A large crowd came to Loughtagalla on Saturday to watch Thurles welcome Thomond in the Webb Cup semi-final. This was going to be a serious challenge for the home team and so it proved.
The home side played into the clubhouse in the first half. Thurles set the tempo early on and had Thomond on the back foot. A strong carry by Conor Moloney put Thomond under pressure & a further drive by Donnacha Ryan supported by Brian O Connell & Eoin Kerrane gave Thurles the front foot.Sharp hands by Nate Morehu & Dylan Shaughnessy sent JJ Schoeman in for a well deserved try. Nate Morehu sent the conversion between the sticks. Good Start. Surely Thurles would build on it. But old failings returned with slack defence allowing the Thomond out half in under the posts. Conversion a formality. Scores even.
Thurles again got their running game going and a strong run by JJ Schoeman broke the defensive line. Good handling created the overlap but the final pass wasn’t given. Luckily the forwards regrouped and after a series of drives Donnacha Ryan got the vital shunt to score. Morehu’ s conversion drifted under the posts. Thurles were ahead by 5 points.
Thomond respond quickly and a quick tap from a penalty opened the Thurles defence. Again the tackling was loose and lacked commitment. Luckily Thurles forced a turnover and Ollie Delaney cleared to touch. From the lineout a burly Thomond forward broke the defence at his ease and made it to the line just to the left of the posts. The out half converted. 14-12 to Thomond. Again, defence was the undoing of Thurles.
Game on. Thurles again responded and smart play sent Joey Kelly sprinting down the wing. Good support from Brian O Connell took play over the halfway line. An offload from Donnacha Ryan to Eoin Kerrane allowed Morehu to create overlay for winger Eoin Long to cut back infield and he motored like a hamster on a wheel to beat the covering defence. Morehu sent the conversion wide 17-14 to Thurles.
Thomond upped the pace and their backs began to test the Thurles defence. They piled pressure on Thurles and a silly penalty gave Thomond the equalising score. Plenty of action in the first 30 mins with both teams giving their all.
With half time approaching Thurles had moved into the Thomond half. A strong carry by Tomás Ryan sent now prop JJ Schoeman into a gap. Quick ball was ensured as O Connell & Kerrane cleared the ruck. Delaney fed Morehu who sent Joey Kelly free. Kelly’s delayed pass to Dylan Shaughnessy sent the winger down the wing and he scooted over the line. The conversion was again missed. Thurles 5 points up as the referee blew for half time.
The second half was to prove quite chaotic. Knock-ons, missed tackles & penalties made it a very stop start affair. Whereas the first half had plenty to entertain, the second half was barren of the skills of rugby. One bright note was a fine break from Andrew Bourke with Richie Houlihan supplying the turbo charge. Captain Donnacha Ryan took the ball at pace and into the Thomond 22. Thomond were on the back foot and gave away the penalty. Morehu sent the ball between the posts to give Thurles an 8-point cushion. It was needed!
For the last ten minutes penalties conceded at ruck time allowed Thomond to put pressure on the Thurles defence. Turnovers by Joey Kelly, Donnacha Ryan & Conor Moloney relieved the pressure when needed. Special mention of JJ Schoeman who started at prop and then moved to the wing and finally the side-line. A great tackle by JJ left him with a bloody eye and a nice shiner. The final play was left to the captain who spiralled the ball into touch with the final kick.
Overall, a satisfactory display but using the ‘noggin’ at vital stages in a match is what makes a cup winning team. With 3 cup finals to be played, it is vital that players make the effort to train on their own as run outs on a Friday will not be sufficient.
