Club Notes: Week Ending 27.03.16

This week’s club notes come from Thurles and Waterford City rugby clubs.

Click here for Thurles Club Notes

Click here for Waterford City Club Notes

Thurles RFC

Courtesy of:- Brian Scanlon, Club PRO


Thurles First XV – Munster Junior League

Thurles RFC 61 – 8 Charleville RFC


With only two games left in the Thurles First XV’s season, a re-fixed League game versus Newport which has to be fulfilled and the Final of the Munster Junior Challenge Shield are what the team have to look forward to in the coming weeks as Abbeyfeale & Cobh pipped Thurles to the promotion spots as they completed their respective final league games, Thurles welcomed Charleville RFC to Loughtagalla, as they looked to finish a second consecutive season undefeated at home in the League.

Thurles started this game like a house on fire, securing the winning bonus point within 20 minutes, Ger McCormack continued his try scoring form of late as he powered through a number of defenders to touch down. Charleville did manage to reply following a Thurles infringement from the kick-off, 7-3. Thurles crossed the whitewash minutes later after some great running from Tommy Connolly on the right set up a great platform for attack in the opposition 22 before the ball made its way back left as Colm Skehan got his hands on the ball to power over for a try of his own to get both props on the score sheet early on.

Thurles didn’t waste any time in getting back up the field, with pressure strong and bordering offside at times from Charleville, Thurles went through the hands as the trio of Shane Moloney, Peter Coman & John Lillis combined excellently out wide to bring play well inside the Corks sides red zone. After great play from the Kelly brothers, Phil, Joey & Dave in the tight, the found its way out wide where Aidan Dwyer sent Moloney through with a pass right on the gain line as Shane touched down for a well-earned try.

Thurles were producing great rugby and much to Charleville’s despair they repeated the trick as they went back down the field instantly from the kick-off for another great team try, with Connolly, Luke Kelly & Paddy Phelan heavily involved in the build-up before Ciaran Ryan raced through to secure the winning bonus point early on, John Lillis added all but one conversion as the home side raced into an impressive 26-3 lead.

Charleville to their credit kept battling and their effort couldn’t be faulted, they were just unlucky that they came up against a Thurles side bang in form on the day, with rugby that was very pleasing to the large Thurles support in attendance. Just before the half time break, Luke Kelly found a gap in the defence and found it way over on the right hand side for a well-deserved score of his own as Lillis converted for the full complement, 33-3 at the half-time break.

Thurles picked up in the second half where they left off in the first, they worked hard to turnover possession from the kick-off, earning a scrum inside the Charleville 22. It was from this scrum that the 8, 9 & 10 trio of Joey Kelly, Irwin & Dwyer combined excellently from the back of the scrum which resulted in Irwin diving in under the posts to add another try to his seasons collection, Lillis added the extras for a scoreline of 40-3.

Thurles introduced Larry O’Gorman & Dwayne Stanley to bring some fresh legs to the pack in this fast paced game & it was O’Gorman who was on hand to secure the restart, as Dwyer set up for the clearance the pressure came on the kick, he held onto possession and found a gap between the would be blockers before passing right to Irwin, who in turn returned the pass to Dwyer who raced over from 35 yards out to get his name on the score board, Lillis slotted again as Thurles approached the 50 point mark, 47-3.

As both sides rung the changes, Thurles introduced Shane Nugent for his long awaited League Debut, as he slotted in at hooker as Skehan made way with Dave Kelly moving to prop, Ollie Delaney came on in place of Irwin and Colin Feeley on in place of Phil Kelly.

As Thurles took times to adjust to the numerous changes, Charleville took advantage as they had their 10 minute purple patch where they were rewarded for their great efforts throughout when a soft tackle from a Thurles player allowed them cross the line & race in under the posts, Charleville failed to take full advantage as the easy conversion was missed, 47-8.

After this score, Thurles began to find their groove again, Shane Nugent & Colin Feeley were combining excellently in the lineouts, Thurles were working their way up the field once more and another excellent team try with the backs & forwards combining, saw Larry O’Gorman cross in the corner and make his way in towards the posts as Thurles pushed the lead out further with Lillis adding another convert, 54-8.

Thurles continued to push through the gears late on after Thurles had made their way back up the field into the Charleville danger zone once again, Shane Moloney sent his centre partner Peter Coman through as he touched down excellently, Lillis did the honours again to bring a close to the days scoring with an impressive scoreline of 61-8.

Thurles produced some eye catching rugby on the day and was very pleasing to all the home support in attendance. With dates to be confirmed for our final 2 games of the season, we would encourage everyone to keep an eye on Facebook as the players and management would appreciate all support as we look to keep our winning run going until season end.

Many thanks to all those who came out to support the team on Sunday last, it was greatly appreciated by the players and management.

Thurles Scorers: Ger McCormack, Colm Skehan, Shane Moloney, Ciaran Ryan, Luke Kelly, Nicky Irwin, Aidan Dwyer, Larry O’Gorman, Peter Coman (1 Try Each), John Lillis (8 Conversions).
Thurles Squad vs. Charleville: 1. Ger McCormack 2. Dave Kelly 3. Colm Skehan (Capt). 4. Phil Kelly 5. Luke Kelly 6. Ciaran Ryan 7. Paddy Phelan 8. Joey Kelly 9. Nicky Irwin 10.Aidan Dwyer 11. Shane Lanigan-Ryan 12. Shane Moloney 13. Peter Coman 14. Tommy Connolly 15. John Lillis 16. Shane Nugent 17. Colin Feeley 18. Dwayne Stanley 19. James Ryan 20. Ollie Delaney.

Thurles Women’s RFC v City of Derry

Thurles women’s RFC booked themselves into the All Ireland plate final with their 21-15 win over City of Derry in Derry on Saturday. Both teams got off to a nervous but determined start and Thurles, for probably the first time this year, started strongly. Some strong carries by the front rows Jean Ryan and Megan Callanan gave Linda Ryan go forward ball. Laura carroll was particularly impressive for Thurles with two fantastic carries within moments of each other. Catherine Kearney and Maria Woodlock putting in some impressive rucking.

The first score of the game came from Ashling O’Hagon, who had a fantastic game. After three phases, Thurles managed to suck in the Derry defence, quick ball to the back line, with a fantastic offload from Niamh Coman in the centre to Ashlingput the fullback under the post to settle the visitors. Megan had no problem converting. Thurles took a 7 – 0 lead.

Derry were determined to score from the re-start and they forced Thurles to give away the ball when they were making ground. Thurles upped the tempo with Maria whelan and Miriam Harrison making great ground in attack.

Early in the second half Thurles were on the attack and scored within the first 2 minutes of the second half with Ashling O’ Hagon touching down for the second time. Megan had no problem slotting over the conversion. Thurles seemed to be progressing nicely. The visitors were dominant for a brief while but a determined Derry went on the attack again forcing Thurles players Angie Kelly and Maria Whelan to put in fantastic tackles. A wonderful defensive passage of play with Linda Ryan putting in a solid tackle allowed possession to come to Laura Carroll who made great ground. GemmaDunican, Aisling Byrne and Kirsty Harris put in some wonderful passes and drives to make good ground.



Substitutions Rebecca Byrne and Sinead Kilcare gave Thurles some fresh legs but Derry where not going to ly down, and had their purple patch. They scored three unanswered tries within 20 minutes. Luckily for the Tipperary side all the conversion attempts were missed. The score was very different going into the final quarter 15-14 to the home side.Thurles were once again forced to defend with both MiriamHarrison and Maria Woodlock putting in fantastic tackles. A penalty for Thurles allowed Megan Callanan to clear the ball and take the pressure off. A wonderful lineout ensued and Thurles were once again building an attack with fantasticcarries from Jean Ryan and Ciara Dwyer.

Thurles third try came from megan callanan. Thurles were beginning to play their style of rugby, carrying the ball strong and making space for the backs. A huge carry from lauracarroll, ment derry had to scrabble back in defence, giving room for Megan to pick and go at the side of the ruck and touch down just to the side of the post. Megan duly convertedher own try and Thurles were now 21-15 ahead. However, possession was once again lost to the Derry side that were eager to score and would have done so were it not for the magnificent defensive play from Laura Carroll and Gemma Dunican. The following ten minutes saw the sides swap possession a number of times. Although Thurles were missing some key senior players, the younger girls showed massive determination.

With ten minutes remaining Derry were not prepared to give up and went on the attack from the re-start but with Thurles firm in defence they were unable to score. Thurles spent the last 5 minutes defending right on their try line, with Derry needing a converted try to get a win. Thurles showed great character to keep the home side out. The visitors had travelled a massive 6 hours the night before and this was a fantastic result to get. Well done to all.

The Thurles RFC women now play St. Marys in the AIL Plate final on the 2nd of April at Old Belvedere, Anglesea Road, KO TBC.


Waterford City RFC

Courtesy of:- Deirdre Barry, Club PRO

Munster Junior League
Waterford City 57 v Ballincollig 12

Tries: Dave O’Connor 2, Stephen Walsh 2, Damien Kennedy 2, Michael Hayes 2, Penalty try Conversions: Michael Hayes 6
MOM: Cain Foskin

Sunday 20th March was the day that champagne rugby hit Kilbarry with aplomb! City, set the target of remaining unbeaten of this calendar year welcomed a Ballincollig side unbeaten in their last three games and fresh from scoring over 50 points last weekend. However, with evergreen prop Dave O’Connor opening the scoring with a 60 metre sprint for the line, supporters and team mates were in for a treat!

City have prided themselves on there squad mentality and this performance was a testament to the thirty plus lads training twice a week. This was probably City’s most complete performance with City playing an expansive brand of precise, powerful and clinical rugby. The main attribute from the game was the unselfishness of every individual in working towards a common team goal. A mantra has been set recently stating the 14 players without the ball are more important than the one man with the ball and the work rate, options created and angles of a running ensured City delivered an emphatic victory against an opposition still high on quality.

In the first half, once City realised they could exploit Ballincollig out wide, the ruthlessness and precision they cut through the opposition was delightful. Stephen Walsh, in his first full season had an enormous game, underlying not only his huge potential, but also showing development from his keenness to learn. The forward pack led by a phenomenal back row of O’Hara, Delahunty and Foskin, pushing for the title of most complete back or in the division, created a platform for general Jack Caffrey to call the shots to exploit the space.

With five first half tries, City went into the break well in command, but also keen to maintain their high standards. Despite losing Jason Power and Aidan Power to injury, the depth of the squad was again proved with the bench making a huge impact on proceedings. Aaron Foskin had one of his most secured games of the season and with his vision when moved to fly half, created space and opportunities for his team. Damien Kennedy was back to his clinical best and Michael Hayes continued his recent vein of prolific form, once again showing his athletic abilities and kicking prowess.

Next up for City will be league fixture against Mallow where if City win, will see them finish fourth in the table, their highest league position for nearly 20 years.

Karl Reade, Dave O’Connor, Andrew Condron, Jason Power, Ben Duggan (captain), Simon O’Hara, Clan Foskin, Joe Delahunty, Michael Hayes, Jack Caffrey, Stephen Walsh, Connor Power, Aidan Power, Damien Kennedy, Aaron Foskin, Brian Walsh, Alex Fitzmaurice, Ed Mullally, Mark Hayes, Fintan Purcell
As always, many thanks to all of our supporters and sponsors Done Deal at www.donedealjobs.ie and the Kingfisher club.

Mini’s Rugby
No training next Sunday morning for all minis’ groups. Under 12’s will have training on Wednesday evening from 7-8pm.

Dinner Dance
The Waterford City RFC Dinner Dance is on April 22nd in the Woodlands Hotel. Tickets on sale every Sunday morning at the club house or you can contact Club President Jemma Jacob directly. Tickets 40pp. All welcome, parents, players, friends and family.