Latest Munster Club News

Read the latest club news from around the province, with details of upcoming summer events

Carrick-on-Suir RFC Under 10 s relish Thomond experience

Carrick-on-Suir RFC s Under 10 s, pictured with coach Milo Walsh (left) at Thomond Park last Saturday after winning their half-time challenge match against Limerick s Ballyhoura RFC.

Under 10 s enjoy an unforgettable night in Limerick

Last Saturday evening in Thomond Park, with coaches Louis Dowley and Milo Walsh offering staunch encouragement, Carrick s Under 10 s recorded a win over Limerick s Ballyhoura by three tries to nil. The half time match during European Cup games has become an integral part of the Thomond Park experience in recent years, offering some of the province s youngest players an unforgettable opportunity. And boy oh boy, did our young starlets rise to the occasion in front of 12,800 supporters. Scoring three tries without reply was impressive enough, but the manner of the Carrick display was all the more noteworthy. There was no crowding of the pitch in pursuit of the ball the lads fanned out well and did not over commit at the fringes. That level of discipline is indicative of how well coached our juveniles are and just how lucky the club is to have coaches like Louis and Milo putting the boys through their paces every Sunday morning at Tybroughney. The opening try was touched down by Jack Murphy, with Jamie O Brien and Aaron Eade crossing the Ballyhoura line for tries of their own. The Thomond Park crowd heartily responded to the gallant efforts of both teams and were deserved recipients of a hearty ovation as they left the famed sod. From the touchline, Carrick club members heartily saluted their young colleagues efforts and rightly so. It was great to see our club s colours in action in the spiritual home of Irish rugby and one hopes that Saturday night s efforts will spur our juveniles on to great things both this season and beyond. Take a bow, lads! The young men that wore the colours of Carrick on Saturday last were: Dean Walsh, Alan Dowley, Richard Norris, David Norris, Dean Hallinan, Jamie O Brien, Jack Murphy, Joe O Neill, Aaron Eade, Aaron Gallagher, Cian Reidy and Francis O Brien.

Next Sunday morning, our Under 8 s and 10 s play Fethard in Tybroughney. The enthusiasm and good humour in which the lads play their rugby deserves to be saluted. Who knows, there might be one or two of them returning to Thomond Park a few years from now wearing a different coloured jersey. We dare to dream!

Firsts and Seconds in action next Sunday

Our first XV have not had nearly as much league action as they would have wished for as we head into November. With only one match completed to date, momentum has been difficult to maintain for a variety of circumstances, but there s nothing to be gained from dwelling on what ifs and what might have beens. The lads travel to Galbally on Sunday next (kick-off: 2.30pm) for what has traditionally proven to be a hard fought, closely contested fixture. With two wins from three to date, our South Tipp colleagues are certain to prove sticky opponents again next weekend. Last season s league meeting provided our first league win of the season and we d gladly settle for the same result this time out. What s needed this week is some serious work from every player both at training on Wednesday and Friday and in their own time. We need to inject a little drive into our game ahead of Sunday s match so let s knuckle down for the week, be honest with ourselves and set about our business the way we ought to.

Meanwhile, Carrick s second XV will seek to get their Tybroughney League challenge back on track as they are provisionally set to welcome Dungarvan to Tybroughney on Sunday afternoon next.

With a couple of injuries and other withdrawals to deal with, Carrick captain Dermot Keyes is requesting that each and every player get in touch with him as soon as possible ahead of the weekend. It s important to get back to winning ways and fast so hopefully the lads will get the job done on Sunday next.

Email Carrick Rugby

We welcome comments and contributions from all of our members. If you wish to have your say on anything to do with the club or the game in general, then feel free to email carrickrfc@yahoo.ie

Clonakilty Move Into Third Place

Arch Rivals Suttonians came to town last Saturday for the third round of The All Ireland League series. There has been intense rivalry between the clubs since day one. They both have met each other more often than any other AIL club and to date the home side has always won the game. However who will forget last season s finale in

Lansdowne Roadwhich Clonakilty won to make it three games apiece and perhaps that might have changed the run of things as Lansdowne could have been considered a home from home fixture for Suttonians. It wasn t to be. Clon ran out deserving 18-3 winners and in doing so moved up five places to third in the division two league. There had been worries in the home camp as mercurial full back Derek Dillon was unavailable as was influential No 8 Declan Coppinger. Both will out of action until December. However magnificent performances from their replacements boosted confidence from early on and Clon never really looked like losing this one. Colm McCarthy at full back never put a foot wrong. He dealt with everything that came his way defensively and counter-attacked with impunity at every opportunity. Mike Keohane at No. 8 looks to have found his best position. He has played at 4,5,6,7 and 8 and the latter suits him perfectly and he also excelled in defence and attack. Eddie Knowles returned from injury and had a stormer scoring a great try into the bargain and Danny Whelton was back to his grafting best after just one short appearance as a replacement the previous week. Mick O Hea rediscovered his form and delivered a man of the match performance with a great line out display and a ferocious presence around the park. Once again the centre partnership of David Lombard and Paul Dillon were outstanding and Colin Murphy s pressure on the Suttonians scrum half and No.8 made any possession difficult for the visitors. The start of a game will often indicate the pattern and Clon got it spot on. From the kick off Paul Dillon fielded bravely and went to ground setting the ball back clinically. Colin Murphy was on hand to feed Gary Cribb and the out half sent an O Gara-esque kick into the corner. Clon had established control and they never relinquished it. When Suttonians did kick into the Clon half Colm McCarthy ran it straight back and Eddie Knowles and Paul Dillon took it to half way where Cribb landed a magnificent 50 metre penalty having missed an earlier attempt from 42 metres to give Clon the lead after 10 minutes. From the restart it was the same control again. A super catch from Tadhg Wright and another long range return from Cribb pinned the Dubliners back. McCarthy with a great pick up and a clearance of his own put Suttonians under pressure and from the Clon scrum just outside the 22. David Lombard and Alfie Harte broke tackles with strong running, Colin Murphy drove on and Dan Spencer and Eddie Knowles smashed holes in the defence to take play deep into the danger zone. Cribb sent a long pass to Shay O Donovan who took his marker on the outside and grubbered before the tackle for Paul Dillon to chase. The Suttonians defender just touched down before him for a 22 drop out but Clon had the visitors well corralled and the pressure told when Cribb landed another penalty to put Clon out to 6 0 after 25 minutes. Clon had another opportunity to go further ahead when a Lombard tackle in midfield and fast support forced Suttonians to concede a penalty for holding but although the kick was wide Clon were in striking distance. From the kick off great interpassing had Clon on the attack again and suddenly Noel O Sullivan was in space. Sully made great ground and went infield to link with Alfie Harte who took it on and in stopping him Suttonians transgressed and blindside flanker Alan Walsh was yellow carded for his trouble. Clon went for the lineout to capitalise on their numerical advantage in the forwards and their perseverance was rewarded when Eddie Knowles took Cribb s pop to barge over after great driving from Harte. The score was now 11 0 and Clon looked to have it wrapped up but they managed to donate three points to the visitors when a harmless free kick was turned to a penalty for dissent leaving the score 11 3 at half time. The second half commenced with Clonakilty taking the game on again. Centres Lombard and Dillon gave a lesson in forward play as they took a rolling maul all of 30 metres before they were stopped just short of the line. A further series of rucks and mauls seemed to have gained the home side another try when Eoin Scannell went over but he was penalised for a double movement. He wasn t to be held out for long though as he broke up the touch line and then sent Eddie Knowles away and when Knowles was covered he found Scannell up in support again and the captain went over for a great try that effectively settled the issue. The difficult touch line conversion was landed by Cribb and at 18 3 with 25 minutes to go there was no way back for the North Dublin side. They did try in fairness but Clon s defence was up to everything. A feature of this was the defence of the rolling maul. Time and again Suttonians were not only stopped with this ploy but driven backwards with Harte very prominent. O Hea and Whelton were superb in the engine room and got through a mountain of work in this regard. The West Cork side will have been very happy with this performance as they go forward to Dublin this Saturday to play Dublin University. They only other time the two sides met was in division three in 2002 when Trinity took the points in a quagmire by 15 6. The students then went on to division two and were also promoted to the top division from where they were relegated last season. It will be another tough assignment for Clon but a result in College Park would consolidate Clon s top four position. At this early stage of the season however a loss without a bonus point could drop the club six places. All to play for. The Squad was: Colm McCarthy, Shay O Donovan, David Lombard, Paul Dillon, Noel O Sullivan, Gary Cribb, Colin Murphy, Eddie Knowles, Alfie Harte, Dan Spencer, Dan Whelton, Mick O Hea, Eoin Scannell, Tadhg Wright, Mike Keohane, Eoin Murphy, Batt Duggan, Gearoid Ryan, Anthony Neville and John O Donnell.

Earlier on Saturday the under 18s had an emphatic win over Dolphin in The Vale. They were a little slow off he mark in a lethargic first half but the attitude changed in the second when they played a fast expansive attractive brand of rugby. Paddy Ryan, Willie O Donoghue, Eolan Hayes and Sam Duignan scored tries and James Deasy kicked two penalties and two conversions to leave the final score a comfortable 30 points to three at the end. In the backs Robert Cahill and Diarmaid O Sullivan caught the eye while in the forwards Ciaran Murphy, Sean Cormican and the impressive Liam Swanton stood out. They top the league but will need to find that second half attitude next week as they go to second place Muskerry for a cup final type of match.

The Squad was: Mike Griffin, Declan McCarthy, Ciaran Hurley, Sam Duignan, Ciaran Murphy, Liam Swanton, Willie O Donoghue, Sean Cormican, Robert Cahill, James Deasy, Conor O Neill, Paddy Ryan, Eolan Hayes, Conor Simpson, Phillip Jennings, Diarmaid O Sullivan, Gearoid O Neill, Ger McCarthy, Les Woulfe, Patrick Nash, James O Brien, Diarmaid O Leary, Ryan Hastings and Kevin O Regan.

The South Munster Under 17 squad had a very successful outing to the Navy where they completed an assault course and other tasks. Clon boys Liam Swanton, Gearoid Calnan, Liam Cahill and Danny McCarthy are all doing well in this squad and of course the squad is also coached by Clon s under 18 coach Kevin O Regan.

The Under 20s were not so fortunate as they went down to a seriously talented Cork Constitution side. Clon s mentors were not in any way down beat after this defeat as the mettle and skills of the squad were severely tested and they were happy with the way that the players handled themselves. They had come off he back of an excellent win over Cobh Pirates the previous week and this reality check will be of benefit if taken on board in the right spirit. This will have helped rather than hurt the team building process and as the game was only a friendly maybe revenge down the line awaits. The squad was; Joe Ryan, Paudie McCarthy, J.D. O’Mahony, Connie Lehane, Sean Young, Ciaran Calnan, E.Murphy, Stephen Lowney, Hugh O’Neill, Pa O’Sullivan, Sean Duignan, Danny Collins, Shane Deane, Michael Peter O’Regan (Capt), Stephen Coomey, Tim O’Regan, Cathal Kirby, Martin Hurley, P. Skillicorn and D. Sutton.

The Ladies had a five all draw with Galwegians last weekend and have a win, two draws and a loss so far in their Division one All Ireland League campaign.

The Bulldogs went down by 24 points to 15 in Ballincollig. A very experimental side did extremely well and they will be very disappointed not to have taken the game closer given the second half performance. The squad was Stephen O Regan, Sam Kingston, Alan Harte, Jason Applin, Cathal O Regan, Gearoid Ryan, Phil Hayes, Mike Griffin, Shane Deane, Mike Murphy, Bartle Murphy, Gavin Moore, Cathal Kirby, John Hoskin, Brian Blackwell, Ryan Bailey, Jonas Harte, Eamon Walsh, Tim Walsh, Ciaran Murphy, Eoin Murphy, Kenneth O Regan and John Kingston.

Poor tackling throughout was the main reason that Collig took this game. However Clon had their moments particularly in attack and were rewarded by two excellent tries. A great rolling maul which had earlier threatened resulted in a try for Shane Deane and Gavin Moore playing his first game since last March showed he had lost none of his skills when grounding for the second. Gearoid Ryan Kicked a penalty and a conversion. There were other positives for Clon. The return of Phil Hayes, who was a very promising player at under age was welcomed. He acquitted himself very well in the unaccustomed No. 9 shirt in his first game in six years. Likewise Stephen O Regan who has been absent since he finished under age rugby was one of the best backs on the pitch. John Hoskin and Ryan Bailey also made debuts. On the minus side Jonas Harte and Jason Applin both returning from injuries and playing well received setbacks when they had to leave the field.

This weekend s fixtures: Subject to change. Please check locally

Loose Head

OLD CRESCENT RFC NOTES

A successful week on the playing fields of Rosbrien!

The only adult team in action last weekend was the 1^st XV, who hosted Dublin University on Saturday in the AIB league. This was marked as a true test of our team s progress this season as our opponents had been relegated from Division 1 the previous year. The opening half was uneventful with defenses on tops throughout with the only scoring being a penalty goal for each team. With all the elements in our favour in the second half, it was expected that we would close out the game but we went behind early in the half to a second penalty goal and for a time it appeared that it was not going to be all one way traffic. However, our forwards upped their performance and we began to take control of the game. Our good work was rewarded with tries from Lemeki Viapula and Alan Purcell one of which was converted by Brian Begley who also added two further penalty goals to give us a comfortable lead which was punucated by a consolation score for the visitors to leave the score at the final whistle 21 points to 9. This weekend we have another home fixture in the AIB League with Midleton the visitors to Rosbrien on Saturday at 2.30pm.

This Saturday will be a special day for the club as we welcome back Eoin Reddan and his family for a special celebration to mark Eoin s achievement of receiving his first cap at senior level for Ireland in last year s 6 Nations game against France. The Reddan family have been great servants not only to the club but to rugby at many levels over the years and we look forward to next weekend s celebration.

Our seconds and thirds return to action this weekend with the thirds taking on UL Bohs in a crucial Gleeson League game on Saturday at noon in Annacotty with the seconds hosting Sunday s Well in the Munster Senior Seconds League on Sunday at 2.30pm.

It was also a quiet week on the under age front with only one team in action. Our under 14s traveled to Kilfeakle for a friendly and were victorious by 24 points to 12. Training for all age groups as usual on Sunday commencing at 9.45am.

Congratulations to Gerard & Maria Geoghegan on being the latest winners of our Supporter s Club Car Draw. Tickets fro the Draw are available for any member of the Committee.

Shannon Notes November 4th 2006

It would seem that a trip to Glenina to play Galwegians in the AIB League always seems to include rain, wind and of course a close tight encounter on the field. All these attributes were in abundance last Saturday as we recorded our third win of the campaign and despite the tag of favourites we were once again put through anxious times throughout the game especially in the closing minutes. A difficult long range penalty to win the game for the home side dropped short and there was mighty sigh of relief.

It s easy to see why we would be expected to win certain games comfortably, but the reality on the pitch is different. All sides want to take the scalp of the title holders and thus raise their game accordingly. Galwegians are a much improved side with recent additions to their squad and came very close to consigning us to defeat, but credit must go to our lads for holding out. Our forwards could claim that they were in control of the set pieces and that cam could thoroughly be justified with both our tries coming from exerted drives. Sean Cronin scored our first try as the opening 40 minutes came to a close and after consulting after the game, it can be confirmed that he touched down for the second try also. Tadgh Bennett started his first AIB league game and can be happy with his contribution. His penalty and conversion obviously added to the scoreline, but his general play was very encouraging. If we are going to retain the title it s going to be a long road and games like last Saturday will be looked upon as just another game on that road. A win is a win our biggest test to date will see Garryowen come across town to Thomond Park this Saturday. The light blues will pose a serious threat to our ambitions and will surely want to bounce back after their defeat last Saturday. Kick off is at the usual time of 2.30 and once again a pre match lunch will be held in the clubhouse for our members and friends. Such is the interest so far, I have been asked to convey the need for pre booking of places given that numbers able to attend is strictly limited. Tadgh Crowe on 087 6524958 can be contacted.

The U/20 s had an excellent win in the AIL over a highly fancied Highfield side in Cork Last Saturday. The home side took an early lead with a penalty, but as soon as Eamon Lane gained parity with a fine shot at goal we took almost complete control of the proceedings. In total we scored an impressive 5 tries with Eamon having a 100% day with the boot to leave the final score 38-3. Niall Sheehan set up our opening try with a well judged intercept to bring play up to Highfield s 22 where Eoin Grace was on hand to finish off the move. Richie Mullane ensured our almost constant pressure paid dividends with another good try and Darren Horan s effort put us out of sight. An unfortunate injury to one of the Highfield players meant that the final few minutes of the game were diverted to another pitch where Highfield s woes were compounded with two more tries from Horan and Mullane. Next Saturday Cork Constitution travel to Coonagh with an earlier 1.15 kick-off.

The Thirds had no competitive game, but maintained their momentum with a big win over Nenagh in a friendly. The Tipp side were no match for a squad who are at the top of their game and conceded 40 points with no reply, including 6 tries and 5 conversions. Although not on the score sheet Leonard Mullane was outstanding. Brian O Donovan scored the pick of the tries with Tony Hall converting the 5 Conversions.

This Saturday their biggest test of the season awaits with old adversaries Garryowen coming to Coonagh with a 12.30pm kick-off.

The seconds resume competitive action with a league game away to Dolphin on Sunday.

At underage the U/14 s played a friendly with Garryowen and with a large panel available to both teams the game was played in 4 x 20 minute sections. Both sides exchanged scores throughout and going into the final quarter we were leading by 17 points to 12. We took control in the final quarter and in the end doubled our points tally with no reply. Try scorers for us were, M Leonard, D Clohessy, K White, and S Stanley.

Elsewhere the U/13 s were very narrow losers to Garryowen by 19 points to 17 and the U/16 s had a good win in a friendly with Kilfeacle. This Sunday the U/10 s host a blitz starting at 10.30 and the U18 s host Scariff at 11.30. Our U13 s will be hoping to bounce back after their defeat when they travel to Woodview to play Thomond at 11.30.

Andrew Mc Namara

Shannon RFC PRO