Club Notes: Week Ending 02.11.14

J2 League Match – Waterpark 7 – 15 Waterford City:
Waterford City made the short journey to Waterpark for a local derby in windy conditions on Sunday.

City played against the strong wind in the first half and had most of the possession but Park defended well, mid-way through the first half City broke into Waterpark territory and after building the phases a try looked inevitable but Park infringed at the breakdown 5 yards out, the visitors decided to settle for 3 points with Fintan Purcell knocking over the penalty.

City started to get control of the match after this and their powerful front row of Reade, Halloran and Fitzmaurice were carrying the ball strongly and getting over the gain line.

The forwards were producing some good go forward ball for the back line which led to a break from Mark Hayes who fed James Halligan and the winger looked to be away down the touch line only for a good covering tackle.

City were back in the opposition 22 again after half an hour forced another penalty but the kick was missed leaving them only 3 points in front despite a lot of good attacking rugby. Park looked dangerous approaching half time and won a penalty of their own in kicking range but the attempt at goal was pulled wide by the wind.

City used the wind early in the first half to kick into the park half and when they attempted to counter attack, a great tackle and turnover from NJ Carlton led to City moving the ball quickly wide to Ryan Philips who was away and scored the opening try of the game. The conversion followed and the visitors were 10 points ahead and looked in control, the home team were not about to lie down however and began to dominate possession and territory for the next 15 minutes.

Park kept the ball in hand and came at City with wave after wave of attack but the whole Waterford City team and the back row in particular defended excellently putting in countless tackles. Kevin Whelan who was to be City man of the match had a fantastic game, his tackling was relentless and the number 8 came up with crucial turnovers at the breakdown when most needed.

It appeared City had weathered the storm following Park being camped in their 22 for a long time but having won a scrum they gave away possession on their own 5 metre line and Waterparks replacement prop powered through a tired City defence from close range.

After the score City led 10-7 and with the game in the balance got back into the Park half following some good kicking from Gary Keane and Connor Brennan, City used their pack to attack down the short side twice before getting the ball wide to Ryan Philips who beat his man on the outside before cutting inside the covering defenders, Ryan then looked to be caught but evaded another tackle and his pace saw him in for a brilliant try.

The conversion was missed but with only 10 minutes to go City had an 8 point lead and it was enough to give them a deserved win.

U-18 League Match – Waterford City 7 – 17 Fethard

Thurles RFC

Courtesy of:- Brian Scanlon, Club PRO

The first 20 mins of the game Thurles owned the ball. Jamie Barrett and Tommy Connolly kicked superbly to the corners and gave the Thurles pack a great platform to work from.

The Thurles line-out was running smoothly with Sean Fitz nailing his throw every time. Some fantastic runs from Peter Kinane who was immense through out the match had Cashel on the back foot. The Thurles pack was working overtime with some great picks and strong running from Richie Hoolahan,Josh Boyle, Eoin Long and captain Dwayne Stanley who had a fantastic game, had Thurles within inches of the Cashel line.

But the Cashel defence was immense and each time Thurles looked like they would score they were turned over. Waves of attack came from Thurles and some superb lines from John Loughman and Ian Molloy had Cashel on the back foot.

On the 30 minute mark Cashel turned over Thurles on the half way and flashed the ball wide and with some great hands and off-loading they crossed in the corner to score a well worked try. This try seem to give Thurles a wake up call and from the kick off David Walsh won the ball back.

The ball was whipped wide by scrum half Oliver Delaney who was having a fantastic game and Robbie Dwyer cut a great line to get within inches of the Cashel try line. Cashel once again turned over the ball and cleared their line to leave Thurles with an attacking line out 20 yards out. Sean Fitz hit Stanley at 4 and with a great pop of the top to Delaney he moved the ball quickly to Barrett who gave an excellent off-load to John Leahy who had made a fantastic run from the left wing.

The Thurles pack followed picking and going. Ciaran Ryan man of the match for Thurles made a great run and Delaney met him with a sublime pass to crash over for a well deserved try.

The 2nd half started and Thurles were now on the back foot. Cashel were making great use of the breeze and were running hard at the Thurles line. The Thurles defence was outstanding with Willie Shaw, Sonny-Bill-Dwyer and Michael Blake putting in some fantastic hits.

Just like in the first half with Thurles struggling to cross the Cashel line, now Cashel were struggling to break the Thurles line. Wille Finane who had come off the bench playing only his 2nd ever rugby match for Thurles was excellent turning over the ball on 3 different occasions. With 15 minutes left the Cashel pressure paid of and they crossed in the corner for their 2nd try to leave it 10-5.

Thurles again won the kick of with a great take from Stanley and the ball was moved quickly across the back line where John Loughman gave a great off-load to David Walsh who made a fantastic break. It looked like Walsh was going to make the corner but a great cover tackle by the Cashel full back denied Thurles.

The last 5 minutes of the match it was all Thurles and another great break by Tommy Connolly nearly yielded a try for Thurles only for a sloppy pass.

The ref blew the whistle game over. It was a harsh defeat for Thurles considering how well they had played over the 80 mins. Their were some fantastic performances from 1 to 20 for Thurles. This was the 3rd match of the season for the 2nds and by far their best performance.

If the players stick together and get a few training sessions under their belt they will take a lot of beating in games to come, and like good Thurles 2nds rugby teams of the past will be in with a good shout of wining some silverware.

Training continues every Wednesday and Friday at 7.30 and new faces are always welcome. Thurles 2nds play at home this Saturday against Listowel in the Glesson league 2.30 Kick Off all support welcome.

Thurles panel Josh Boyle, Sean Fitz, Richie Hoolahan, Eoin Long, Dwayne Stanley, Peter Kinane, Ciaran Ryan, David Walsh, Oliver Delaney, Jamie Barrett, John Leahy, John Loughman, Ian Molloy, Robbie Dwyer, Tommy Connolly, Michael Blake, Willie Finane, Willie Shaw, Sonny-Bill-Dwyer.

Women's Rugby – Nenagh 17 – 5 Thurles:
Thurles Women were away to Nenagh on Friday in a pre-league friendly. Ahead of their first League game next Sunday, November 2nd against Clonmel, the team were determined to put in a good performance.

Despite a 17-5 defeat there were a lot of positives in the game. Thurles were in control early in the game and despite the oppositions experience Thurles succeeded in scoring the opening try of the game.

Aisling Byrne went in over the line with a fantastic try early in the opening half. Unfortunately the conversion attempt was unsuccessful but Thurles were still deservedly in the lead.

Nenagh, who are top of their Division, replied a short time later with a well – executed try under the posts which allowed for a straightforward, and successful, conversion attempt. Despite Nenagh's lead, Thurles regained their composure and took control of the remainder of the half.

Nenagh scored yet another try in the second half of the game to give them a comfortable lead. Thurles had many opportunities to edge closer to their opposition and came close to scoring a wonderful try but were denied just on the try line. A penalty gave Nenagh the 17-5 win over Thurles.

With the Thurles Women's squad seeing a surge in numbers Friday's game gave coaches the perfect opportunity to field an experimental side and give some newcomers vital game experience ahead of next week's opening league game.

The final scoreline did not reflect Thurles' dominance for many portions of the game. A spirited and confident team performance which saw both seasoned players like Ruth Purcell and newcomers like Megan Callanan, to name but two, put in quality performances to give the team confidence ahead of their League opener.

Kick-off for that game is at 1p.m in Thurles Rugby club. With the Thurles Womens team going from strength to strength, your support for what promises to be a thrilling encounter would be greatly appreciated

U16 Boys – Thurles 3 – 22 Waterpark:
Thurles traveled to Waterpark the day the clocks went back and Thurles knew that they would have to be at their best to compete with Waterpark.

The last time these sides met was in the U-13 league final and cup final and both times Thurles failed to score. This time Thurles made a good start and after working their way into the 22 they were awarded a penalty which the outhalf put between the posts. Thurles defended well putting Waterpark under pressure when they had the ball.

The score remained 3 – 0 until just before half-time when the Waterpark no 6 broke through and scored near the posts which was converted. To make matters worse the Thurles winger was yellow carded by the ref for what he deemed a dangerous tackle.

Thurles started the second half with 14 men and managed to keep Waterpark out. Waterpark piled on the pressure which eventually told. Thurles were reduced to 14 again when the Thurles no. 6 foot tripped a Waterpark player.

The Thurles boys played very well on a very windy day against a very strong Waterpark side. The final score was 22 – 3 to Waterpark. Thurles are out next Sunday at home to Cashel

Nenagh Ormond Notes

Courtesy of:- Eithne Darcy, Club PRO

The support this year has been fantastic and we hope to see you all in Lisatunny again this Saturday!

U-13s:
Our Under 13's faced Portumna RFC in a challenge match at Tyone on Sunday morning. A big challenge awaited as against the same opposition two weeks ago in Birr we lost two tries to one in our first match of the season.

In the meantime our numbers have grown significantly only sixteen players togged out in Birr but we have had up to 25 players since at training. On Sunday twenty players togged out with everyone getting at least 30 minutes game time.

A huge improvement in the overall performance meant we emerged victorious by a single score we converted three of our four tries while Portumna only landed two of theirs. Both teams played some great attacking rugby in a very entertaining match.

Yet we should have been a lot further ahead at the end we turned over possession close to the try line on a couple of occasions and a couple of defensive lapses meant that our overall dominance was not totally reflected on the scoreboard.

However, we showed a lot of grit in holding our nerve close to our own try line in the final minutes as Portumna threw everything at us in search of the win.

All of our established players to a man had big games but a special mention to our debutantes who came on at half-time: Liam King showed a great turn of pace and step to leave four defenders in his wake for the score of the day and Jack Hassett played his first game at full-back and didn't put a foot wrong.

In only their second competitive game Cian McInerney, Shane Whelan and Enda Shanahan played with courage and skill throughout. Our other tries came from David O'Sullivan, Sean Richardson and Hugh Guest who also kicked three conversions in windy conditions.

Thank you to Cathal Donovan who refereed the game very fairly and was equally strict on both teams.

There is no doubt the hard work in training resulted in a big improvement in our ball-handling and support play and we must thank Pat Whelan for coming out and sharing his vast knowledge of the game with us.

We also thank all the parents who come out to support and encourage the team from the sideline. Training continues every Wednesday evening in Tyone from 6.30 to 8pm. Why not give it a try?

Match Panel: Joe Cooney, Jack Deane, James Duff, Luke Gleeson, Hugh Guest, Jack Hassett, Liam King, James Meagher, Jack Meehan, Brian Murphy, Cian McInerney, Eoin O'Meara, Anthony O'Donovan, David O'Sullivan, Enda Shanahan, Sean Richardson, Shane Whelan, Jack White, Paudie Williams, Danny Wilkinson

U-12s:
The U-12s took part in the annual invitational James Keating Memorial tournament in Bruff RFC last Monday. This was a great opportunity to play against new opposition with 24 teams taking part.

Nenagh were in a tough pool and faced Shannon in their first match. It was a super display of rugby from both teams and ended up in a draw. Nenagh had a quick turn around with back to back games facing Old Crescent next.

It was a tight game until the middle of the second half when Old Crescent ran in a try and got a second one a few minutes later.

Nenagh went into the playoffs for the plate competition and faced Kilfeacle in the quarter final. The Nenagh boys were determined to play well, as Kilfeacle had beaten them last year in a blitz.

Nenagh were piling on the pressure with excellent work at the break down from John Brislane and Sean Fitzgerald. However, Kilfeacle got an early try against the run of play. Nenagh showed great character and worked their way back into the game.

DJ McGrath scored a superb try to level the score and Paul Seymour outpaced the cover to touch down for the winning score just before the final whistle.

Young Munster were the semi-final opponents and fielded a big physical team. The Nenagh boys fronted up with great tackles and work in tight from Tom Kennedy and Eoghan Tighe. Young Munster bundled over for two tries to take a good lead but Nenagh never gave up.

Half backs Andrew Ferris and Niall O'Sullivan stepped up and controlled the game well, getting the back line into the game. Two tries from Paul Seymour was the result and Nenagh almost got in for another before the final whistle.

Even with the draw unfortunately Young Munster went through to the final having scored first and went on to win it convincingly.

A great day out was had by all and everyone played well. The handling skills and fielding of high balls was very impressive and it is good to see the hard work at training is paying off.

Many thanks to Bruff RFC and to all the players, parents and coaches that travelled down for the day.

Squad (pictured below): John Brislane (capt), Sean Fitzgerald, Tom Kennedy, Eoghan Tighe, Evan Rainsford, Tommy Ryan, Darragh Tucker, Andrew Ferris, Niall O'Sullivan, Paul Seymour, DJ McGrath, Liam Cooney, Peter Collins and James Finn.

Weekend Fixtures:
Nenagh Ormond Seconds are away to Young Munster in the Senior Seconds League on Sunday at 2.30pm.

Nenagh Ladies are away to Ballincollig in the AIL on Sunday at 1pm.

The U-18s and U-16s are away to Galbally/Kilfeacle on Sunday at 11am.

The U-14s are away to Thurles on Sunday at 11am.

All fixtures are subject to change. Please check our Facebook page and website for updates. www.nenaghormondrfc.com

Munster v Clermont Auvergne:
Munster's next home game in the European Rugby Champions Cup takes place in Thomond Park on Saturday, December 6th, at 5.30pm against Clermont Auvergne. Tickets should be ordered as soon as possible in order to avoid disappointment.

Please note that the procedure for ordering tickets for Munster and International matches has changed this year. To order tickets, please E-MAIL your name, the match and the number of tickets you wish to order to norfctickets@gmail.com.

Tickets are allocated to club members on a first-come, first-served basis.

Richmond RFC

Courtesy of:- Natalie McNamara, Club PRO

Weekend Round-Up:
Last weekend our three men's teams had a break in their competitions, so it was all down to the ladies team and they didn't disappoint.

It was their first competitive game in the League against St Mary's at home, and as per usual there was a big crowd there to cheer them on.

Our Ladies have grown from strength to strength in the short 12 months since they first started. We were also fortunate this year to get a few new players that have provided the extra experience the girls were lacking.

It was a massive performance by all players involved on Sunday, and it's a credit to all the work they have been doing over the last few months.