Club News Weekending Sunday 14th October 2007

Read on to find out about the matches and activities the the clubs of Munster are involved in.

CARRICK ON SUIR RFC

Carrick off and Running

Carrick 6- 3 Castleisland

The first league match of the season, all the work put in since July was under scrutiny, all the drills, sprints, crunches and bur-pees would either come together like a 70’s super-group reunion or Henry or Eddie it.
Well as the result shows Carrick came out on top in a game where the pressure was always applied on the visitors. The fitness work paid off, with Carrick camped in the Castle 22 for just over the last quarter.
JP Wallace was a rock at full back, anytime Castleisland hastily cleared JP caught and ran them back to where the ball came. So intense was the pressure in the last 20 minutes, it seems unbelievable that Castle refused to give away and the referee refused to give Carrick a penalty.
At 3-3 and the last five minutes ticking by in the midst of lineout and scrums, substitute Eddie Barry found some space around the fringe to get the forward momentum again, breaking up the line on the left and the ball was spread to the centre. A scrambling Castle defence was caught offside.
Although Carrick waited longer for the penalty than the arrival of a government plan, it came and it was under the post. Carrick outhalf Ian Hillard, was hampered by the referee in his build up, but eventually composed himself and slotted over the three.
Carrick knew time was nearly up, so possession from the kick off was vital. It was claimed, ball kicked dead, Carrick had won. In essence this was all Carrick wanted before the game as Castleisland came with a reputation and a strong pack.
Carrick managed to beat both these on the day and to see the Castle scrum under so much pressure in the second half was one of the high points of the day.
Carrick’s victory owes a lot to the training and attitude this year, also to the quality of the bench, which was utilised, through injury and effort.
Next up for Carrick, St Mary’s away next Sunday, which should prove another big test after Mary’s had a good win in their first match.
Team: A Murray, W Stokes (C), J Heffernan, S Fitzpatrick, (E Barry 70 mins)E Stanley, (B Phelan 50 mins), J Walsh, J Phelan, J O’Keeffe (P Lanigan H/T), E Lonergan (N Phelan 55mins), I Hillard, R Murphy, J Wallace, E O’Donnell, D Lanigan (S O’Keeffe H/T), JP Wallace

There was no Seconds match last weekend, due to uncontrollable circumstances. We would like players to make their availability known to Roger or the Committee earlier during the week so game times can be scheduled.
Subscriptions by players are due immediately as is training gear money, contact Dermot or Aidan or Kenny for that.
The club would like to wish the best of luck to Sean Meade, who is embarking on a sponsored walk through France next week. Updates of his progress, or possible lack of, will be available over the coming weeks.
The Club would like to congratulate the two Carrick representatives on Munster panels at present. Kate O’Loughlin is again in flying form as Munster Women have had an unbeaten start to the season, beating the other three provinces. Kate played second row in all three games.
Dean O’Hanlon has impressed with his back row performances on the Munster Youth team. The club is very proud of both and their achievements and best of luck to both in the coming season.

KILLORGLIN RFC
Aidan Clifford PRO

Killorglin Rugby Club’s Senior team had no game this weekend, but are preparing for their historic first game in the Munster Junior League against Charleville on Sunday next, October 14th. This is a home fixture, being played in the Community College Field on Langford St at 3pm. All support would be very welcome.
Membership for Killorglin Rugby Club is open for the 2007/08 season. Killorglin RFC always welcomes new members, both playing and non-playing, to follow the ongoing development of the club as it has been promoted to Junior League 1 status this year. A full membership of the club costs €30, a family membership costs €50, and juvenile membership costs €10. The club would also like to meet anybody interested in under-age coaching. Anybody interested can contact club PRO Aidan Clifford at 0879065927, or alternatively leave a message with club secretary Madeline Foley (066) 9762102.
Senior Team training takes place every Tuesday at 7pm and Friday at 7:30, at the Dragon’s Den All-weather pitch on Iveragh Road. New faces are always welcome and the club is happy to introduce new players to the game of rugby.
Training of Juvenile teams will takes place every Saturday at the Dragon’s Den. Killorglin RFC under 18 would welcome players who would like to take up the game of rugby, who train every Saturday at 1pm at The Dragon’s Den. Under12’s, 13’s, & 14’s train at 11am and the Under 16’s train at 1pm. All players are welcome to play. For information, contact Youth Officer John Costello on 0863558185.

Shannon RFC
Andrew McNamara PRO

With the seniors away on a weekend Training camp in Biarritz and the Thirds game called off , our only adult games at the weekend saw our U/20’s comprehensively beat Thomond in the North Munster League while our Women’s side were defeated by Boyne in the AIL. The Michael Yelverton Tournament was the main focus of attention for our underage last weekend and once again it proved an enormous success. Eight teams from around Munster competed throughout the day and there certainly was some excellent rugby on view. The sun shone which helped and the ay was rounded off perfectly from a Shannon perspective when our lads qualified for the final against UL/Bohs. It was a cracker of a final with very little to choose between the sides and it took an injury time 3 pointer to separate two very good sides. The Yelverton family deserve a huge amount of credit for their tremendous efforts not only on the day, but for their input into organising the event. Many thanks also to all the referees that helped out.
Elsewhere at underage the U/14’s played Garryowen in a friendly and drew 25 a piece and against the same opposition the U/13’s turned in a highly impressive performance
It’s not often you hear of a hat-trick of tries in rugby, but we have a player who did better than that – how about four in the one match. Take a bow Greg O’Shea. Greg, playing in the outside centre position caused Garryowen all kinds of problems in the North Munster League. His four try haul was added to by James Clancy, in his first league start this season, and outhalf Joey Purcell added three conversions to put the result beyond doubt. Well done to the full panel for an excellent display.
The only game on this weekend takes place in Bruff where our U/18’s hope to maintain their good form.
It’s a big weekend for our U/12’s as they take the now annual pilgrimage to our friends in Ealing. This tour has evolved into something of a mass exodus with a staggering 104 people in the travelling party. It’s a wonderful family weekend with mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters all heading to London to cheer on the 46 players who will make up three separate teams in an international blitz. The onerous task of organising the fundraising, travel arrangements and the various other aspects that went into this mammoth trip begin last year with the coaches and parents working tirelessly. We wish everyone a bon voyage and the best of luck on the field.
The senior panel had a highly productive training weekend in the south of France. It was billed as warm weather training, but in fact the only disappointing aspect of the weekend was that the weather resembled a wet, mucky windy night in Coonagh in January. However, despite the weather 4 intensive training sessions were held over the two days which will no doubt be of enormous benefit to the lads as the AIL fast approaches. It wasn’t all work though and there was probably no better place to watch the world cup game between France and the All Blacks than in the Red Café in Biarritz. The atmosphere was electric before, during and mot defiantly after the game. The locals took us to their hearts as we celebrated their country’s victory in a fashion that won’t be forgotten in that cafe for quite some time. Next Saturday will be time to put all the training to good use when we take the long road to Belfast Harlequins for the AIB Cup. We don’t have too many pleasant memories of the Grafton Arena and the lads are very keen to set an early standard for themselves and build towards the start of the AIB league which is just around the corner.
Other fixtures this weekend sees the Thirds resume the Gleeson league with a tough game away to Garryowen on Saturday at 3pm and on Sunday the seconds play Young Munster in the league in Coonagh at 3pm. Also on Sunday the Women’s side are away to UL/Bohs in the AIL.
Finally I have been asked to highlight that there is a Buffet in memory of Gerry Ryan, former Head Coach of Limerick SC and Shannon RFC member in the Castletroy Park Hotel on October 13th at 20:30. Proceeds go to Cancer Research and the Oncology Unit at the Mid-Western regional Hospital. Tickets can be purchased from Alan Ward (086 2454887) price €40.

THOMOND RFC
John Ryan PRO

On Saturday we bowed out of the A.I.L Cup at the first hurdle to an impressive looking Belfast Harlequins side on a score line of 34-7. This was our first experience of AIL Cup rugby and although we had a home draw we were unlucky to draw last years finalists and probably the strongest of the 2nd/3rd Division teams. We you see the likes of Paul McKensie, Stuart Philpott and Andy Ward lining out you know it will be difficult. Harlequins started at a rate of knots and quickly scored a penalty to make it 3-0. After about 10 mins their full back Mark Kettyle handed off some weak Thomond tackling to make it 8-0. The conversion was missed and thankfully the first choice kicker William Slabbert also missed 3 penalties in quick succession before 25 mins were played on the clock. Finally at this stage we started to get into the game a bit. Dara O’Nell made a great chip and chase up the touchline and only good cover from Quins prevented a score. We suffered a blow right on half time when the Paul McKensie was on hand to score in the corner despite a wonderful hand trip from O’Neill on the full back Kettyle. This left it 13-0 at the break.After the break we upped the intensity and after 48 mins, Mark Cosgrave skinned the substitute winger, chipped ahead and openside Craig Bromell pounced on the loose ball to score. Declan Cusack added the extras to make it 13-7. Unfortunately that was as it good as it got. Not for the first time in recent years we managed to bomb the kick off and after a series of phases Scrum Half Karl Trask ghosted over. After that it was one way traffic with Voisey and Trask again adding further tries as well as 3 conversions from Thomas Horner. On the day it wasn’t all doom and gloom, Barry Toomey was very impressive in the centre and the back 3 (who are all under 20) performed very well. In the pack Declan O’Connell was the pick. There is obviously a lot for the coaching staff to work on before the start of the AIL but hopefully we will have rectified these problems in the meantime. This Saturday we are away to Naas in a friendly.
Our U20’s were beaten by Shannon in the North Munster League but all team tried very hard and came up a very good and organised opposition. This weekend they play Richmond in a friendly with the AIL starting the following week with an away match to Shannon.
The thirds made it 3 wins from 3 in the Glesson League in a 10 try thriller against Garryowen, winning 35-31. In the first half the team were superb, with wonderful inter play between backs and forwards. Kenneth McNamara kicked us into the lead with a penalty, which was shortly followed by Glen O’Callaghan going over from a wayward Garryowen lineout. A wonderful break by David McNamara put Mark Kelly between the post and then a converted try from Kenneth McNamara which he converted left the half time score 22-0, not before the team withstood constant pressure prior to the interval when the opposition were kept out. A Eugene Payne try from a driving lineout puts us 27-0 shortly after the break. Garryowen replied with a converted try but then a mazy run from Mark Kelly put David O’Mahony over in the corner for a 32-7 lead. Garryowen staged a comeback with 3 quick tries to bring the score 32-24 but a Kenneth McNamara penalty sealed the win despite another try from Garryowen. This week we are away to Richmond in the Glesson League.
Our seconds are at home to UL Bohs in the Senior Seconds League on Sunday in Fitzgerald Park.
Our U15 finished their league campaign we defeat to St.Senan’s, we played very well in this game and were leading 18-5 but the home side made a comeback and we lost out 22-18. Our U13s play Newcastle West in league at 11am on Sunday in Fitzgerald Park.

OLD CRESCENT RFC NOTES

A positive week with victory for all our adult teams in action.

The 1st XV continued their inaugural campaign in the AIB Cup with the visit of Naas RFC to Rosbrien on Saturday. The clash with the World Cup game may have impacted on the attendance but those who did attend saw an efficient yet uneven performance by our side. Our new outside half, Gareth James continues to impress and scored 14 of our sides points with two converted tries with Alan Purcell, Shane Murphy and Lemeki Viapulu also crossing the whitewash for tries to give us victory by 29 points to 14. We now make the short journey to Killballyowen Park on Saturday to face Bruff in the 3rd round of the competition, with kick off at 2.30pm.
The 2nds XV received a walk over last weekend and this weekend travel to Cork to play Sunday’s Well on Sunday in the Munster Senior Seconds League at 3pm.
The 3rd XV travelled to Shannon to play St. Senans in the Gleeson League and recorded their first victory of the season by 32 points to
16 scoring five tries in the process. This weekend they host Ul Bohs on Saturday at 3pm.

On the under age front the under 10s participated in a club day in Abbeyfeale with Newcastlewest, Kilrush & Bruff and our teams put in a very good display. The under 16’s played Kilfeacle in a friendly and recorded a good victory.
This weekend the under 12s host Garryowen in a friendly in Rosbrien on Friday evening @ 6pm. On Sunday our under 8s play their first club day of the season with a trip to St. Senan’s to play the hosts, Ballina/Killaloe,St. Mary’s & Abbeyfeale We ask all parents who have not yet returned their registration forms for the current season to do so as soon as possible. Those requiring gear please note that this is available from the club on Sunday mornings. A coffee morning for all parents of under age players will take place on Sunday October 21st @ 11am and we ask as many parents as possible to attend. Finally this week the club’s fashion show will take place at the South Court Hotel on Thursday November 15th @ 8pm.
Ticket for this event are available for any member of the committee.

Clonakilty’s Cups Floweth Over

It was a great weekend for the club. The seniors travelled to Derry for the AIB cup and overcame a 10 – 8 half time deficit to win comfortably by 28 – 10 in the end. The Bulldogs took the club’s first piece of silverware for season 2007 – 08 when they defeated an experienced Dolphin outfit by 19 – 12 in The O’Sullivan Cup final. The under 18s also flew the flag with an impressive 45 – 5 win over Christians and the under 13s not to be outdone finished runners up in The Joe Kidney Cup to the hosts Presentation College.

The seniors travelled very understrength to Derry and will be hugely encouraged by the result given the number of enforced changes. The following extract from Mike Balmer, the Derry Journal reporter covering the game, says it all.

CITY OF DERRY coach, Daffyd Hughes, remained in positive mood despite his side’s 28-10 AIB Cup exit at the hands of AIL Division 2 side Clonakilty at Judges Road on Saturday. The Co. Cork side ran out comfortable winners against a City side who failed to build on an impressive first half display that saw them lead 10-8 at the break but Hughes stressed there were reasons to be optimistic ahead of the AIL League kick-off in three weeks. "Yes, we are disappointed because we have played a few matches now this season and as you win, expectations become higher but Clonakilty were a quality side," explained Hughes. "They were close to being a Division 1 team in the last few years so they are a good marker for us. The longer the game went on the stronger they became whereas we tired a little. In reality though, we are not going to come up against a side as good as that every week so we have to take the positives. What we were looking for was a performance more than a result and we almost got it. Of course we are disappointed to go out but on the whole, our defence was good and the boys showed great determination so, while there are still a few things that need fine tuning, I think we will be OK."

The home side got off to the ideal start when Ioane’s misplaced kick fell perfectly for Brace to collect and release Funston who went over under the posts in only his second senior start. With Ioane converting for a 7-0 lead with only five minutes gone, the omens looked good for the Judges Road men. However, City’s continued failure to find touch gifted the Cork men possession time and time again – a problem Hughes admitted Derry would have to correct if they are to make any impression in the All Ireland League. "We were trying to be quite structured, to make touch, play for position and take it from there but we never really got into good enough positions to do them any damage other than the try. "We missed a number of kicks when we should have made touch which meant they were able to run it back at us. The fact we came in at half-time so close made us believe we were in with a shout but we needed to win possession fast. Once the ball is slow coming, a team like Clonakilty can get organised and it becomes very difficult to break them down" We defended very well but when they found space they were able to exploit it."

Clonakilty’s Gary Cribb had already missed a 12th minute penalty before he slotted over his second attempt two minutes later only to see Ioane restore City’s seven point lead with another penalty five minutes later. The visitors scored their first try on the 20 minute mark when Paul Dillon fed Shay O’Donovan who cruised over. With Cribb’s conversion rebounding off the bar to safety and Ioane missing an injury time penalty for the home side, City took a two-point lead into the interval. That lead was wiped out three minutes after the restart by another Cribb penalty before Clonakilty’s pressure finally told in the 59th minute when John O’Donnell crashed over in the corner. Cribb missed the conversion and was off target again two minutes later when Paul Dillon added another try as the visitors’ dominance began to pay off at 21-10. City’s defence was now at full stretch to keep out the Cork side who had to wait until the 73rd minute for their fourth and final try when Colin Murphy collected possession from a line-out and picked out the on-rushing Cribb who scored under the posts with Kirby converting to complete the scoring. "We could have been further ahead than we were at half-time but for most of the game we were not that close to their try line. We spent too much time in our own 22 but we are very close to being the side we want though there are still areas to improve on. You always have to be looking at areas you can improve on. Our speed of possession and decision making needs work but we are optimistic," added Hughes.

Clon now travel to Dublin to meet Dublin University who prevailed over Sunday’s Well. Coach Terry Dillon will be very pleased with the gutsy performance particularly that of new recruit John Darvill. In his first game for the club he was outstanding in defence and attack and will feature at openside this season. Another new arrival Aaron Spring also impressed at no. 8. His is a fine pedigree as his father, Dick and Uncle, Donal featured many times for Ireland. Michael Peter O’Regan. Captain of the extra-firsts completed a hard working back row and in the second row Sean Duignan, from last years under 20s, was not found wanting. Matt Kirby and Peter Stoutt impressed when introduced with Kirby contributing to two trys.

Clonakilty squad: Eoin Murphy, Alfie Harte, Dave Dowling, Mike O’Hea, Sean Duignan, Michael Peter O’Regan, John Darvill, Aaron Spring, Colin Murphy, Gary Cribb, Shay O’Donovan, David Lombard, Paul Dillon, John O’Donnell, Derek Dillon, Peter Stoutt, Hugh O’Neill, Tom Nyhan, Matt Kirby and Denis Stevenson.
Referee: Simon McDowell (Belfast)

The Bulldogs look to be a very formidable grouping this year. They have in the past been predominantly made up of the older players not interested in training but not ready to finish yet. With the veterans taking care of many from this category it was a very young, fit and talented Bulldogs squad that contested the final of The O’Sullivan Cup in Muskerry on Sunday. Against a very experienced pack the lighter, younger Clon eight struggled in the tight but made up for it in the loose where they took it on with gusto. Prepared to run from anywhere they stretched the Dolphin defence regularly. Great line kicking from Ciaran Calnan kept Clon on the front foot for long periods. Doughty defence though kept the game in doubt to the end. Dolphin took an early lead with a penalty and held it for twenty minutes until Conor O’Neill opened the scoring for Clon with a determined run through the defence after a sweeping backline move. The pack added a second from a drive over with captain Danny Collins coming up smiling. Dolphin kept their scores ticking over from another three penalties but a confident display from James Deasy who goaled three penalties himself kept the seven point difference in Clon’s favour to the end.

The Squad was: Back Row L-R Vince O’Mahony, Colin Bennett, Cian Clancy, Ciaran Murphy, Conrad Lehane, Alan Harte, Ciaran Calnan, Stephen Lowney,
Sean Beamish, Sam Duignan, Alan Pettit, Shane Deane, Tom Nyhan, Bartle Murphy and Mel Long, Manager.
Front L-R. Eoin Ryan, Philip Hayes, Tim Walsh, John Kingston, James Deasy,
Danny Collins (Capt), James Kingston, Ryan Bailey and. Conor O’Neill.

The under 18s had a surprisingly easy win over Christians in a friendly last Saturday. Emerging 45 – 5 and will look forward to the league start in a couple of weeks. The under 13s had a great outing in a blitz held in Presentation college. Eight clubs took part in two sections of four. The Clon boys won all their games finishing top in their section but unfortunately went down in the final to the winners of the other section, the hosts Presentation College. Given the level of preparation that the college would inevitably have this was a fantastic achievement for the Clon Boys and we will look forward to their further development.

This weekend’s fixtures:

Saturday 13th Seniors. AIB Cup V Dublin University in Dublin. 2.30pm
Under 16s. Sth Munster League V Crosshaven. Away 11.30am
Under 14s Sth Munster League V Kinsale. The Vale 11.30am
Sunday 14th Extra-Firsts. Munster Senior Seconds League V UCC The Vale 3.00pm
Bulldogs. J2 League V Dunmanway. The Vale 1.00pm.

UL BOHEMIAN RFC
Denis Ryan PRO

The 1st XV had a break from competitive action last weekend as they got ready to travel on Saturday to play Dungannon in the AIB All Ireland Cup.
It was left to the seconds to take pride of place when in the Munster Seconds League UL Bohs beat Young Munster by 31-0. In lightening fashion UL Bohs opened the scoring with a try and conversion both scored by Mark Butler after 6 minutes in this game in Tom Clifford Park. Play then moved from end to end but on 37 minutes a great maul by UL Bohs ended with hooker Michael Long scoring – the conversion by Mark Butler giving the visitors a halftime lead of 19-0. UL Bohs continued to dominate in the second half and this was shown in the 12 min when Aiden McNulty touched down for a try converted by Mark Butler. Then, on the 25 min a Young Munster attack was held up and from inside the UL Bohs 22 an excellent counter attack saw Dean Mitchell score an unconverted try to complete the scoring. Final score UL Bohs 31-Young Munster 0. This weekend the side travel to play Thomond.
The 3rd XV went down unluckily to St Mary’s in The Gleeson Cup in Annacotty.
The U-13s got off to a flyer also in their game against Richmond and ended up touching down for 8 tries, without conceding any. Overall UL Bohs did the basics better than their opponents, and with key players in the forwards, quickly set about dominating possession. The lineout and scrum dominated and set the platform for everything from there. Good performances from Julian Corbett (No 6), Darragh Kennedy (No 7), Luke Murray (No 12) in addition to Mark Kennedy (No 4) and Dan Goggin (No 8 & Capt.) In the North Munster U-15 League UL Bohs travelled to Bruff and just got the better of the home side by 15-12. Tries were scored by Eamon Farrell & Enda Carroll while Darren Nolan kicked a penalty and conversion. Although UL Bohs achieved the basic goal the coaches considered it an indifferent performance by the players. While we were missing some key players we should have performed much better. As usual Bruff were a tough uncompromising outfit and made us work very hard for our victory. However in the end we showed great spirit in getting the winning try with less than ten minutes to go. We had to defend our line in the end and the boys showed great determination to get the result we needed. Our next and last League game proper is away to Young Munster in two weeks time and once again we will have to be at our best to ensure we get to the play offs. On Sunday the U-15s travel to Carlow to play two games.