Club Notes: Week Ending 24.01.16

This week’s club notes come from Bantry Bay, Newcastlewest, Thurles and Waterford City rugby clubs.

Click here for Bantry Bay Club Notes

Click here for Newcastlewest Club Notes

Click here for Thurles Club Notes

Click here for Waterford City Club Notes

Bantry Bay RFC

Courtesy of:- Damien Hicks

Our J1's were at home today V Douglas/Carrigaline. It is always a good match between these 2 teams. It was level pegging for much of the game, however through good teamwork at the breakdown Mark saw a gap and went over the whitewash and the accurate boot of Sean converted. This settled the BBRFC lads and they were hungry for another try which came at the hands of Kieran and Sean again converted. This brought us to half time. Douglas/Carrigaline came out hungry for a win after their journey down and it wasn't long before they got on the score board with a converted try. A try isn't much of a buffer against this strong team and BBRFC went on the hunt. Despite a lot of action in Douglas/Carrigline 22 they kept their line and kept the Bay lads out. It finished 14-7 in a thrilling match. Thanks to all the supporters who came out in the driving rain to shout on our lads to victory. Huge thanks to The Bantry Bay for feeding the teams after the match.

Our U16's were at home in Mahon V Cashel in another thrilling match. BBRFC were first on the score line but Cashel brought it to level pegging within minutes. Cashel then converted 2 penalties to take the lead. This did not deter the Bay boys who with the powerful running of Paidi ran in three tries. Cashel were not giving up and seemed to respond each time. In what was a battle to the final whistle BBRFC came out on top with a 26-23 win.

Our U14's were away to Clonakilty in a friendly. Even though they were outstanding and showed great teamwork they were unlucky to lose by a converted try. FT score 12-5.

Saturday was a tough day at the office. We had 2 games but it felt like 4 as each game was a game of 2 halves. In the opening game BBRFC U18 girls took on Shannon in the opening match of the Cup. There was nothing between the teams for the first half but with good forward work BBRFC found themselves on the try line. Rachel Crowley saw a gap and scored the first try. Then it was level pegging again. In the dying minutes of the first half Clare Coombes saw a break and with her powerful legs crossed the whitewash to bring the score to 10-0 at half time. Shannon came out fighting in the second half and within a couple of minutes crossed in the corner. This seemed to give them a new lease of life and they were hungry for another try. BBRFC kept battling but were unable to come out of their own half. Shannon came again and again crossed in the corner. It was nail biting for the next 10 minas each team tried to get the elusive try. It came in the form of a breakaway ball in Shannons favour and our girls were unable to catch her. They ran in under the posts and converted. There was still 2 minutes to play and BBRFC threw everything they had in the tank at it. Unfortunately they came out second today on a scoreline of 17-10. It was a hard ask to go out and play 2 massive games in the space of a week but our girls gave it everything and can have no regrets.

Our U15's also played Shannon in the Cup competition and within the first 2 minutes Shannon ran in a try. It didn't bode well for our girls. Shannon ran in another 2 tries, converted one and put over a penalty. This was all within the first half with no answer from BBRFC. In the half BBRFC game out with a new lease of life. Ellen ran with the ball and crossed the whitewash. This was the pick up the BBRFC girls needed and they fought for every ball and again Ellen found a gap and crossed. Shannon came back with a try and then a penalty which they put over. FT score 28-10 to Shannon. For some of our girls this was their first match but now they have the bug and you can see this team is shaping up to be unstoppable. Well done to all.

As always were are very lucky to have great coaches at all age levels in the club and a huge thanks to them for giving of their time freely.

Next Sunday sees our J1's away to Scariff and our Senior ladies at home to Richmond Rabbits.

Newcastlewest RFC

Courtesy of- Martin O'Sullivan, Club PRO

First XV – Munster Junior League Div 1

Newcastle West RFC – 9 Muskerry RFC 10

Another Sunday, another heartbreak. The biting cold wind wasn't the only thing to make the supporters stamp their feet on the Cullinagh footpaths on Sunday as Muskerry launched a smash and grab in the final 10 minutes to walk away with the spoils. This will be a tough defeat for the lads to take but the lessons learned will be very valuable in the crucial last few weeks of the league. Despite the poor conditions this was a good game to watch as both teams went about winning the game with intensity and purpose. Muskerry took control in our 22 for the first 10 minutes but excellent defence kept them out and it was Sean Herlihy who opened the scoring on 22 minutes with a fine penalty. Both teams had chances to score in the remainder of the half but at the break it remained 3-0 to the hosts. It was obvious that scores were going to be premium in this game and 2 more Sean Herlihy made it 9-0 to NCW going into the last 15 minutes. Muskerry had shown signs of renewed intent since the break and on 70 minutes drew in defensive numbers on the right to create an overlap on the left wing and score the game's first try. A difficult conversion was missed and at 9-5 we needed another score to take the game beyond the Cork side. Credit to our outstanding defence that they kept Muskerry out in the last 10 minutes but again the fatigue set in and Muskerry scored a carbon copy of the first try in injury time. Having lead for so long this was a telling blow to the lads and they couldn't get back down the field to try for the deserved win.

We are away to Galbally next Sunday @ 2.30pm

Panel, Tommy Kelliher, James Guinea, Dean O'Brien, Shaun Berkery, Niall Kennedy, Conor Whelan, Sean Herlihy, Shane Magner, Sean Corbett, Declan Moloney, Sean Leahy, James Corbett, Gary Gaga O'Donnell, Rossa Dooley, Martin Mullane.
Paudie Fogarty, Donal Egan, Bryan McAuliffe, Gearoid Deere.

Fixture – Galbally RFC v Newcastle West RFC. Sunday Jan 24^th @ 2.30pm in Galbally

6 Nations 2016
Ireland play 3 home games in the 2016 6 Nations. Applications for tickets are now being taken. Only written applications from paid club members will be considered. In the event that applications for any game are oversubscribed a draw between the applicants will take place. Applications can be sent to ncwrfctickets@gmail.com or by texting your name and number of tickets applied for to Pat Daly (087 2421682) or Martin O'Sullivan (087 8322731) after 7 pm only. Dates and fixtures below.

Ireland v Wales, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Sunday Feb 7^th 3pm Kick off
Ireland v Italy, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Saturday March 12^th 1.30pm Kick off
Ireland v Scotland, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Saturday March 19^th 5pm Kick off


Mini fixtures for next weekend
All mini teams from u6 to u12 incl training in Kilelline from 10:30am to 11:30 am.

Youth fixtures for next weekend

Lotto

Lucky Dip Winners
Michelle Normoyle, c/o MAG Motors
Marian O'Connell, Strand
Mary O'Riordan, 43 Bishops Court
Liam Moloney, Ballyhahill
Bill Hough, Dually
Michael O'Connor
Breda Roche, Castlemahon
Promotors Prize – The Strand Bar

Next week's draw will be in Lee's Bar on Friday Jan 15^th The jackpot stands at €13,800.

Thurles RFC
Courtesy of:- Brian Scanlon, Club PRO
Thurles RFC vs. Kinsale RFC – Munster Junior League

Kinsale RFC 7 – 10 Thurles RFC

Following on from their excellent away win against Newcastle West in the Munster Junior Cup last the previous week, the Thurles First XV were on the road again, this time turning their attention back to League action against a Kinsale side who prior to kick off were 4 points ahead of the Loughtagalla men in 3^rd place.

As a spectacle, this game was never going to be a classic, with the weather conditions creating a mud bath to play on and the strong cold wind ensuring that any passes or kicking would be a lottery throughout the 80 minutes ahead. Thurles received the ball from the off and took the game to Kinsale as they faced the wind in the first half. As expected, the opening quarter was dominated by handling errors and slips by both sides and by this time the Jerseys of both sides were almost unrecognisable.

Thurles were on top during a lot of the early play and had a number of opportunities from placed balls to open the scoring but both the underfoot conditions and the wind were proving to be the enemy of the kickers on both sides as the attempts went just shy of the post each time.

This wasn't a game for any fancy moves or creativity, it was simply a battle of possession & territory, Kinsale were able to take advantage of the strong wind to bring play inside the Thurles 22. The Tipp men battled bravely as Ciaran Ryan, Larry O'Gorman & Dave Kelly to name a few, were putting their bodies on the line in defence as Kinsale looked to open the scoring, the home side did excellently to hang onto the ball as they went through the phases and despite the best efforts of the Thurles defence, Kinsale snuck in just to the right of the posts with the conversion being added for the maximum, 7-0.

The remainder of the half passed with no real incident only that Shane Lanigan-Ryan, who had started brightly in the centre on his return from injury suffered a reoccurrence and was replaced by John Lillis before the interval.

Thurles kicked off the Second Half and from the off Kinsale failed to deal with Dwyer's restart which gave early positional advantage to the Tipp men. Thurles' lineout was operating excellently despite the conditions with Paddy Phelan & Phil Kelly overseeing proceedings in the pack. As the game grew older, Thurles also started putting serious pressure on their opponents during scrum time, with the front row combo of McCormack, Kelly & Skehan continuing their great form this season.

Thurles were making better use of the wind in the second half than Kinsale had in the first, as John Lillis and Aidan Dwyer pinged the home side back down the field at every opportunity. Thurles were putting a lot of pressure on the home side and you felt that a try wasn't too far away. The forwards secured another lineout as Joey Kelly, supported by name sake Luke who was introduced in place of O'Gorman, made great ground through the Kinsale red zone before the backs got their hands on it and found winger Peter Coman looking for work, he battled hard to pierce through the defence and eventually get the touchdown after freeing himself from a few would be tacklers, Lillis added the extras to bring the sides level, 7-7.

Thurles secured the restart through the hands of Colm Skehan who found a gap in the Kinsale defence and powered his way up the field, as the support arrived, Thurles continued their way through the opposition 22 with both backs and forwards weighing in for ruck duties, as they pressed forward Kinsale gifted Thurles a penalty under the posts, as an over anxious home defender came in from the side to try and disrupt the Thurles momentum. With under 10 minutes left on the clock, Thurles pointed to the posts and Lillis did the honours to put the Thurles into a deserved lead, 7-10.

For the remaining mintues Kinsale threw the kitchen sink at the Thurles defence, with the back three of Coman, Moloney (B) and Bourke coming under a lot of pressure but managing to tidy up anything that was put in behind the front line of defence. Shane Moloney (K) put in a number of big hits throughout the game and didn't let up late on as this impressive Thurles defence drove the home side back down the field. With their last attempt of the day, Kinsale Number 8 attempted to attempt to pierce through the backs but came unstuck as a combination of Aidan Dwyer, John Lillis & Ciaran Ryan held the Corkman up in the tackle and forced the turnover which brought an end to the game and increased Thurles' win streak in all competitions to 9 games on the trot and keeps the pressure on the teams at the top of the League table.

This was another excellent win for this Thurles side who now find themselves well in contention for a promotion push with 5 games remaining in the League. Next up for Thurles is a tricky home tie against Dungarvan, we hope that we will see a big crowd in attendance at Loughtagalla to support the team this coming Sunday at 2.30pm as they go for their 10^th victory in a row.

The Players & Management would like to extend its thanks to the usual band of supporters, despite the horrible weather, made the journey to Kinsale and kept the encouragement coming in from the side lines as the players battled the conditions to earn this valuable victory, your support is much appreciated by all.

Thurles Scorers: Peter Coman (1 Try), John Lillis (1 Conversion & 1 Penalty).
Thurles Squad vs Kinsale: 1. Ger McCormack 2. Dave Kelly 3. Colm Skehan (Capt.) 4. Phil Kelly 5. Larry O'Gorman 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 (Ballycahill) 16. Shane Nugent 17. Rory O'Dwyer 18. Dwayne Stanley 19. Luke Kelly 20. John Lillis.


Waterford City RFC
Courtesy of: Deirdre Barry, Club PRO

Senior Team – J1 League – Tralee 23 v Waterford City 23
Tries: Stephen Walsh, Ben Duggan, James Halligan
Conversion: Michael Hayes,
Penalties: Michael Hayes 2
MOM: Karl Reade

Dave O'Connor, Brian Walsh, Andrew Condron, Karl Reade, Ben Duggan (captain), Simon O'Hara, Sean O'Mahoney, Joe Delahunty, Darren Walsh, Michael Hayes, Damien Kennedy, Connor Power, Aidan Power, Stephen Walsh, Aaron Foskin, Kevin Whelan, James Halligan
A new year and a new start for city …… finally a game of rugby!!!
Munster is a fantastic province, but as City know, away days are long … very long this year so it was up and out of bed at 730 ready for the bus journey to Tralee to take on one of last season's relegated clubs.

The match started well for City when straight from the kick off, Tralee rattled 13 phases of play for a net gain of 7 meters, pleasing coach Peter Jones after all of the training ground work in defence this week. It was from a Tralee mistake that city began to build some phases and momentum and with just over seven minutes on the clock, some powerful forward play set a platform for the backs, Aaron Foskin stood in as a second receiver and spread the ball wide to Stephen Walsh who finished superbly. Michael Hayes has his 2016 kicking boots on and converted well from between the five and fifteen metre lines.

However, this spurred the home side into life and the rest of the half saw Tralee really take the game to city with a performance full of pace, verve and offloading which belied there current league position. This was real backs to the wall stuff with Tralee creating numerous opportunities and duly led to three tries for the home side. This could have been more but some resolute defensive work repelled a number of Tralee attacks with Simon O'Hara, returning from a long layoff, Dave O'Connor and Joe Delahunty particularly impressive with some big hits. With Michael Hayes slotting two long range penalties, City were pleased to go in at half time only four points down.

The second half began well for City and they exploited quick turnover ball to punish the narrow Tralee defence. Aidan Power was having one of his best games in a city shirt defensively, but he executed an overlap superbly to put James Halligan into space to dot down under the posts. From another turnover at ruck time, City's forwards played high tempo rugby for retuning captain Ben Duggan to score to cap a fine all round performance.

City could feel a little aggrieved at a couple of penalty decisions that went against them and Tralee duly converted two kicks at goal to level the game. The final seven minutes saw city continue to defend well with one of the finest team performances in a number of years as each City player fought for each other and there club to put big hits in and turn over ball. City have been set a challenge of going unbeaten in the league for the rest of the season and will be happy with a draw against a highly talented Tralee side and go into next week's encounter with Mallow high on confidence and expecting a convincing performance that will bring a win.

As always, many thanks to all of our supporters and sponsors Done Deal and the Kingfisher club.

Under 16's – Pan Munster League
Waterford City 3 v Skibbereen 6
In difficult conditions Skibbereen played with the wind and slope in their favour in the first half. The Skibbereen half backs controlled the play by keeping the pressure and play deep in the oppositions half. To their credit City defended bravely with some huge hits and some clever counter rucking. The only chances in a close first half were two penalties for the Skibbereen number ten that went wide, and left of the posts. The second half started with City pressing for the first score, but Skibbereen's defence held strong. The game moved back into the City's half with some fine phases of play from the Skibbereen forwards and resulted in a penalty for Skibbereen. The number ten made no mistake this time, putting the away side 3-0 ahead. City came close to scoring the first try, but with an overlap outside the ball was spilled forward. City kept the pressure on which resulted in a penalty in front of the posts, but the kick by number ten Tom Carney was pulled wide and left of the posts. Ten minutes later City were awarded another penalty and from 30m out Tom Carney stepped up again and made no mistake with a great strike. 3-3 and all to play for. Skibbereen pushed on deep into the City 22 and with a minute on the clock, and a few phases later scored with a well struck drop goal. Congratulations to both teams for an entertaining and very competitive game played in great spirit and sportsmanship. A disappointing result for City, but a great performance to build on for the game next week away to Bandon.

Mini's Rugby
Trip to Thomond Park
Great day out for the WCRFC Minis on Saturday at Thomond Park where Munster scored a famous victory over Stade Francais after some disappointing results in recent times and stick from the Dublin media and assorted champagne rugby supporters.
Last weekend's first leg was disappointing in a match where, if things had gone according to plan, Munster could have won.
However today, Munster pride was at stake and of course we were not disappointed. The chequebook rugby French outfit were sent home with their tails between their legs after a decisive 26-13 Munster victory.
There, to witness the event, were the minis from three teams from the SE: Waterford City RFC, Waterpark RFC and Carrick RFC who coincidentally had an impressive victory in the half-time minis match.
Great day all around and thanks to our redoubtable driver Gary from T&T coaches for getting us there and back.

Mini's Training
On Sunday WCRFC minis had their training on the all-weather pitch at the local Kingfisher club. We had a great turnout with some possible new players turning up to try out the minis rugby experience. After Saturday's trip to Thomond Park spirits were high and the novelty of being in a new playing environment also contributed to the