O'Gara in a different league

Cork Constitution can call, they can ring, they can beg but Ronan O'Gara will not be playing next week in the All-Ireland League final.

The player, who orchestrated a first-half domination of Young Munster with heartbreaking kicks to touch, dropped goals and flawless place kicking will team up with the Lions next Saturday in London while his team lines out against Dungannon in Lansdowne Road. There appears to be no room for negotiation.

"As you can imagine I'd love to let Ronan play," said former Cork Constitution player and Lions manager Donal Lenihan, who attended the match. "But all the players are in the same boat. Jeremy Davidson is in the French Cup quarter-final with Castre and he's not allowed to play.

"Saracens were also due to be involved in a Southern Hemisphere tour and we wouldn't allow any of the Lions to play in that. They are all under Lions professional obligations, Lions contracts and Lions insurance from May 26th. Unfortunately that weekend is the cut-off point and there can be no exceptions."

While the champions of two years ago are playing up their chances without O'Gara, pointing to the fact that with a player of such profile they have become used to reshaping their team, they are also under no illusion that O'Gara is almost irreplaceable. It was the outhalf's ability to control the tempo and the shape of the first half of the match that was the winning of it at Templehill.

While coach Brian Hickey rightfully pointed to a pack which met the typically confrontational Young Munster forwards on the gain line on demand, it was O'Gara's controlling ability which provided the platform for the rest of the team to perform.

John O'Driscoll in the front row held up well to Peter Clohessy, who along with Mutu Ngarimu aggressively drove at Cork Con particularly in the second half, but the collective defence of Cork Con were never less than robustly committed and well organised.

The first quarter set out Cork Constitution's stall. When Munsters stepped up a gear and came blazing all over the home side's 22 after 10 minutes, critically nothing fractured.

The pressure should have yielded a Munsters' try when Lynch linked with Kieron Gallagher and the openside galloped into a huge space just a few yards out. But John Kelly, coming in from the wing, along with outside centre Derek Dillion enveloped the bigger man and although momentum may have carried him over the line, the two bodies did their job.

Five or six scrums later and nothing was gained as Con finally accepted an obstruction and the ball was booted well into the comfort zone. To Munsters' dismay Cork Con stayed there for the rest of the game.

The 1999 champions proceeded to kick for position and then hold for gaps to appear or pressurise Munsters into penalties. Both happened and twice pockets opened for O'Gara to drop-kick and three times he landed penalties for a 150 lead at half-time.

O'Gara's high return was in stark contrast with Lynch's problems from the boot and provided quite a psychological swing. Lynch missed his first four penalties, all of them kickable. That, in tandem with the fact that Cork Con were giving nothing away, gave the feeling from early on that the home side were in total control.

While Munsters continued to use their mauling game to no real effect, Lynch's first score on the hour was equalled by another O'Gara effort six minutes later for 18-3.

Paul O'Connell did land a try at the fag end of the match but it was just that, coming at least 30 minutes too late. "We knew their threat was their mauling," said O'Gara. "We just kept adding three, six, nine. It was breaking their hearts because I felt they weren't going to beat us out wide.

"Next week is disappointing for me and with Anthony (Horgan) gone that's a little bit of a worry. But John (Kelly) will fill in centre and someone like Cian O'Mahony, who has the experience of Ireland A, can come in so it should be okay."

Cork Con are also hoping that their regular captain Ultan O'Callaghan is fit to came back into number eight, which will also cause a reshuffle in the back five.

Scoring sequence - 8 mins: R O'Gara pen 30; 11 mins: O'Gara pen 6-0; 20 mins: O'Gara drp gl 9-0; 32 mins: O'Gara drp gl 12-0; 35 mins: O'Gara pen 15-0; 60 mins: M Lynch pen 15-3; 66 mins: O'Gara pen 18-3; 85 mins: P O'Connell try, Lynch con 18-10.

CORK CONSTITUTION: B Walsh; D Dillion, C Mahony, R O'Donovan, J Kelly; R O'Gara, B O'Meara; I Murray, F Sheehan, J O'Driscoll, K Murphy, M O'Driscoll, C Taylor, J Murray, D O'Callaghan. Replacements: N Kenneally for Dillion (79 mins); R McGrath for Murphy (82 mins).

YOUNG MUNSTER: M Connelly; F Hogan, M Mullins, L Doyle, C Casey; M Lynch, M Prendergast; P Clohessy, B Cantrell, M Fitzgerald, P O'Connell, D Peters, M Te Pou, C Gallagher, M Ngarimu. Replacements: J Rose for Gallagher (52 mins); D O'Sullivan for Doyle (69 mins).

Referee: D Courtney