Thomond RFC 12 City of Armagh RFC 13
City of Armagh got back to winning ways on Saturday when they travelled to Limerick and came home with a valuable away win.
With Thomond bottom of the league table, some may have expected a routine win for the visitors but Munster teams know how to battle and Armagh were indeed fortunate to steal victory by a single point.
Armagh travelled with an understrength squad but started the match brightly. It was soon evident that the Thomond team were a totally different side to the one that had suffered a heavy defeat in Armagh.
The visitors attempted to find space out wide but the home defence was well improved and the gaps did not appear for the Armagh backline to exploit. With ten minutes gone, Armagh lost winger Andrew Willis to injury and as expected Thomond were playing to their strengths with their pack winning a fair share of possession.
Harvey Young came closest to an early score for the visitors but he just failed to touch down a kick ahead.
Neil Faloon, back in the team at number 8, was making his presence felt but turnovers were costing Armagh good attacking positions.
The visitors had a let off when Thomond kicked a penalty into the Armagh corner but it failed to find touch and the pressure was relieved.
A rolling maul to the Armagh tryline was also penalised allowing the visitors to clear their line.
On 25 minutes, James Hanna made a line break on the half way line and was well supported by Stephen Morton. The ball was well recycled and Cormac Fox sent Neil Faloon over for a try when he cut back inside in the Thomond 22. A successful conversion gave Armagh a valuable 7 nil lead as they were playing into the strong wind.
Just before halftime, Armagh turned over Thomond possession and from an attacking lineout move, Thomond were penalised for offside on their 22. Fox was successful with the penalty kick and Armagh held a narrow 0-10 lead at the break.
From the re-start Thomond, now playing into the wind, raised their game to put Armagh under significant pressure. A penalty kick from their out-half put play deep into the Armagh 22 and the visitors had to defend their line for a sustained period. The pressure eventually paid off for Thomond when second row Mullally crashed over for an unconverted try to bring the score to 5-10.
Armagh then had a good attacking spell and Stephen Morton was stopped a yard from the tryline after a fine charge. Thomond were penalised at the breakdown and Armagh elected for a scrum. The visitors then had a series of drives but failed to cross the line and a knock on let Thomond off the hook.
Further Armagh pressure should have resulted in a score but errors crept into the visitor’s game and Thomond remained very much in the match.
With 12 minutes remaining Thomond returned to the Armagh 22 and were awarded a penalty which they kicked into the corner. From the resultant lineout, the home pack drove over the Armagh line for a crucial score. The difficult conversion was successful and the home team were delighted to be leading 12-10.
With time running out, Armagh ran the ball out of defence and a Thomond forward was penalized for offside at a ruck on the 10 metre line. Fox converted the tricky kick and the visitors were back in the lead at 12-13.
Thomond dominated the final three minutes and with 60 seconds left on the clock, Armagh infringed at a ruck and the referee awarded the home team a penalty. Fortunately for the visitors, the strong wind carried the ball wide and the final whistle sounded to bring a tense match to a close with Armagh holding on for the narrowest of wins, 12-13.
The Armagh coaching staff were delighted to get 4 points from this match as Thomond will give every team a tough match at their home ground. This Saturday Armagh make a return trip back to Limerick to play Old Crescent in what will be another tough encounter.
