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The half time score of 6 points to 3 gave very little warning of what was to come in the second half of this brilliant match.
With both sides willing and able to spread the ball across the park, the first forty minutes saw both defences on top denying either side any real attempts to cross their respective touchlines.
Bruff went three up after ten minutes courtesy of Captain Brian Cahill, a reply five minutes later from Terenures David mcAllister and another penalty a minute into injury from Cahill again were the only scores.
Seven minutes into the second half, Patrick Thompson. ran in from the Terenure 22 dodging a pair of despairing tackles and getting back up after the second to touch down in the corner. No conversion however from the captain.
11-3.
Terenure spent a good fifteen minutes at this stage on the attack over and back but the Bruff defence was its usual strong self. Again, things took a turn after one of those fabulous game-turning moments, Alan “Crusher” Bourke gathering a loose ball on his own ten meter line and as he sidestepped two tackles, he looked to offload. With no-one available to take a pass you could see him step up a gear and decide to pin back the ears and just go for it. Three missed tackles and sixty meters later the home crowd went ecstatic as he crossed beside the posts for what must be the individual try of the season. Cahill adding the two points to give Bruff a clear gap.
However as often happens, from the resultant kick off, Bruff failed to catch and Terenure No. 9, Mark O’Mahoney ran in for a try near the posts. McAllister added the extras to allow them to claw back a little into this tight match and leave only 8 points beteween the sides.
After his fabulous try last week Peter Malone got a print of the shot from Pat O’ Leary as in his own words “They don’t come around that often”, this week he made a lie of that when he crossed for try number three from the rear of a lineout. Captain Cahill again added the extras and that put Bruff out of sight. a penalty and a further brilliant interception from Davy Gardiner and Bruff were home and hosed finishing on thirty-five points to the visitors thirteen, a three point improvement from the one in January last.
This gives us one last Final playoff crack at Lansdowne who demolished DLSP by forty points to eight at the RDS to decide the spoils for the season. This game is set for 8pm on friday 7th May in Anglesea Rd.
Bring it on!
BRUFF; Patrick Thompson, Andrew Cashman, John Malone, John Carroll, John Moore, Brian Cahill (Capt), Tony Cahill, Stephen Foster, Cathal O’Regan, Gearoid Ryan, Maurice O’Connell, Alan Bourke, David Gardiner, Andrew White and Michael Carroll.
Replacements. Peter Malone for M. Carroll and David Horan for Ryan (54), Dermot Murnane for O’Connell (62), John Clery for O’Regan, Gary Leonard for Moore, Eoghan Maher for B. Cahill and Paul O’Brien for Cashman (All 78).
TERENURE COLLEGE: Adam O’Loughlin, Ianis Deniau, Cathal Morley, Graham Coffey, Mark O’Neill, David McAllister, Mark O’Mahoney, Remy Alliger, Brian Blaney, Andrew Buckridge, William Collins, Brian Moroney, Peter O’Malley, John Dever and Kevin O’Dwyer.
Replacements. Tony Byrne for Alliger (61) and Darren Egan for Moroney (62).