Energia AIL 2A 29th February 2020
Scorers: M.O'Neill(1*Try), Connolly(1*Pen)
The weather was the real winner at Hatrick Park where Cashel kept their promotion chances very much alive by holding on to beat Rainey Old Boys 15-8 to avenge a defeat at Spafield earlier in the season. Queen's made it six in a row by beating Old Crescent 24-7 at The Dub, joining Cashel in second place, a point behind Barnhall, whose game with Buccaneers was called off.
While the playing surface held up well considering the inclement weather, conditions could hardly have been worse for the players or the sparse crowd who braved the elements. Many of the spectators wisely opted to remain indoors. The Tipperary side did not have to face the rain, sleet and snow which ceased at half-time, but they dominated up front when it mattered as Rainey simply turned over too much ball in contact and made a few dubious decisions.
Rainey produced their best rugby in the opening quarter against an arctic wind. Their forwards caused the visitors problems by driving as a unit to spend time in the right part of the field and the tackling was as solid as it has been all season. They almost got through on several occasions, but just could not deliver the vital off-load. This was, no doubt, due to the fact that the match officials failed to notice the Cashel centres encroaching throughout the game.
As the Cashel scrum began to dominate, they were held up to earn a five metre put-in from which a second drive brought them a pushover try. Minutes later, Rainey conceded a silly penalty to find themselves back under pressure and, from an attacking lineout, the Cashel pack drove on to open a twelve point gap.
After 33 minutes, Rainey fans were given a great boost when Michael O'Neill was sent down the left after some great driving forward play. Although brought down just short with a fine tackle, he managed to reach out to grab a score which was a killer blow at the time. Cashel poured on the pressure before the break and looked sure to score. Opting for a scrum right in front of the posts instead of taking the points on offer, they threw everything at Rainey, but the Old Boys defence did not crack.
A couple of handling errors allowed Rainey to upset the Cashel side and they came within inches of claiming a touchdown when they forced a charged down kick right on the Cashel line. After this promising spell, however, Rainey let themselves down. Their lineout has been a strong point all season, but on this occasion Cashel had all the answers. When they won their first lineout of the day just inside their 22', they did not go directly to touch with the wind behind them, but prefered to use the pack to set up a better platform, and, as they are prone to do, conceded another killer of a penalty to gift the opposition an easy three points.
Rainey kept trying, but made little impact, spilling too much ball in contact. A late try would have been a mere consolation, but the Cashel men were not to be denied.