J4 XV vs Bective:

Match Report by Mick Flats

On Saturday the 2nd of April our J4 team played Bective on the back pitch in Donnybrook in the quarter final of the O’Connor Cup.

This was our first time to play Bective as they had played in the Metro Division 8 league - a league above us. We put the loss of our league final against Malahide behind us and began afresh.

The possession was totally with Bective but our superb defence held them out time after time. We scored against the run of play to lead 15-8 at half time. Our J4 team is a total mixture of youth and experience, the combination needed to win silverware. We dug deep in the second half to keep them from scoring and broke away again to secure the win 27-15.

We now face DLSP away next Saturday in the semi final - please do come up and support this team, they are the giving it their all.

Player Ratings:

Aaron Doherty. Captain. Solid 80 minutes, with good ball carrying moments. Rating 8.

Andrew Gibbons. Made the warm up on time this week, put in some great hits and carries, and is back to his best. Still loads of energy left in Gibbo and is the rock on which we build on, scored a cracking try after some great forward play. Rating 9.

Cody Dwyer. Had an exceptional game, highest tackle count, and won numerous ruck penalties for us. Rating 10. Frank Keane man of the match.

Conor Quinn. Conor is the glue that keeps this team together. He marshals the forwards and supplies the backs. Won best Actor award for the dive he took near the end of the game. Getting better every week and has the class to do it. Rating 9.

Dan McManus. Converted the first try and got his touch. Made numerous tackles and got the league final loss out of his mind. Rating 8.

David Browne. Browner is worth his weight in gold (that’s a lot of gold), he never takes a step back and is so valued by the team for his lineout lifts. Rating 8.

David Dixon. Dave always late Dixon came on in the second half and tackled his heart out. Rating 8.

David Kennedy. Dave came on in the second half and fitted in well to the pack, will get better with more time the team. Rating 8.

Eric Dunne. Our veteran winger and past Captain, had a stormer - putting in fine hits and chasing down every kick. Rating 8.

Jack Grant. Jack got better as the game went on. Some fine tackles and ball carries. Rating 8.

Jack O'Neill. Jack started well but had to come off with a hand injury. Replaced by his brother Tom. Jack put a great kick in the corner for Matty's try. Rating 9.

James Casey. Our brave heart James had a hot and cold game today. Falling off tackles at the start but then put in some great hits. Rating 8.

Luke Mullen. Came on at half time. He knocked on from a kick off, unusual from him as he has great hands, but he put that behind him and put in a great performance. Rating 8.

Matt Coughlan. Matty scored another try today keeping his average points up per game. Did not cramp up today and had a great 80 minutes. Rating 9.

Max Grace. Our ever present Max does it all, wins linouts, tackles? steps, passes. Lasted the full 80 which was surprising but the all weather pitch suited him and his athletic build. Rating 9.

Meng Jan Lim. MJ started at full back and was solid, but showed class when he intercepted a Bective pass while playing out half to sprint under the posts. Rating 9.

Rian Cassidy. Except for his blocked clearance kick which ended up with a Bective try, Rian has a great hand. Rating 8.

Richard Fagan. Richie got better as the game went on and as the tiger balm kicked in and he felt no pain driving into the driving pack. Rating 9.

Rob Dunleavy. Withdrew with a leg injury.

Tom O'Neill. Came on at center and partnered his baby brother and showed Jack how to score tries. Rating 8.

Chris O’Connor. Honest rugby player, quite a gentleman off the pitch but turns into a physco tackler when he passes the white line. Great defence and nearly got the bounce of a the ball to score. Rating 8.