Portlaoise survive a nail-biting finish to claim the Michael Dunne Cup

Leinster Rugby Michael Dunne Cup Final 

Portlaoise 31 

Carlow 30 

PORTLAOISE had just one point to spare on Sunday as they pipped Carlow to the post, with the Laois club coming out on the right side of 61-point thriller to lift the Leinster Michael Dunne Cup at The Showgrounds in Athy.

Two tries apiece in the opening quarter and five tries in the third quarter produced 95% of the total scoring, with just a solitary penalty kicked in the intervening 40 minutes.

Portlaoise scored three tries in eight minutes midway through the second half, but Carlow stormed back to give themselves a shot at goal to win the cup. It was not to be, however, as Portlaoise escaped Athy with the trophy after the most dramatic of finals.

Portlaoise went on the attack right from the kick-off and tested Carlow's defence from the very first ball. The Laois club went coast to coast and back again before releasing Eanna Moynihan who weaved through two defenders to cross for a brilliant try in the fifth minute.

Carlow responded immediately, winning a penalty on the Portlaoise 22 and kicking for goal, with Liam Slater dissecting the posts.

A huge carry moments later from Caleb Oglesby brought play back up to the Portlaoise 22, with Carlow going wide to winger George Cassidy who raced over in the corner to put his side 8-5 up after 12 minutes.

Portlaoise hit back in style, kicking to the corner off a penalty and going to a brilliant set-play, with Ronan Donlon taking the lineout and popping the ball down to Adam Duffin who found a hole and went clean through for a try. Oisin Hade added the extras to make it 12-8 after only quarter of an hour.

And there was a fourth try on the board with just 20 minutes gone when Carlow piled on the pressure before full back Noah Oglesby surged down the wing and finished with aplomb in the corner. It left a difficult sideline kick for Slater, but he was up to the task, extending the Carlow lead to three points.

Carlow showed great line-speed in defence and survived a five-minute onslaught in front of their own posts before winning a turnover and clearing their lines; with Portlaoise captain Mark Kelly forced off injured in the process.

The men from Togher remained on the front foot throughout the second quarter and sent a barrage of one-out runners towards the try-line, only to be twice held up by the tenacious Carlow defence.

Oisin Hade had a kick at goal to draw the sides level right on half time, with Carlow prop John Farrell sent to the sin bin, but the penalty drifted to the left and wide as Carlow went in at the break leading 15-12.

Portlaoise's woes continued at the start of the second half, with referee Joseph Lyons brandishing a yellow card to Sean Peters. Liam Slater slotted the resulting penalty to push Carlow six points in front.

Adam Duffin breathed life back into Portlaoise with a barnstorming run into the Carlow 22, but the men from Oak Park turned the ball over yet again and cleared play up to halfway. Both sides were restored to a full complement for the last half an hour of the final, with Portlaoise desperate to close the six-point gap.

They began to pile on the pressure once more and won a penalty 15 metres from the Carlow line. The decision was made to tap, and it was soon justified when Hade found his way to the line just beside the post. He added the extras himself to put Portlaoise a point up heading into the final quarter.

The Laois club had all the momentum and kicked to the corner moments later off another penalty. They set up the maul before going to the backs, with Hade spinning a lovely pass out to Cullen Kirwan. The young winger still had a lot to do, but blasted over Noah Oglesby to score in the corner.

Portlaoise were under the cosh from the restart, but a brilliant charge-down from Kirwan saw him gather the loose ball before racing in under the posts unchallenged for his second try in quick succession and a third Portlaoise try in a rampant eight-minute spell. Hade converted to push the lead out to 13 points with just quarter of an hour left on the clock.

Carlow needed a quick score to keep their hopes alive and it came with six minutes remaining courtesy of a powerful drive to the line from prop Martin Mullins. Slater was grateful for the kick under the posts and reduced the deficit to six points heading down the final stretch.

The drama continued when Portlaoise had a man sent to the bin for the remainder after Darragh Phelan took out Thomas Whitney in the air from the kick-off.

Carlow brought play back inside the Portlaoise 22 and went from touchline to touchline before eventually creating the space out wide for Oscar Siney to score in the corner.

That meant the game came down to a Liam Slater conversion with time already up. The kick looked good, but drifted agonisingly wide at the last second – heartache for Carlow; delight for Portlaoise.

SCORERS:

Portlaoise: Cullen Kirwan (2 tries), Eanna Moynihan and Adam Duffin (1 try each), Oisin Hade (1 try, 3 cons).

Carlow: George Cassidy, Noah Oglesby Martin Mullins and Oscar Siney (1 try each), Liam Slater (2 pens, 2 cons).

PORTLAOISE: Euan McCann; Patrick Reddin, Eanna Moynihan, Mark Rigney, Eric Smith; Oisín Hade, Mark Kelly; Harry Rigney, Conor Deegan, Nathan Flanagan; Sean Peters, Sean Hennessy; Ronan Donlon, Mattia Dolce, Adam Duffin.

Replacements: Daniel Breen, Christopher Cahill, Daragh Phelan, Cian Butler, Aaron Kingston, Cullan Kirwan, Daniel Maunsell.

Extended Panel: Zach Maginnis, Ciaran O’Brien-McCormack, Jack McGrath, Ben Goodall, Jack Foyle, Adam Glynn, Billy Kerry, David Reddin, PJ Larkin 

CARLOW: Noah Oglesby; George Cassidy, Aaron Gordon, Michael Drea, Josh Cope; Liam Slater, Conor McCarthy; Martin Mullins, Matthew Keogh, John Farrell; Shane Hanlon, Tomas Whitney; Sam Dunne, Caleb Oglesby, Danny Carpenter.

Replacements: Dara Hayden, Elliott Rice, Cian Cashman, James Kehoe, Ruaidhri Moore, Oscar Siney, Alan Nolan.

Referee: Joseph Lyons.