Cawley Cup, Round 1.

Tuam RFC 3, Creggs Rugby 7.

Creggs got the new season off to a winning start with a hard-earned away victory over Tuam on last Sunday afternoon.

The starting Creggs fifteen shattered the club’s previous record by a considerable distance with an average age under 21 years, which is a remarkable figure for a senior competitive fixture. This is a tribute to the club’s excellent youth development system and the senior team coaches for giving youth every chance. Let us hope that this continues and we produce top class players capable of making a seamless transition from underage to adult rugby.

The six players that made their senior competitive debuts last Sunday v Tuam were (L-R): Jack Tucker, Tom Farrell Mark Purcell, Aodha Hession, Mikey Dunne and Conor Rohan.

For this Cawley Cup round one game, six players made their senior competitive debuts, with Aodha Hession, Jack Tucker, Mark Purcell, Conor Rohan, Mikey Dunne and Tom Farrell all making significant contributions to this notable win against a strong and experienced Tuam outfit.

Tuam led 3 nil through a well struck Eoin Kelly penalty after 14 minutes but good defence by Creggs, with Conor Rohan leading the tackle stats, kept their scoring opportunities to a minmum thereafter.

Creggs got through for the match winning try in the 54th minute when Mark Purcell collected his own chip ahead to outpace the home defence for a wonderful solo score. Mark’s brother Shane then stepped up to drill the difficult conversion between the posts to give Creggs a four point cushion.

The Creggs First Team that defeated Tuam RFC away in Cawley Cup last Sunday.

However, Tuam remained a serious threat and the outcome of the contest remained in doubt for the remaining time, with both teams enjoying periods of dominance. However, Creggs deservedly held out for a vital win which gets the season off to a great start as Tuam are always very difficult to beat on their own patch.

Creggs continue the Cawley Cup campaign with a home game v Buccaneers next Sunday at 2.30pm in Creggs. Training continues for all adult players on Tuesday nights at 8pm and Friday nights at 8.15pm.

CREGGS RFC: Aidan Leech, Danny Arnold, Jack Tucker, Tom Farrell, Brian Donoghue, Eoghan Farrell, Conor Rohan, Brian Diffley (Capt.), Aodha Hession, Shane Purcell, Chris Duignan, Mark Purcell, James Brandon, Michael Dunne, Ronan Dowd, Sean Og Higgins, Tom Fleming, Pete Lohan, Mark Brandon, and Michael Holland.

Creggs Development Team v Carrick RFC in Curley Cup next Sunday

The Creggs Development team have their first outing of the season next Sunday in the Curley Cup. The team play Carrick RFC away at 2.30pm in Carrick-On-Shannon. Training continues for all adult players, including Under-20’s on Tuesday nights at 8pm and Friday nights at 8.15pm. New and returning players always welcome in Creggs – contact Mattie Corcoran.