Metro League – Division 7

Lansdowne (J4) v Bective (J2)

Saturday 17 October, 2026,

Back Pitch, Lansdowne Road

Lansdowne (Not a lot of points)* – (Quite a lot of points)* Bective Rangers

Still smarting from last season’s double defeats to Lansdowne in League and Cup finals, Bective came to HQ with a score to settle. And they did just that.

Anyone lucky enough to have been called away after the first three minutes might have thought it was going to be a close match, but from that critical, if unusually early turning point on, it was anything but. For the sake of the squeamish, this week’s match report will be light on detail and heavy on consolation.

Suffice to say, Bective seemed to have perfected a cunning tactic of running straight down the middle of the pitch, when we had apparently become accustomed to teams running sideways. Was that really fair of them? A bit ring rusty after the lovely summer, perhaps, many of our lads had ticked the “Optional” box under “Tackling” when renewing their membership and the visitors’ approach clearly caught them on the hop.

Consolation #1. No one was hurt. Though conspicuously lively winger Brian O’Callaghan was carried off the pitch with a suspected broken ankle, it turned out to be just a sprain. Get well soon, Brian. (Bit of a cry-baby, to be honest- just kidding!)

Consolation #2. It was a supreme management achievement fielding a team at all, given the amount of unavoidable last minute cry offs. Take a bow, JD, Byrno Kenno, Oscar and Angus. There is little doubt that with a full squad, we’ll return to our former glory and return the compliment to Bective later in the season.

Consolation # 3 For quite a long period, the second half was a draw.

Consolation # 4 … and seriously … in spite of the result, we never gave up and in fact performed better and better as the game wore on. Notable performances included the aforementioned Brian O’Callaghan, who was tackling like a terrier before his unfortunate knock. Scrum half and fellow terrier, U20 Oisin O’Buachalla (now that name rings a bell!) not only defended with a passion, but he also demonstrated attacking chops whenever given half a chance. His outhalf, Jack Barry also played an excellent game, his massive boot – and I mean massive! – clearing our lines and frequently giving us something so rare on the day, hope! But he also marshalled defences and counterattacks with real leadership and bottle. But no one showed more bottle than hooker, Alan (not so) “Dozey” Matthews. Under a fair bit of pressure in the scrums, he nevertheless kept that set piece intact and his darts were forensically accurate too. He also had the extremely rare pleasure on the day of scoring a try for Lansdowne. Another U20 call up, number 8 Dominic Clarkeson, showed grit and gristle throughout, fighting for every ball in the some very difficult circumstances. But if it’s character you’re looking for, look no further than club stalwart, Jacques (Jack the Hat) Chapeau, called up at the last minute (after contributing to the J3’s excellent win the night before) and sacrificing an afternoon in the garden sipping a nice Montrachet. Jacques showed the young lads what it means to be a Lansdowne man. Full marks also to prop Rob Lush who repeatedly put his body on the line and no doubt, like the rest of them, felt it on Sunday. And finally kudos to stand in captain Daniel Sexton for never faltering throughout a pretty difficult day at the office.

Some days, turning up is the best you can do and this was one of those. But it’s great to get games like this out of the way early in the season and especially to give us something to really look forward to … the return fixture in Donnybrook.

*Actual final score

Lansdowne 5 – 57 Bective Rangers
Match Report (and limited photos!!) Brian Whelan