Club News W/C 2/5

Latest News from the Clubs

SUNDAYS WELL
The Club A.G.M. will be held in the Clubhouse on the Tuesday 26th of May at 8pm sharp.

The Presidents Dinner will be held in the Clubhouse on Thursday the 21st of May at 8pm.

Dress code is informal and the cost is €50 each. Please contact Clair Powell on her email address for more particulars and to book your seat. Clair needs final numbers as soon as possible so BOOK NOW AT – cmpowell02@gmail.com

Heineken Cup Final:
Members who have tickets for the final that are not using them can they please let us have them as members are looking for tickets, these members will pay and make a donation to the Stuart Mangan Trust.

Please contact – rugbytickets@sundayswellrfc.com

Date Change

Summer Camps

Tommy Crowe runs the REBEL summer Rugby Camps in Musgrave Park every year with huge numbers and this year is no exception, the camp will be on from Monday the 6th July to Friday the 10th of July in Musgrave Park

Contact Tommy on Ph no 087 2367994

The cost is €60 for the week.

Places are being filled very quickly so book early.

SHANNON
When we faced the N7 southbound on the 4th of October few of us on that team bus could, with any degree of confidence have predicated the subsequent 7 months. That’s not to say anyone doubted the ability of our senior side, it’s just that at that moment it looked bleak after Blackrock had just put 41 points on us. Quite often its asked "where did it all go wrong?" when things go pear shaped, but lets reverse it, and ask "Where did it all go right". Hard work, dedication, commitment and ultimately a desire to ensure justice in their own ability was the driving force that set our lads on the way to Saturdays final. Sure, there were some blips along the way, but the traditional Shannon character shone through and we now stand on the brink of an unprecedented ninth league title. Our sixth final is something of a homecoming, with Thomond Park the venue. Although we have only played in the New Thomond Park just twice, the fact that the lads can sleep in their own beds, relax on Saturday morning and then meet in the familiar surroundings of our own Clubhouse is of great benefit. I suppose this is what it felt like for Clontarf when we played them three years ago in Dublin. It is though, only a minor advantage. Clontarf are an excellent side, a remark justified by their mere presence in the final. A wonderful community based Club; they are as progressive and forward thinking as we are. A big travelling support will be guaranteed for the Dubliners which makes it all the more important that our own members, underage, and supporters come out in force on Saturday. Limericks reputation as the home of rugby will hopefully be vindicated this Saturday. Regardless of whether they shout for Shannon or not, it would be great to see the self styled die hard rugby supporters come out and show that rugby mania in the city extends beyond the fantastic Red Brigade.

Memories of our emphatic victory in the 2006 final meeting with Clontarf will not have played any bearing on the teams build up to this game. It’s all about the present and the unified goal of winning a ninth AIB title. That said, Clontarf will have their own motivations and it’s down to at least 80 minutes of rugby. Best of luck to all the lads.

The clubhouse will be open at 2.30pm on Saturday and entrance to the stadium will be via the East stand. Tickets can be purchased on the day. Anyone wishing to send a fax or e mail of support to the lads can do so by emailing amcnamara@eircom.net of faxing 061 451528.

We had a great boast heading into the final when on Tuesday evening our magnificent U/16’s clinching the cup title to add to their league victory earlier. The toss of a coin fell in our favour and Young Munster travelled to Coonagh. It turned out to be a cracking match between two very skilful sides and despite two early Shannon tries against the strong breeze, Young Munster came storming back and ensured our lads couldn’t rest on their laurels. It was nip and tuck throughout the second half and it took a late try to ensure we won by 31-21. It has been a fantastic season for the U/16’s and their just rewards came with two trophies. Immense credit must go to coaches Kieran Ryan, Gene Leonard and Brendan Mc Namara for the brand of rugby they have instilled in their charges. Their side is a credit to the club and as long as we can reassemble them in a year or two after the inevitable schools rugby drain, the future of the club looks good.

Elsewhere at underage the U/13’s came close to picking up their third trophy of the season at the Pat Lawlor tournament in UL on Sunday. The lads fought their way to the final by outplaying some strong opposition with the likes of Clanwilliam, Bohemians and had a show case game against Garryowen to seal the group stages. Unfortunately they were piped at the last stage by one of the host teams UL Bohs but all in all not a bad way to finish a super season.

Last week’s notes were a little short and I inadvertently omitted another super success for our underage when the U/12’s retained the Brian Fitzgerald memorial blitz. It’s a fantastic achievement once again and the effort of all the players, parents and coaches must be applauded. Indeed it’s to the credit of all our underage coaches that, invariably Shannon competes in many finals throughout the season. The annual season conclusion, The Alan Oakley Day takes place in Coonagh on Sunday and a great deal of organisation has gone into the operation. The minis take place between 10.30 and 12 and then it’s the turn of the older sides.

Off the field our Golf Classic takes place next Friday 15th in Shannon Golf Club and while the number of teams is well over 30, there are still slots available at €300 per team Ger Mullane can be contacted at 087 2541915 or e-mailed on gmullane@shannoncoiledsprings.ie.

Congratulations to local referee Peter Fitzgibbon from Thomond RFC on his elevation to the international panel which is a great achievement and surely an incentive to all potential referees. The club needs more referees next season to maintain our quota, so if anyone one is interested in picking up the whistle they can contact John Cole at Jcole@limerickcity.ie.

A reminder that the AGM takes place on Tuesday 19th in the Clubhouse at 8pm.

I’ll finish with another plea to everyone associated with the club to be loud and proud in Thomond Park this Saturday. Everyone plays their part in every success enjoyed by Shannon.

BRUFF
Well, after the shock to the system received in Croke Park last Saturday, the soul is just getting back to a semblance of normality today.

While there is a general aura of despair around the place it must be said the Leinster deserved their win judging by that performance, it wasn’t the Munster were poor it was just a performance out of nowhere from our eastern cousins. We have to get ourselves psyched up now for the Lions tour.

Domestic rugby is more or less complete for Bruff for the Season so all that remains is to let you know that the preliminary AGM takes place on Wednesday 13th of May and The Annual General Meeting takes place on Wednesday the 27th May, with all motions and nominations to be in the hands of the Honorary Secretary by Wednesday 20th to comply with rule 31 of the Club rules.

This week sees the penultimate round of games in our Twilight Spring Tagrugby League, finals night takes place on Thursday 14th May, with a special free entry Practice Tagrugby night for anyone who hasn’t entered in the league. See the website for details.

Bull N’ Booze is set to take place on Saturday August 15th and we’ll announce all the details and other good bits a bit closer to the day. We have a few surprises in store for you all this year so we’re keeping it under wraps for a little while. Half a dozen or so foreign teams are travelling so far and Bruff are participating in a Tagrugby Tournament near Manchester over the next few weeks so good luck to the squad ably led by Gráinne O’ Keeffe.