Photograph: Nenagh Ormond Under 7's at the Thurles Blitz.
Under 16’s
Nenagh Ormond were in the enviable position of being able to field 39 players at Under Sixteen level and managed to play two matches simultaneously on Sunday away to both Thurles and to Ballinasloe.
Our second team travelled to Thurles with an experimental squad of 21 players. Most of the squad were either Under 15 or were making their first start ever in a full rugby match. Despite this the team acquitted themselves very well and many of them caught the eye, giving the coaches plenty of selection headaches ahead of next weekend’s East Munster Quarter final at home to Fethard.
The match was played in three twenty minute sections and a much slicker and well organised Thurles outfit scored some early scores to push ahead. The Nenagh lads came more and more into their own and finally got the score their efforts deserved when Ronan Kelly cut through the centre from a great backline move to score a well-deserved try. Ben Duff added the conversion.
Despite the final score being 29-7 in favour of Thurles, the Nenagh lads can be proud of their efforts and many will be pushing hard for inclusion in the first team squad as the season progresses
The squad that travelled to Thurles was Seamus O’Meara, Eoin England, Aaron White, Tommy Murphy, Sam West, Diarmuid Boyle, Orrin Moore, Jack Dunne, Nathan O’Meara, Ben Duff, Ronan Kelly, Eamon Hough, Colum Moylan, Luke Mooney, Eddie O’Dwyer, Ray O’Meara, James O’Sullivan, Peter Folan, Patrick Ryan, John O’Meara and Mark O’Neill
Meanwhile our first team travelled to Ballinasloe and beat a highly fancied Ballinasloe team by 40 points to 31 in a very entertaining game.
Nenagh started briskly and had scored two converted tries within the first five minutes. Firstly Tommy Wells took the ball from the end of the maul and found space between the Ballinasloe defence to score. Nenagh scored immediately when a great return from the kick-off led to Luke Fahey being at the end of a fantastic backs move to touch down under the posts. Fiachra Carey converted both tries to put Nenagh 14 points up.
Nenagh allowed Balinasloe back into the game slightly and they replied with two unconverted tries of their own to draw within four points. However, just before the whistle, Nenagh scored the try of the match when a great cross-field kick from out-half Daniel Molamphy was superbly gathered by Fiachra Carey for him to score a superb try which he converted himself.
After the break this highly entertaining game swung from end to end with both teams scoring three tries each. Shortly after the restart Tommy Wells took a quick penalty from outside the opposition 22 and managed to beat several defenders before just about reaching the line to touch down in the corner.
Two more tries from Ballinasloe brought them back into the game. Nenagh again responded well with two more tries from the impressive Fiachra Carey; the first after a great backline move and the second when he was on hand to receive an offload from Tommy Wells after the latter was stopped short following another quickly taken penalty.
A late try for Ballinasloe was not enough to catch Nenagh who ran out nine point winners, with the impressive Fiachra Carey scoring 25 of Nenagh’s 40 points.
The squad that travelled to Ballinasloe was Michael Kennedy, Tommy Wells, David Ryan, Michael Bourke, Cathal Ryan, Peter Ryan, Stephen Harding, Sam Krupa, Evan Murphy, Jake O’Kelly, Martin Rainsfort, Daniel Mollamphy, Shane Mitchell-Steed, Cianan O’hAnlúain, Luke Fahey, Fiachra Carey, Darragh Flannery, Conor O’Brien
Training continues Tuesdays and Fridays, with the expectation being if the great numbers continue at training, two full squads will progress throughout the season, ensuring as many players as possible get match time during the season
Under 14’s 7-7 Kilfeacle
On Sunday Nenagh made the journey to Kilfeacle and their hard fought draw secured them the top position in their league. Nenagh got off to a strong start and put a lot of early pressure on Kilfeacle however the Nenagh Forwards were not having it all their own way and were finding it hard to win good ruck ball from a very well drilled Kilfeacle pack. It wasn’t until fifteen minutes into the match that Nenagh managed to break down the Kilfeacle defence when the forward carried the ball into the Kilfeacle Twenty Two they then released their Backs and Peter Rainsford put in a lovely kick to the corner and from the ensuing line out and driving maul Dylan Murphy dived over for a well deserved opening try. Oisin Larkin converted to give Nenagh a 7 nil lead. The Nenagh score seemed to spur Kilfeacle into life and the Nenagh players had to put in some great tackling to keep Kilfeacle at bay. The nenagh Captain on the day, Oisin Webb, from his position in the second row was to the forefront of the tackling during this period. The Nenagh pack then started to come to terms with Kilfeacle and drove up the field and after a number of good pick and go movements prop Luke Connolly dived over the Kilfeacle line for what looked like a great try but the Referee adjudged it a double movement. At half time Nenagh had a slender lead of 7 nil.
The second half started with the Kilfeacle Forwards winning a lot more ruck ball and then using their big Centres to try and crash through the Nenagh line. On one of these occasions Nenagh Centre, Jack Moran, bravely took down his counterpart but it was Nenagh Full-back, Oisin Larkin, who put in a number of incredible try saving tackles in the second half to keep Kilfeacle out. Midway through the second half the Nenagh Forwards started to get back on terms with the Kilfeacle pack and after a number of line outs in the Kilfeacle Twenty Two, the Nenagh Forwards drove Oisin Webb over the line but he was unable to ground the ball. Shortly after that Oisin Larkin narrowly missed a penalty which would have given Nenagh a Ten nil lead. The last ten minutes of the game were played in the Nenagh half and in virtually the last move of the game Kilfeacle managed to cross the Nenagh line and try was converted to bring the final score to 7 all.
This victory game Nenagh the top position in their league and they have now qualified for a home quarter final against Dungarvan next Sunday, 30th November 2014. We would like to thank the large amount of parents who drove to Kilfeacle to support the players and we would again encourage all parents to come out next Sunday to shout on the team in the knockout stages of the competition.
Nenagh Squad:
Danny O’Connor, Eoghan Slevin, Luke Connolly, Ruan O’Hanluain, Oisin Webb, Dylan Murphy, Kian O’Kelly, Jack O’Keeffe, James Ferris, Owen Farrell, Peter Rainsford, Jack Moran, Matthew Hodgins, Conor McMahon, Oisin Larkin, Dylan Knight, Lorcan Tuohy, Oisin McMahon, Roan Harte-Murphy, Matthew McGee, Kevin Harding, Patrick Finn, Conor Malone, Aaron Reilly, Owen Geraghty.
Mini Blitz
A big thanks to all the parents who brought their kids to Thurles on Sunday morning for a blitz. Nenagh had 102 players togged out on the day. We have three more weeks till we break for Christmas with December 14th our last session. December 7th will see us move to Ballymackey all-weather pitch for our Sunday morning training sessions.
The next date we will need your help for is our Table Quiz on Friday week, December 5th. Each team’s coach will be looking for names next week and we hope to have a big crowd there. We are hoping this will be a social night for everyone involved in our club and not just a chore. It's great to see the parents getting to know one another as your children will be growing up together and hopefully friends and school mates for the future.
Under 12’s
The Under 12’s travelled to Thurles on Sunday morning and played Fethard in their first match. This first match was not one of our better performances with the commitment and aggression that this group usually show not evident. We were guilty of standing off them in defence and sometimes waiting for someone else to do the hard work. For the record, Fethard won 3 tries to 1 with Paul Seymour the scorer.
After this game the players were told some hard truths from the coaches and also had a heart to heart among themselves where, in fairness, they identified what need to be done. This was followed by a match among themselves in a small area where a bit of agression came to the fore.
Next up was a huge Thurles team and now we saw the real Nenagh. Everything that was done wrong in the first game was corrected and we saw a complete performance that everybody can be proud of, both players and parents. The foundation for this started with some huge tackles on big players by Evan Rainsford and James Finn in particular. The work rate of all 22 players who played was now first class and we saw some lovely rugby played by both teams. The rucking and protection for the scrum half were excellent and the ball was moved through the hands to players coming from depth.
In one super move where the ball was kept alive through many phases John Brislane got away into open field and with two players outside him free he choose to go alone only to be tackled. With everyone thinking the chance was gone he managed to offload in the tackle to the trailing Tommy Ryan running a super line to score a superb try. We won this game 5 tries to 3 with Jack Gleeson, Paul Seymour, James Finn and Eoghan Tighe also crossing for tries. Well done to all the players for the effort put in and let’s keep the work rate up for the rest of the season.
Under 11’s
The Nenagh Under 11’s played two exciting matches yesterday in Thurles against Thurles and Fethard. First up was against Fethard, who were short 3 players, so we gave them three players, as an excellent total of 17 again togged out for Nenagh. This was an exciting 3-all draw, the highlights being a hat trick of tries for Joseph Coffey and a try for Fethard by Nenagh player Eoin Carroll.
The second game began immediately against Thurles who ran in a number of tries against a tiring Nenagh defence. As in previous matches some work will need to be done regarding the tackling and organisation both with and without the ball but it is clear that all the players have improved since the start of the season. Charlie Cavanagh had to go off after receiving the kick off after a clash of heads and this seemed to unsettle the Nenagh boys whose concentration levels dropped.
There were some excellent performances on the day from Joseph Coffey, Joe Shanahan, Jamie Coyne, who had the tackle of the day. Another highlight was Jack O’Flaherty making 4 tackles in a row at one stage, bouncing up each time to drive the opposition back. Special mention for Conor Tierney who had his first game and played very well.
Training continues on Sunday at 10am in Lisatunney, please make sure you have gumshields.
Team who travelled, Joseph Gleeson, Joseph Coffey, Charlie Cavanagh, Adam Hassett, Ben Connolly, Conor Tierney, Eoin Ward, Jack O’Flaherty, Jamie Coyne, Joe Shanahan, Joseph Dooley, Luke Conneally, Paddy Griffen, Sean Moylan, Shane Dunne, Shane Stanley.
Under 9’s & 10’s
Last Sunday 28 Under 9’s and Under 10's travelled to Thurles RFC to take part in a blitz along with Fethard RFC. On a beautiful, fresh morning we played the home side and Fethard. We had two very tough matches and as usual there was nothing between the teams at the end. We scored some great tries, rucked well and tackled bravely. Highlight of the day was a great try by Ciara Ryan who ran the length of the park and went over for a sensational try, very similar to one Tommy Bowe the day before!
Our rugby continues to improve with every outing - and all the kids really enjoyed the morning. Every child got lots of game time. It's back to Lisatunny for training next Sunday morning - new members most welcome.
Our thanks as always to the parents who support our club by taking the time to take the kids to the blitzes. Our thanks to Thurles RFC for their hospitality.
Date for diary - our annual table quiz is taking place on Friday 5th December in the clubhouse at 9pm - your support would be much appreciated. Finally, the club sends our best wishes for a speedy recovery to one of our stalwarts - Tadgh Gleeson - hope you fully recover, Tadgh and we look forward to seeing you back in action very soon.
Photograph: Nenagh Ormond Under 9's & 10's at the Thurles Blitz.
Under 8’s
The Nenagh Ormond under 8's continued their winning ways with victories against hosts, Thurles and fellow visitors, Cahir on Sunday.
All the boys played their part in two very tough games. A special mention to Sean Walsh, grandson of the late Nenagh Ormond legend, Sean Sheedy, who was playing his first game of rugby and who acquitted himself very well.
Team: Robert Powell, Cillian Healy, Cathal Blake, Kevin O'Reilly, Ryan Gratton, David Hogan, Jack Casey, Darragh O’Dwyer, Sean Kennedy, Sean Walsh, Mark Manley, Fionn Higgins, Niall Connolly, Harry O'Brien and Joe O'Dwyer.
Photograph: Under 8's pictured with coaches Louis Manley and Baden Powell.
Juvenile & Mini Table Quiz
Nenagh Ormond Age Grade Section will host a Table Quiz in the clubhouse in Lisatunny on Friday week, December 5th. We hope that our players, coaches, parents, members and supporters will support our young players by entering a table on the night.
Music, food and spot prizes on the night. €40 per table of four. Kick off @ 9pm!
Munster v Clermont Auvergne
Last chance to order tickets for Munster’s next home game in the European Rugby Champions Cup which takes place in Thomond Park on Saturday week, December 6th, at 5.30pm against Clermont Auvergne.
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.
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