis went through to the final. Andrew Cahir Whelan scoring the first try of the match proved the decisive moment as the 1st try rule came into effect, but the boot of Odhrán Flynn certainly stole the show.
Ennis will face Waterpark of Waterford in the final who are undefeated this season. The final will be played on Sunday the 3rd of April at 1pm in Irish Independent Park (Musgrave Park) Cork. All support would be very welcome on the day and there will be buses traveling to cork for supporters. Check out Ennis RFC Facebook page for details.
