Photograph: Under 9's and 10's at the Blitz in Ballina/Killaloe
UBL Division 2A
Blackrock College 29-15 Nenagh Ormond
Nenagh Ormond Senior XV travelled to Dublin on Saturday last where they faced Blackrock College. Blackrock are currently placed second on the league table and although this was bound to be a tough match the Nenagh lads were hoping to continue the improvement in form which has been evident since the Christmas break. Despite Nenagh starting well, after about five minutes Blackrock had their first long period of possession and they demonstrated why they are doing so well this season. They play a fast game, running good angles and offloading with skill, but the Nenagh defence proved up to the task in this first quarter, conceding just one penalty to put Blackrock 3-0 ahead after twenty minutes.
Nenagh were finding it hard to impose their gameplan with the Blackrock defence up fast to close down any attacks and Blackrock were beginning to dominate possession. They scored just a few minutes into the second quarter when they kicked a penalty to touch and patiently went through the phases in Nenagh’s 22, punching over the gainline with runners coming onto the ball at pace and added another try after a yellow card left Nenagh down to 14 up to a few minutes before half time. Nenagh were holding on for dear life and were dealt another blow with a second yellow card given just as the first was running back onto the pitch. This penalty led to Blackrock’s third try from the resulting line out. A good penalty kick from Dan Fogarty just before half time put Nenagh’s first score on the board but was scant consolation after a tough 40 minutes left them trailing 22-3 and facing into the first few minutes of the second half still down a man.
It looked like it was going to be a long day for the supporters but the players thought otherwise and gave a much improved display in the second half, starting with their first try which began with an excellent line out and maul from the forwards. After making great ground into Blackrock’s 22, Nenagh flashed the ball out to the backs, got quick ball from the resulting ruck and Fergal Brislane straightened well before the ball went out through the hands for Andrew Mackey to touch down. The middle part of this half saw a more balanced, albeit scoreless, game with Nenagh defending and holding possession well but both teams seemed unable to break through. However, it was Blackrock who broke the deadlock when they opted to kick a penalty to touch and look for their bonus point try. They secured possession in the line out and patiently pounded the Nenagh defence with tight runners and pick and go’s. Nenagh’s defence was nothing short of heroic but eventually Blackrock crossed the line to secure a five-point haul.
At 29-8 and with little time left, Nenagh could have been forgiven for sticking to damage control at this point but in fairness to the lads they kept playing and were rewarded for their efforts when they won a scrum inside the Blackrock 22. Several phases after this scrum, Conor Brislane turned in the tackle and Nenagh set up a solid maul which they drove over the line for Kevin O’Gorman to score. Dan Fogarty converted to leave the final score at Blackrock 29-15 Nenagh Ormond.
Nenagh Ormond Senior XV continue their AIL campaign this Saturday at home to Skerries at 2.30pm.
Team: Hugh Maloney, Willie Coffey, Misi Salave, Willie O’Connor, Mark Doyle, Mike Fogarty, Eoin Gardiner (c), Conor Brislane, Peter O’Connor, Fergal Brislane, Kevin O’Gorman, Kevin O’Flaherty, Michael Slattery, Kevin Seymour, Lemeki Vaipulu. Reps: John Healy, Aidan Doyle, Dan Fogarty, Andrew Mackey, John Long.
Munster ‘A’ return to New Ormond Park!
Nenagh Ormond are delighted to host another Munster ‘A’ match at New Ormond Park. Munster 'A' will play their first interprovincial of the season against Ulster Ravens at Nenagh Ormond RFC on Thursday, March 19th, at 4:30pm.
Munster 'A's first encounter since their British & Irish Cup quarter-final defeat to Doncaster Knights sees them return to Nenagh for the first time since September 2010. Ulster were also the opposition on that occasion with the likes of the then emerging Conor Murray, Simon Zebo and Dave Foley helping Munster 'A' to a comprehensive 30-3 win.
Head Coach Mick O'Driscoll will bring a mix of emerging stars from the Munster academy and sub academy ranks as well as senior squad members to Nenagh for Munster A's first interprovincial of the season.
The sides last met in September 2012 with a try and conversion from JJ Hanrahan clinching a 19-17 win for Munster 'A' in the final action of the game.
Munster 'A' v Ulster Ravens, Thursday, March 19th, 2015 at Nenagh Ormond RFC - KO 4:30pm.
Clanwilliam 0-48 Under 16’s
Nenagh Ormond Under 16’s got their league campaign back on track with a comprehensive 48-0 victory away to a spirited Clanwilliam side on Sunday.
Nenagh started well and a good backline move saw Fiachra Carey finish off in the corner after five minutes. His attempt at a difficult conversion against a very strong wind from the touchline just fell short of the posts. Within five minutes Nenagh were unlucky not to score again when Tommy Wells ran from inside his own half to touch down but the referee adjudged a supporting player had obstructed the defender during the run. However, he was not to be outdone when after fifteen minutes he repeated the run, this time outpacing the defence for another unconverted try in the corner to put Nenagh 10 points up. Clanwilliam were spirited throughout and Nenagh had to survive with some desperate defending to keep them at bay.
Nenagh went further in front after twenty five minutes when a clever kick through by out half Martin Rainsford was touched down in the corner by Number 8 Evan Murphy to put Nenagh 15 points up. Nenagh put the game beyond Clanwilliam with a fourth try on the stroke of half time. Once again, Clanwilliam attacked the Nenagh line, but a turnover inside their own half allowed the ball to be played out to speedy winger Eamon Hough, who outpaced all before him to touch down in the corner for a great try which was converted by Fiachra Carey to put Nenagh 22 points to nil in front at half time.
Playing with the wind and the big lead allowed Nenagh to play more expansive rugby in the second half. It also allowed the management continue with the policy of getting game time for all the squad by bringing on all the substitutes.
Tommy Wells scored his second try 10 minutes in to the second half when he broke through from short range to score out on the left. Evan Murphy scored a great conversion to put Nenagh 29 points up. Five minutes later Martin Rainsford continued the Nenagh onslaught by popping up at the end of a great back line move to score in the corner.
With ten minutes remaining, a move straight from the training pitch saw Evan Murphy burst through between the two centres to take a ball at pace and score under the posts. Conor O’Brien kicked the conversion to push the Nenagh score up to 43.
Good tactical kicking from out half Martin Rainsford with the wind at his back helped Nenagh to good territory in the Clanwilliam 22 for the remainder of the match. From one of these kicks, Ronan Kelly was unlucky when he chased onto a kick ahead only to see the ball bobble into touch just short of the line. From the resultant lineout Peter Ryan pounced on a defensive error to touch down for Nenagh’s eighth try of the match, to leave the final score at 48 points to nil for Nenagh.
Despite the score line Clanwilliam put up a brave display and played the match in very good spirit and the were gracious hosts to the Nenagh lads throughout the game and afterwards
The squad who travelled were: Michael Bourke, Fiacara Carey, Nathan Deely-O’Meara, Jack Dunne, Luke Fahey, Darragh Flannery, Stephen Harding, Eamon Hough, Ronan Kelly, Michael Kennedy, Sam Kroupa, Shane Mitchell-Steed, Orrin Moore, Evan Murphy, Conor O’Brien, Eddie O’Dwyer, Jake O’Kelly, Seamus O’Meara, Martin Rainsford, Cathal Ryan, Peter Ryan, Cian Spillane, Tommy Wells, Aaron White.
Under 14 East Munster Cup
Galbally 5-10 Nenagh Ormond
On Sunday Nenagh travelled to Galbally for their fourth match in their East Munster Cup campaign. Nenagh won the toss and chose to play with the strong breeze behind them. Nenagh started strongly and dominated the early forward exchanges. However while Nenagh were constantly on the attack in the Galbally twenty two handling errors did not allow them to get any real momentum and they were unable to break down the Galbally defence for the first twenty minutes of the game. The Nenagh forwards were putting in some great drives and Oisín Webb and Jack O’Keeffe were unlucky not to cross the Galbally line on a couple of occasions. The conditions on the day with a very wet pitch and cold wind blowing made handling the ball very difficult. Just before half time the ball was kicked through into Galbally’s goal area and when their defence failed to touch it down Luke Connolly dived on the ball and scored Nenagh’s opening try. The conversion was narrowly missed by Jack Moran and Nenagh took a 5 nil lead into half time.
After the interval Galbally now playing with an ever increasing wind behind them started to exert some forward pressure on Nenagh and for the first ten minutes of the second half continued to drive towards the Nenagh line. Nenagh’s defence held firm for quite some time but eventually Galbally managed to cross Nenagh’s line. The conversion was missed and the score with fifteen minutes to go was 5 all. The concession of this try seemed to spark Nenagh back into life and the remaining fifteen minutes of the game with Nenagh playing into increasing headwinds were played in the Galbally half. In the first half Nenagh found it hard to keep the ball in hand when passing but in the last fifteen minutes of the game they hardly dropped the ball and every time Galbally tried to kick out of defence full back Oisín Larkin caught the ball and ran back at the Galbally defence. The Nenagh forwards were now controlling the rucks and were continually driving into the Galbally defence and setting up great ball for their backs. On a couple of occasions centre Jack Moran made great breaks and was unlucky not to break through the Galbally defence. However it was the Nenagh forwards who continued to batter the Galbally defence and with five minutes to go Dylan Murphy broke through a couple of tackles and crossed the Galbally line for a well deserved try. Captain on the day Jack Moran was very unlucky not to make the conversion as the ball hit the upright. Front the restart Nenagh kept the ball in hand and continued to attack the Galbally line and were on the Galbally line when the final whistle went giving Nenagh a very hard fought 10 – 5 victory.
It was great to see so many Nenagh parents making the journey down to Galbally. We have a longer journey to make next week to Dungarvan. Kick-off is at 12 o’clock but we will still be meeting in Tyone at 8.45 a.m. Training in Tyone at 6.30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Nenagh Team: Danny O’Connor, Eoghan Slevin, Luke Connolly, Oisín Webb, Ruan O’Hanluain, Dylan Murphy, Kian O’Kelly, Jack O’Keeffe, Peter Rainsford, Owen Farrell, Conor McMahon, Jack Moran, Roan Harte-Murphy, Matthew Hodgins, Oisín Larkin, James Ferris, Oisín McMahon, Patrick Finn, Patrick Whelan, Dylan Knight, Kevin Harding, Conor Malone.
Under 9’s & 10’s
Our Under 9's and U10's made the short visit to Ballina/Killaloe RFC last Sunday morning. On a cold and rainy morning about 25 young players turned up. We fielded two Under 10 teams and one Under 9 team. We had a good morning of rugby with everyone getting lots of game time, and thankfully the rain stayed away until the very end.
While we competed very well in the tight, scored some really good tries and put in fantastic tackles, the home team were a little sharper at moving the ball through the hands, with the result that they scored a few more tries then us. Our cause wasn't helped when we lost Danny Quinn, one of our leading try scorers, to an unfortunate ankle injury - we wish Danny a speedy recovery. We are now competing really well at the breakdown and our ball movement and retention has come in substantially.
Overall it was a good experience for us and we look forward to meeting and competing with this excellent Ballina/Killaloe team in the seasons to come and we extend our thanks to the club for the invitation. Our sincerest thanks to our loyal parents who continue to support our efforts. Next Sunday morning we are away to UL Bohs - details to follow by text during the week.
Photograph: Under 9's and 10's at the Blitz in Ballina/Killaloe
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