Portarlington Rugby Club beaten by Tullamore in league final

Portarlington RFC’s Second XV came up short in a tantalising winner-take-all clash in Tullamore on Thursday night. The sides finished 1st and 2nd in Leinster Metro League 9, setting up a title-decider, with the championship and promotion on the line. They were also drawn together in Round 2 of the Anderson Cup and so, agreed to double up the fixture. 

The hosts won a penalty in the first 30 seconds and elected to kick for the corner, turning down what looked like a relatively straightforward shot at goal. But Port were awarded a scrum off the line-out and cleared their lines.

Tullamore 18

Portarlington 14

Metro League 9 Final and Anderson Cup Round 2

Tullamore came straight back and won another penalty just outside the Port 22. They again refused the points, instead electing to tap and go, but again the visitors survived. 

Tullamore were putting in some huge hits, laying down a marker early. Portarlington were conceding a raft of penalties in their own half and the hosts finally muscled over for the opening try midway through the half, Tom Gilligan touching down. 

Portarlington put in an incredible defensive shift in the first 30 minutes and they moved the ball with serious speed in attack, spreading it wide at every opportunity. They almost got over in the corner but David Boland blocked their path – illegally according to the officials, who sent the Tullamore flanker to the bin. 

The home side were camped on their own try-line after this and brilliantly kept Portarlington at bay, until the 14 men finally succumbed to the power of Jack Hennessy. Dylan Walshe kicked a fantastic conversion to give Port a 7-5 lead at half time. 

The home side changed tact in the second half, kicking their first penalty to re-take the lead. But a quarter of an hour into the half, Tullamore lock, Odhran Hickey saw red – no hands in the ruck the decision. 

Portarlington were aiming to make it back-to-back league titles, having won Metro League 10 last season, and wasted no time taking advantage of the extra man. A huge driving maul brought them up to the line and some wonderful footwork from Walshe delivered try number two. The fly-half converted his own try to make it 14-8. 

But the hosts hit back immediately from the re-start when Colin Draper released Robert Tormey who went over. Tobin added the extras to put Tullamore back in front. Tullamore were on top despite the man disadvantage and added another three points when Tobin split the posts from the tee. 

Portarlington piled on the pressure in the last ten minutes in search of a try, but Tullamore stood strong and held out to be crowned 2023 Metro League Champions. They now advance in the Anderson Cup and make the move up to Metro League 8, while the loss spells the end of the season for Portarlington’s Second XV. 

SCORERS - Portarlington: Dylan Walshe (try and two conversions), Jack Hennessy (try). Tullamore: Tom Gilligan (Try), Johnny Tobin (one conversion and two penalties). 

PORTARLINGTON: Conor Parker, Ben Dooley, Thomas Scully, Cormac O'Hora, Peter Dunne; Dylan Walshe, Jason Keogh; Adam Maher, Declan Hennessy, Jack McCann; Sean Mooney, Dylan Langford; Michael Boyhan, Joander Brazon, Eugene Nolan. Replacements: Jack Devlin, Patrick Cooper, Jack Hennessy, Francis Finn, Shane O'Keeffe, Gavin Crampton, Glen Hassett, Oisin Mooney Sherlock.

TULLAMORE: Robert Tormey, Sean Dunne, Tom Gilligan, Johnny Tobin, Josh Donoghue; Colin Draper, Brian Gilligan; Eddie Connor, James Rabbitte, Shane Minnock; Mike Tormey, Odhran Hickey; David Boland, Mark Devine, John Connolly. Replacements: Brendan Leavy, Dan Flynn, Nicholas Judge, Conor Sampson, Kevin Brown, Eoghan O'Connor, Mark Brolly, Daniel Cronin. 

Referee: Paul Ennis (Mullingar).