Clontarf - 33 Blackrock College - 27 Phil Werahiko's post-match autopsy lasted a good 10 minutes, and while there was certainly no ranting or raving he probably suggested to his team that matches like Saturday's wonderfully entertaining AIB All-Ireland League tie would age him prematurely.
Twice Clontarf led by 13 points, on the second occasion with no more than a couple of minutes left, but it was the home team who were left clinging on for dear life at the final whistle.
The Clontarf coach was a little bemused as he tried to dissect the afternoon's fare. "I thought it was a very good match. We played as we intended and that was to take the game to Blackrock. We didn't count on the number of turnovers we made or the number of times we didn't finish off opportunities that we created.
"Our patterns worked extremely well but we should have scored more heavily. You have to give credit to Blackrock for the way they stuck in there and pushed us right to the finish."
Clontarf bossed the set pieces up front, their physical bulk allowing them to maul large distances. When not rumbling forward to great effect, the home side launched their runners in hooker Bernard Jackman, productive number eight Dave Moore and Ben Gissing to suck in the Blackrock cover. They did manage five tries, but it could and should have been more.
The odd handling error or one pick-and-drive too many while ignoring an overlap out wide cost them a couple of scores.
These, though, were minor points in an excellent display replete with high quality rugby. The excellent James Downey cut a swathe through the Blackrock defence time and again, while open side Simon O'Donnell had a magnificent match defensively.
Blackrock will be proud of the grit and determination they displayed and no little skill when the game opened up in the second half. They will rue a couple of refereeing decisions, but for a team so completely outplayed for long stretches they demonstrated there is steel to augment the traditional flair.
They had the more athletic pack and certainly the better ball handlers. They scored a couple of cracking team tries, primarily attributable to the vision of Emmet Farrell and Conor Kilroy and the basic ability of Gary Brown, who bagged a brace.
Coach Kevin West deserves credit for switching Farrell to the centre when captain Michael Jackson retired injured, and it was Farrell's vision and passing ability that caused Clontarf all sorts of problems. Up front, the pack displayed a gamey tenacity despite being physically dwarfed, and none exemplified this spirit more than hooker Glen van der Vyer and the back row, especially number eight Michael Carroll.
Clontarf were 10-0 ahead shortly after the first quarter, with Jackman grabbing his sixth try of the season following a lineout move. Full back Darragh O'Shea added a second when Kilroy got his angles wrong, but while the Clontarf full back could convert neither he did add a penalty.
The visitors struck just before the interval when scrumhalf Benny Willis scampered over from close range with Kilroy converting and adding a penalty. Blackrock struck again five minutes after the interval when Conor Buckley's superb break was eventually finished off by Brown.
Suddenly aware that Blackrock were not about to lie down, Clontarf upped the physical stakes and the pack paved the way when first Ollie Winchester and then Dave Hewitt crossed for tries to nudge the home side 25-15 clear.
Back came Blackrock with a try from Rory Rogers following a march and drive from a lineout, but Clontarf responded ruthlessly if a little fortuitously. Everyone in the ground saw Moore knock-on not once but twice - that is everyone bar referee Tony Redmond and his fellow officials - in the build-up to the excellent Hewitt's second try.
O'Shea added a penalty and at 33-20 it looked all over, but Brown's second try, a fine piece of opportunism, converted by Kilroy, set up a nerve jangling finish.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 6 mins: Jackman try, 5-0; 24: O'Shea try, 10-0; 32: O'Shea penalty, 13-0; 38: Willis try, Kilroy conversion, 13-7; 40 (+6): Kilroy penalty, 13-10. Half-time: 13-10. 45: Brown try, 13-15; 50: Winchester try, 18-15; 54: Hewitt try, O'Shea conversion, 25-15; 66: Rogers try, 25-20; 73: Hewitt try, 30-20; 75: O'Shea penalty, 33-20; 78: Brown try, Kilroy conversion, 33-27.
CLONTARF: D O'Shea; N O'Brien, C Mahony, J Downey, O Winchester; D Hewitt, R O'Reilly; W O'Kelly (capt), B Jackman, A Clarke; A Wood, B Gissing; A Dignam, D Moore, S O'Donnell. Replacements: T Kearns for O'Kelly (48 mins); M Walls for O'Reilly (51 mins); C Power for Gissing (75 mins); D Higgins for O'Shea (78 mins).
BLACKROCK COLLEGE: C Kilroy; C Buckley, G Brown, M Jackson, J Hearty; E Farrell, B Willis; A McSweeney (capt), G van der Vyer, M Cuffe; M Gilbride, J Fitzgerald; R Rogers, M Carroll, T O'Donoghue. Replacements: P Drew for Jackson (23 mins); T Mannana for Fitzgerald (42 mins); G McEvoy for Van der Vyer (51 mins); D O'Sullivan for Buckley (55 mins); S Byrne for Cuffe (78 mins).
Referee: T Redmond (IRFU).
