Leinster League Division 2A
Longford RFC 20 – 20 Cill Dara RFC
Precision Health Park, Sunday

A fiercely contested battle at Precision Health Park ended honours even as Longford RFC and Cill Dara RFC played out a thrilling 20-20 draw in Round 3 of the Leinster League Division 2A.

Longford started the brighter of the two sides, opening the scoring in the 8th minute with a well-struck penalty. Cill Dara nearly responded immediately, winning a penalty for a high tackle and gaining excellent territory from Rory Conway’s kick to touch. A powerful maul brought them within a metre of the try line, but a crucial turnover by Longford kept them at bay.

The visitors' early attacking intent was evident again minutes later as they defended a Longford driving maul and were rewarded with a penalty, only for Conway to push his kick wide.

Cill Dara found their rhythm through the boot of Bryn Moore, who levelled the scores in the 17th minute after a brilliant line break by Aaron Corrway led to a Longford infringement at the breakdown. Moore then added two more penalties before half-time as the penalty count against the home side continued to mount, giving Cill Dara a 9–3 lead at the break.

Longford came out with renewed intensity in the second half and were quickly rewarded. After forcing a turnover and winning a penalty, they kicked to the corner and, following multiple phases, crossed the line for their first try.

The momentum appeared to be swinging firmly in the hosts’ favour when they added a second try under the posts, capping a clinical spell to stretch their lead to eight points 17–9.

Cill Dara, however, dug deep. Despite a missed penalty from Moore on 57 minutes, he quickly made amends with two more successful kicks, narrowing the deficit to just two points with 14 minutes remaining. A Longford penalty soon cancelled one of those out, setting up a tense final 10 minutes.

With the clock ticking down, Cill Dara showed composure and intent, pinning Longford deep inside their 22. A pinpoint touch-finder from Rory Conway put them five metres out, and from the resulting lineout, their forward pack powered over the line for a vital try. The conversion was missed, leaving the teams locked at 20-20.

Both sides pushed for a winner in the closing stages, but resilient defences and some handling errors meant neither could break the deadlock.

Best for Cill Dara were full-back Bryn Moore, who contributed 15 points with the boot, the ever-dangerous Chris Cousins, and inspirational captain Colin Moloney, who led by example throughout a physically intense contest.

Cill Dara RFC Team:
Bryn Moore, William Doran, Ryan Hogg, Daire Kemp, Phil Kenny, Rory Conway, Tadhg Doyle, DJ Brannock, Aaron Corrway, Conor McCormack, Owen Donegan, Bill O'Shea, Louis Venter, Colin Moloney (capt), Chris Cousins.
Replacements: Ross Dooley, Darran Dempsey, Stephen Walsh, Thomas Cleary, Sean Behan, James O'Loughlin, Robin Dempsey.

Scorers:
Longford: 2 tries, 1 penalty, 2 conversion
Cill Dara: 1 try, 5 penalties