Huge win for Navan

WHEN it comes to difficult assignments in rugby, travelling down to Munster and defeating one of the local teams has be to be right up there. Navan never played Cashel in a competitive contest before Saturday"s All-Ireland League play-off, but the large contingent of supporters of the Royal County side will long remember their trip to the Tipperary town. They had the privilege of watching their players produce one of their best performances for a quite some time. Like a team who harbour real belief about themselves and what they do, Navan were able to deliver a display that was a mixture of controlled aggression, defensive resilience peppered with moments of champagne rugby. It proved too powerful a cocktail for their shell-shocked opponents. Underpinning the victory was the performance of the forwards, particularly the pack who gave a masterful display of scrummaging. From early on in this full-blooded encounter it was clear that Navan had the edge in the scrum and that, combined with their ability to battle effectively at the breakdown, is what laid the platform for this highly significant victory. It could be said that Navan simply out-Munstered a Munster side. They pummelled their opponents up front, softening them up before carving out chances which they finished with clinical precision. Deserved plaudits should go to the Navan try scorers Simon Hogan and Sylvanus Iro and to Karl Manning for two well-executed penalty goals and two conversions. Those scores made up Navan"s impressive winning tally. Then step forward the rest because this was the classic team display, with every player working tigerishly for each other, everyone tackling as if their lives depended on it. There was plenty of good work completed around the fringes of the rucks. It was the type of work that forced Cashel to move the ball out wide where they invariably ended up going down cul-de-sacs. The Navan front three of Eoin King, Johnny Baker and David King were particularly immense while their other colleagues in the pack were not far behind when it came to the ratings. It was as if the previous week"s defeat by Tullamore in the All-Ireland Junior Cup was a surreal experience, something that took place in another world. There was nothing unfocussed or haphazard about this display as Navan steadfastly went about dismantling the Cashel challenge with a master class in forward play. Of course it was far from all plain sailing for the men from Balreask Old who trailed 0-3 and 3-6 at various stages of the opening half. There were long passages of play when Cashel controlled the game, moving the ball through the phases, playing a pick-and-go game that meant Navan hardly got a look at the ball. This was particularly the case in the second-half as Cashel, with growing disbelief, found that the game was slipping away from them. What the players in red came up against was a rugby version of the Rock of Cashel and instead of grey this particular stonewall consisted of navy and blue. For most of the afternoon the Navan defending was nothing short of heroic. On occasions it bordered on the reckless in terms of the Navan players own health and well-being. Then there was the element of luck that no amount of preparation or pre-planning can legislate for. There were a number of occasions when the Navan defence was exposed. It looked an odds-on certainty that Cashel would score. Then one of the home players would knock-on or deliver a wayward pass and the chance was gone. It happened on at least three occasions in the second-half alone. On another occasion Cashel won a scrum five metres from the Navan line. The Balreask Old boys got a shove on and forced Cashel to knock-on. There was little between the sides in a tight opening half. After only five minutes Cashel went ahead when full-back Pat O"Connor nailed a penalty awarded for not rolling away. Shortly afterwards Navan produced a good spell of play and were rewarded when they were given a penalty and Manning made no mistake from close range. Both sides had spells of dominance with O"Connor and Manning exchanging penalties to make up the half-time score. For 10 minutes late in the opening half Navan had to manage without the influential Paul Feeney who was sin-binned. Then just six minutes after the break Navan, who had restarted at a high tempo, made a significant breakthrough. Brad Harris and his men rumbled forward and were awarded a penalty for off-side about 20 metres out and near the touchline. Instead of going for the points they took the option of a scrum. It was the ultimate manifestation of their dominance in that department. Kieran Mattson, Iro, David King and Alan Hickey were just some of the players involved in moving the ball through the phases. Eventually the opening came with Manning off-loading to speed merchant Simon Hogan who went over in the corner. Manning converted brilliantly and Navan were on their way. The rest of the game was mostly played in Navan half as the stung Munster side came forward in waves looking for a try. Manning had to deal with a few Garryowens and the Navan players put in tackle after tackle with Bernard Smyth, Iro and John Duffy just some of those who made big and significant hits. With two minutes remaining Cashel threw the ball wide inside their own half, Iro moved up to get the interception and raced 30 metres to get the touchdown under the posts. Manning did the rest. At times it was like Custer"s last stand as Cashel"s red wave sought a breakthrough. It never came as Navan held out for a heroic and memorable victory. Now they are just one step away from the coveted prize. Navan - K Manning, S Donnelly, R Conaty, M Harrington, S Hogan, A Hickey, C Mattson; E King, J Baker, D King, B Harris, J Duffy, P Feeney, B Smyth, S Iro. Subs - D Delahunt for Conaty, E Dunne for D King, T Clarke for Feeney, S Dawson for Harris, C Brady for Baker. Cashel - P O"Connor, D O"Brien, D Travitta, J Maher, K Quinlan, C Quinlan, M Hickey; B Maloney, J Silke, A Guirey, P Ryan, P O"Connor, C O"Connor, J O"Connor, E O"Connor. Referee - Jonathan Peake (Ulster Branch).