Club Notes: Week Ending 22.11.15

This week’s club notes come from Bruff, Kilfeacle & District, Newcastle West, Thurles and Waterford City rugby clubs.

Click here for Bruff Club Notes

Click here for Kilfeacle & District Club Notes

Click here for Newcastle West Club Notes

Click here for Thurles Club Notes

Click here for Waterpark Club Notes

Bruff RFC

Courtesy of:- Seamus Sheahan, Club PRO

UBL Game 7

The 1^st xv travelled to Dublin last Saturday week to take on table toppers Wanderers in Round 7 of the UBL. Wanderers had turned over Old Crescent in Rosbrien the previous week which was Crescents first defeat of the campaign. Bruff on the other hand had suffered consecutive home defeats and needed the win to stay in the top half of the table.

The game didn’t start well for Bruff with Wanderers racing into a 10-0 lead after twenty five minutes. Wanderers struck quickly and had a converted try after only two minutes, kicking a further three points on twenty five minutes. Tony Cahill kicked Bruff’s opening score on twenty eight minutes with Wanderers replying on thirty three minutes to make it 13-3. With half time looming Bruff hit a purple patch which was rewarded with a try from Paidi Kilcoyne. The conversion was just wide and Bruff went in trailing 13-8 at the break. 
Wanderers stretched their lead to 16-8 not long after the break with a penalty, but Bruff replied on the fifty minute mark to make it 16-11. On fifty eight minutes Bruff took the lead for the first time in the game thanks to an intercept try from centre Brian Cahill. Brother Tony kicked the conversion to make it 16-18 to Bruff and an anxious last twenty minute would see the sides swap the lead on two more occasions. Wanderers kicked a penalty with only ten minutes left on the clock to take a 19-18 lead and it was now down to Bruff to go chase the game. By now a large number of supporter who could not travel had gathered under the stand in Bruff where the u20’s were playing Old Crescent in the league. All eyes were firmly on the Bruff twitter feed and fingers where frantically hitting the refresh button to get the latest update from Merrion Road. On eighty minutes there was a big cheer when the latest feed popped up on the screen ‘Penalty to Bruff last minute’. Again fingers were impatiently hitting the screens with others trying to make contact with supporters in Dublin to see what was going on. Eventually the news came through that Tony Cahill had nailed the penalty and Bruff won out on a score-line of 21-19.

Team : 1.Davy Horan 2.Johnny Hogan 3.Keith Laffan 4.Barry Laffan 5. Mikey Cooke 6. Cillian Rea 7.Mikey Carroll. 8.Paddy Clery 9.Tony Cahill 10.Davie O Grady 11.Mark Cosgrove 12.Brian Cahill 13.Sean D’Arcy 14.Paudi Kilcoyne 15. Graham Whelan. Subs: Brendan Keogh, Kevin Madigan, Jake Considine, Darragh Mulcahy, Barry Enright

Next Game Alfie Laffan Memorial Trophy

Munster Senior Cup 1st round match is being played Friday Night (20th) with a kick-off time of 7:30pm.
Games between both sides have a great record of being good flowing, exciting matches, and this year is the first time that the teams will play for the Alfie Laffan Memorial Trophy, which has been kindly sponsored by the Kilmallock Rugby Supporters Club in memory of Bruff and UCC stalwart Alfie Laffan.
Come along and see some true club rugby…

U20’s continue winning ways.
The U20’s made it two wins from two league games when they defeated Old Crescent at home in Bruff on Saturday. It was a performance built on solid defence and an ability to convert chances that paved the way for this bonus point win. Old Crescent had long spells of territory and pressure but failed to turn dominance into points when presented mainly down to Bruff’s dogged defending and willingness to put bodies on the line when needed.

In a very entertaining game it took 25 minutes for the opening score to come. Bruff outside centre Conor Fitzpatrick was on hand to touch down after a great Bruff attack which started on the Bruff 10 metre line with Kevin McManus adding the extras to make it 7-0 to Bruff. Crescent kicked a penalty before Sean Hartigan touched down for Bruff’s second try off the back of a well worked maul from a five metre lineout to make it 12-3 at half time.

Bruff full back Brian Fanning was in fine form and was next to touch down not long after the break with Kevin McManus adding the conversion to make it 19-3.  Another player in fine form was Jack O Grady who added trys back to back on 55 & 65 minutes. The first of his two trys was score of the day with Bruff attacking from inside their own 22. The ball went through the hands of five different players before O Grady touched down from the move which he had started. McManus converted both trys leaving no way back for Crescent. Sean Haritigan got in for his second try just before the final whistle to make it 38-3 to Bruff.

Team: 1 Darren O Farrell 2 Brian Bulfin 3 Shane Breen 4 Cian Mulqueen 5 Kevin Tracey 6 Eamon O Dea 7 Billy O Donoghue 8 Sean Hartigan 9 Niall Byrnes 10 Jack O grady 11 Anthony Foley 12 Darragh Fanning 13 Conor Fitzpatrick 14 Kevin McManus 15 Brian Fanning 16 Killian Sheahan 17 Adam Sheehy 18 Aaron Daly 19 Patrick Maher 20 Richard Bateman 20 Liam Barrett
Fixture’s: please keep an eye on the website for the latest fixtures which will be updated by Wednesday Each week. http://www.bruffrfc.com/
 
Kilfeacle & District RFC
 
Courtesy of:- Denis Wade, Club PRO
 
Kilfeacle win against Waterpark in League
 
Kilfeacle and District R.F.C.            35
Waterpark R.F.C.                             17
 
On Sunday 15^th of November at 2.30pm Kilfeacle and District RFC welcomed Waterpark RFC to Morrissey Park for their meeting in the Munster Division 1 League encounter. The weather wasn’t conducive for rugby with a strong wind blowing down the pitch and conditions underfoot very slippy.
 
 The home side started against the strong wind and with the home support urging them on and the expectations of a home win weighing on their shoulders. Kilfeacle started with a sense of urgency and had the better of the earlier exchanges and managed to put some good phases of play together. In the fourth minute, after some fierce tackling by Kilfeacle’s forwards, consisting of Tom Doyle, Ricky Whitney, Simon Barry, Gerard Luby, Cormac O’Donoghue, David Kiersey, Kevin Kinane, Conor Quinlan, Diarmuid O’Donnell and Ian Kelly they were awarded a penalty which Shane Luby duly converted against the wind. Two minutes later Shane Luby watched another penalty kick from a tight angle drift agonizingly wide on the wind. With 10 minutes on the clock Waterpark earned and scored a long distance penalty to draw level. Kilfeacle were having the better of the early exchanges and Jordan Peato went on a fantastic solo run which saw him stopped just short of the Waterpark try line. This didn’t dishearten the team and it wasn’t surprising when Darren Lowry after a fine backs move went over to score Kilfeacle’s first try. Shane Luby was able to convert so the score was now 10 points to 3 in favour of the home side. The vast majority of the next 10 minutes were played in the visitors half, the fear with the home supporters was that their team were creating many chances and had much territorial advantage but it was not reflected on the scoreboard. However within two minutes Shane Luby had doubled his teams total after scoring a penalty, a try and a conversion after some great work by his team mates. However, no sooner had Kilfeacle managed to gain some impetus when they gave away possession. With only seconds remaining in the half Waterpark’s number 12 made Kilfeacle pay for some missed tackles when he ran half the length of the pitch to score under the posts. The referee’s whistle sounded for halftime directly after the successful conversion kick and the score showed that the home side were leading 20 points to 10 both sides knew that this game was still there for the taking.
 
 As the second half progressed Kilfeacle and District started to come into the game more and began to look menacing with some sustained possession and good phases of play. Not to be out done the backs started to move the ball well with, captain, Darren Lowry, showing good signs that he is a true leader marshalling the backs, Shane Luby, Diarmuid Carr, Cian Ryan, Jordan Peato, Ciaran Lowry, Josh Featherstone and Gavin Heuston, all of whom started to look very good in both defence and attack for the home side. Kilfeacle had gained the upper hand and some of the younger players were starting to win their duals with their counterparts. Waterpark didn’t get where they are today by giving away points easily and they kept Kilfeacle and District at bay, by every and all means possible and Kilfeacle had only improved their tally with a penalty from Shane Luby. After fifteen minutes of play in the second half the home side finally got their next try on the scoreboard when Josh Featherstone finished off a fine backs move which Shane Luby was unlucky not to convert. Kilfeacle and District were now looking for their bonus point try however with only minutes remaining Waterpark had still kept them at bay. Eventually the pack broke through the Waterpark line and on his return Cormac O’Donoghue marked a fine display by touching down for the fourth try which Shane Luby slotted with some aplomb. With seconds remaining Kilfeacle’s concentration and discipline dropped and Waterpark had gained territory and came looking for a pushover try but were stopped illegally. The referee awarded a penalty try which they converted easily to leave the final score reading 35 points to 17 in favour of the home side.
 
Kilfeacle were happy with the performance and the result, in a lively game. After the game team coach Conor Hartigan said, "We are happy with the effort and application shown by the squad. All the players, including the young players and those returning from injury, impressed. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Waterpark for a hard fought but sporting match and wish the club the very best in the future. I thought that the team played well as a unit but there is still room for improvement, so a full attendance at training is vital if we are to win our next match which is away to Newcastle West."
 
Mini rugby training continues in Kilfeacle on Friday nights at 7.00pm. This is an ideal environment to introduce both boys and girls to the game in a safe and controlled manner. Kilfeacle welcomes youngsters from 6 years and up to join us for the remainder of the season. We have great fun up on The Hill and have lots of matches planned against some great clubs over the next few months. Mini rugby is a perfect game for beginners as boys and girls play against children of their own ability and age.
 
Newcastle West RFC
 
Courtesy of:- Pat Daly
 
Mini Rugby season has begun. New Volunteers & Players needed.
The 2015/16 is in full flight and all children wishing to partake in rugby should join their age group at our mini rugby training: u6 – u12 every Sunday 10:30 to 11:30 with mini blitzes once a month either at home or in a club in Limerick. This year to enhance the service and goodwill we need people to volunteer to help out in player registration, serving tea & coffees. A roster will exist to divide the tasks among the volunteers. Mini and Family Membership will be taken in Clubhouse every Sunday during Minis training from 10:30 am 11:30 am. Plenty Newcastle West branded stock available in our club shop, come ask while in Clubhouse for your Sunday cuppa !!
 
Youths and U20 Rugby Training in full swing
Calling all u13 to u20 players, please contact or respond to texts from your coaches to attend your teams training. With the success we had at underage last season we are hoping to equal if not better the success this year. If you want to be part of a winning team & club come to training and get noticed.
 
Mini fixtures for next week 
  
 

 
Youth fixtures for next week
   
 

 
Thurles RFC
 
Courtesy of:- Brian Scanlon, Club PRO
 
Thurles RFC Vs. Waterford City RFC – Munster Junior League

Thurles RFC 28 – 0 Waterford City RFC
 
The Thurles First XV played their first home game in over a month at a very windy Loughtagalla on Sunday last where they welcomed Waterford City, who incidentally was the last home fixture Thurles had on 11^th Ocotber, a game in which Thurles ran out 32-28 winners on the day to advance in the Challenge Shield.
 
Thurles were looking to continue their recent winning streak and also continue their impressive home record which stretches over 2 seasons unbeaten in competitive action.  In victory last weekend over Ennis, Thurles had the misfortune of losing second rows Luke & Phil Kelly to injury as well as winger Tommy Connolly, players who have been in great form of late but such is the dept of the Thurles squad this year, they were able to call upon Colm Skehan and Adrian Bourke who were making their return from injury and semi-retired Brian Lyons slotting back in the second row like he never left.
 
Thurles started the game playing into the clubhouse end against the strong wind for the first half and took the game to Waterford from the start, with Joey Kelly and Larry O’Gorman carrying some great ball early on.  Thurles played the conditions they were faced with extremely well and after 15 minutes, they opened the days scoring from the boot of Aidan Dwyer, after being awarded a penalty for a Waterford player straying offside, 3-0.
 
Waterford City did have brief spells during the first half but questions must be asked in their own camp as to the thinking behind their decision to rely on their pack to try and make their way up the field rather than use the boot of their Out-Half and make use of the wind while they had it.  Despite having the much bigger pack, Thurles were relentless in defence, driving the Deise men back on many occasions with Dave Kelly, Paddy Phelan and Ciaran Ryan getting through a mountain of work around the edges.
 
With 10 minutes until the half time break, Thurles started to increase the pressure in attack with a move kick started from a line out inside the Waterford half, Thurles went right to left a number of times, showing great patience and composure with both the forwards and backs combining perfectly which looked like a move constructed straight from the training ground and the finish was the perfect complement to the work done previously, with the ball coming back right once again, Shane Moloney headed for the sideline and he gave a beautiful behind the back pass to centre partner Shane Lanigan-Ryan who with work to do touched down excellently in the corner, there is unlikely to be a better try scored at Loughtalla all year and it was one the crowd enjoyed and one that would have pleased the Thurles management,  the conversion was unluckily missed as the wind took charge and kept it out just as it seemed it was going to sneak over, 8-0.
 
Waterford themselves had a go at the Thurles line just before the break but once again they faced an unbreakable black force who kept driving them back down the line away from the home sides try line, with McCormack, Skehan and Moloney shining in particular.
 
A skewed kick off from Thurles at the beginning of the second half saw Waterford take a scrum on the half way line which was followed by a ten minute spell of pressure which the home side were able to see off excellently with the back three of Bourke, Moloney and Coman covering the lines and cutting out any threat out wide.  After managing this period of pressure Thurles were awarded a penalty inside their own 22 which Aidan Dwyer used the wind to his advantage and placed the ball in touch inside the Waterford 22.
 
Thurles took control from this point on, after a number of attempts at the Waterford line by Irwin, Coman and Dwyer at various stages of a 10 mintue spell, the pressure told on the City men giving away 2 penalties in this period, which Dwyer converted to push out the score to 14-0 to extend the lead to 14-0. 
 
Thurles continued the pressure and started to go through the gears, producing some great passes of play, which was a joy to see for the home supporters, the pack laid the foundations on the right hand side of the field once again before the centre pairing of Moloney and Lanigan-Ryan combined excellently again with the latter going over for his second try of the game, the convert was slotted over quickly by Dwyer to extend the lead to 21-0 and go on the hunt for the bonus point late on.
 
Thurles received the ball back from the restart and kicked themselves into position well inside the Waterford 22.  The away side won their own lineout and set a platform to exit, the scrum half passed to a pod of Waterford forwards who fumbled with the pressure from the Thurles chase, the ball landed into the hands of Dwyer who made a break for the line before being just short, he managed to get the offload to Skehan, who was arriving like a speed train in support was never going to be stopped that close, with the convert added, the score now read 28-0 to Thurles and this is how the game finished.
 
On another day Thurles might have been disappointed not to get the bonus point, granted they may still be but credit to Waterford City, they were very hard to break down throughout the game, only a late flourish saw Thurles add to the scores but the scoreline didn’t flatter the Tipp men in any way, with the way they attacked and defended, it was a great performance and one that will please the management.
 
Numbers for both Firsts and Seconds have been excellent for the past number of weeks and we hope to see this continue in the build up to the Christmas break, the rewards of the high numbers training were evident last weekend.
 
Training continues for the First and Second XV on Wednesday and Friday Nights, on the field and ready to go for 7.30pm, New Players always welcome.  The players and management would like to thank all those who turned out at Loughtagalla to support the team, it was much appreciated and a big boost to the players throughout the game.
 
Our next fixture is in the Munster Junior League away to Tralee on Sunday 29^th November, all travelling support would be greatly appreciated for this important game.

 
Thurles Scorers: Shane Lanigan-Ryan (2 Tries), Colm Skehan (1Try), Aidan Dwyer (2 Conversions, 3 Penalties).   
Thurles Squad vs Waterford City: 1. Ger McCormack 2. Dave Kelly 3. Colm Skehan (Capt.) 4. Larry O’Gorman 5. Brian Lyons 6. Ciaran Ryan 7. Paddy Phelan 8. Joey Kelly 9. Nicky Irwin 10. Aidan Dwyer 11. Peter Coman 12. Shane Moloney (Killinan) 13. Shane Lanigan-Ryan 14. Adrian Bourke 15. Shane Moloney (Holycross) 16 Shane Nugent 17. Rory O’Dwyer 18. Declan O’Rahilly 19. Ross Crystal 20. Ollie Delaney
Waterford City RFC
 
Courtesy of:- Deirdre Barry, Club PRO
 
Elaine Anthony capped for Ireland!
 
Former Waterford City RFC player Elaine Anthony received her first cap for Ireland on Saturday when Ireland Ladies faced England in their first November international game at the Twickenham Stoop. Elaine started her rugby career with the Waterford City ladies team in 2011 while studying in Waterford Institute of Technology. She went on to play with the Munster u19’s and senior ladies team the same year. In 2012, Elaine played dual status with Waterford City and Highfield and has since won two inter-provisional championships with the Munster Ladies. A Cobh native and Munster ladies regular Elaine holds Waterford City Rugby club very close to her heart. She believes she would not be getting the opportunity to play for Ireland if she hadn’t played with Waterford City. She said she ‘learned the basics, grew to love the game and realised what it is to grind out a win’ during her time with WCRFC. Elaine would like to thank everyone in WCRFC for all their help and support. Well done Elaine.
 
Senior Squad – Thurles 28 v Waterford City 0
 
Sunday 15th November was a dark day for City’s senior team as they succumbed to there first blank scoreboard in 14 months and second only of coach Peter Jones four year reign. After waiting three weeks for a game, City was well prepared and eager for the challenge of Thurles after a narrow defeat six weeks previously at the hands of the same opposition. In blustery conditions, City didn’t adapt as well as their Tipperary counterparts and found themselves 8-0 down at half time. Despite creating a number of opportunities, City didn’t execute them and were left ruing these missed opportunities at the interval.
 
The second half saw City start brightly, but they were unable to make territory and early possession count, when camped on the Thurles try line. Thurles soaked the city pressure and cleared their lines through some excellent kicking from the Thurles fly half and sniping breaks from the Thurles scrum half.
 
Attitude and effort is something that can always be relied upon by any City player who pulls on the City coat of arms, but lack of execution, penalties at ruck time and game management need to improve if City are to achieve their potential.
 
We have a week off before welcoming Ennis to Kilbarry where players and coaches alike will do a lot of soul searching to rediscover that spark that has been synominous with Waterford City over the last few seasons.
 
As always, many thanks to all of our supporters and sponsors Done Deal and the Kingfisher club.
 
Karl Reade, Dave O’Connor, Andrew Condron, Jason Power, Ben Duggan (captain), Tom Bowe, Cian Foskin, Sean O’ Mahoney, Darren Walsh, Michael Hayes, Damien Kennedy, Connor Power, Aidan Power, Stephen Walsh, Nicky Jacob,
Brian Walsh, John McNicholas, Kevin Whelan, Mark Hayes, Phillip Kennedy.
Thank you to everyone for their support from our sponsors Kingfisher and Done Deal to the family and friends of all squad members. We have worked hard to build a family at the club and here is today’s pre game video for the squad.

U16’s
Congratulations to the under 16’s team who are through to the Pan Munster League competition. Well done to all players and coaches – Chris Glynn and Dean Cox and all helping with this great bunch of players.
 
A Night at the Dogs – Benefit Night
On Friday 18th of December a benefit night in aid of the club will be held in Kilcohan Park Greyhound Stadium.  Doors open at 7pm with the first race starting at 7.55pm. Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased at all training sessions. Adult tickets are €10 and family tickets are €20 (2 adults and 4 children). There will be lots of prizes and promotions on the night. All members welcome.
 
Club lotto results
Numbers Drawn…9 – 16 – 23 – 27 NO JACKPOT WINNER
2 people selected 3 numbers and won €50 each – Sean Wall and Paul Toffen
2 x €25 – James Manning and Peter McGrath
1 x €20 "MULTI TICKET" as a seller’s prize- Jemma Jacob (Waterford City Rugby Club)
Lotto tickets on sale at the club house tomorrow morning (Sunday) from Jemma.