ADULT RUGBY

Creggs win against third place Tuam

Connacht J1 League

Creggs Rugby 12, Tuam RFC 10.

Creggs got the new decade off to a winning start by defeating Tuam in Saturday’s home League clash on the 4G pitch. This win widens the gap to seven points between Creggs in second place and Tuam RFC in third.

Two superb tries by fullback Shane Dowd paved the way for this vital win but Tuam dominated the final quarter to reduce the deficit to a mere twi points by the end of a tough physical encounter .

Creggs remain in second place behind pacesetters Connemara following this victory, but third placed Tuam posed plenty of problems with their powerful pack of forwards gaining the edge for considerable periods of play.

However,determined defence by Creggs was a major factor in this victory, with Eoghan Coyle, Peter Lohan, Ronan Dowd and Kevin Brandon hitting some thunderous tackles to repel wave after wave of Tuam attack, while their colleagues also defended with vigour when called upon.

The early exchanges were frenetic with both sides playing at a high tempo before an excellent Cregg’s forwards and backs combined set play was executed superbly, with Shane Dowd finished in style. His try in the 15th minute gave Creggs a lead they would not relinquish despite Tuam’s best efforts.

Creggs failed to capitalise on that great start and Tuam had the better of the opening half, eclipsing Creggs in the forward battle particularly in the lineout where Creggs were notably out of sorts and it was only in the set scrum that the home side enjoyed a slight advantage.

Stalemate ensued on the scoreboard for the rest of the first half, with worsening weather conditions contributing to handling errors by both sides. Tuam were more culpable in this regard, losing possession in good attacking positions on a number of occasions.

At the other end, Creggs were right to feel aggrieved when their rolling maul was clearly brought down short of the line and no penalty was awarded.

Tuam had a player sinbinned shortly before halftime, but Creggs were unable to capitalise on this numerical advantage and had to soak up considerable pressure when the sinbin ended.

On an increasingly rare incursion into Tuam territory, Shane Dowd produced a moment of individual brilliance to glide past several Tuam defenders on a 40 metre run which took him under the posts for a superb try.

Shane Purcell’s conversion left Creggs 12 nil ahead with fifteen minutes remaining, but Tuam attacked straight from the kickoff to hit back with a try by outhalf Eoin Cosgrave, which placekicker Dave Lally converted with ease.

Creggs conceded a penalty in the 74th minute which the left-footed Lally slotted with another fine kick,to set up a grandstand finish.

There were still a couple of nervous moments for the home fans to endure before referee Shane McElwee blew the final whistle to signify the end of a closely contested game.

Creggs take a break from the Connacht League action for the next few weeks, but face a potentially difficult trip to Westport next Sunday in the first round of the Junior Cup.

Creggs Rugby: Shane Dowd, Ronan Dowd, Eoghan Coyle, James Brandon, Ryan Horan, Shane Purcell, Andrew Callaghan, Eoghan Farrell, Danny Arnold, Aidan Leech, Ian Whittington, Brian Donoghoe, Peter Lohan, Kevin Brandon, Brian Diffley (Captain), Brian Coady, Tom Fleming, Ronan Cahill, Mark Brandon, Kevin Gavin.

Creggs Development team defeat the League leaders

Connacht J1C League

Ballinasloe RFC 7, Creggs Rugby 10.

Creggs Development team recorded a memorable away victory over League leaders Ballinasloe in Sunday’s highly competitive Connacht Junior 1C game. This throws the title race right open.

Trailing 7-6 with just a couple of minutes remaining, Creggs were given a lifeline when Ballinasloe conceded a penalty just outside the ’22’ and scrumhalf Mark Brandon made no mistake to land the match winning score.

Ballinasloe still lead the table on 24 points, with Creggs on 23 points and Tuam and Ballyhaunis a further point behind so Creggs’ home game with Ballinasloe on January 25 will be eagerly anticipated by both teams.

A strong Ballinasloe team will be seeking to avenge their first League defeat of the season while Creggs will be aiming to extend their current run of five consecutive League victories.

Scoring opportunities were at a premium in a bruising first half with both defences on top.

Finally after the restart, Mark Brandon got the scoreboard moving with a penalty in the 45th minute, and he added a second penalty five minutes later during a period of Creggs dominance.

However,Ballinasloe upped the tempo from the restart, and began to ask serious questions of the Creggs defence. Some of the tackling by the Creggs men was truly heroic,with centres Luke Meehan and Enda Naughton rock solid in midfield, while Ronan Cahill at number 8 got through a mountain of defensive work .

From one to fifteen,Creggs continued to tackle with great enthusiasm, until replacement front-row Tommy Dolan finally crashed over for a well-worked try for Ballinasloe with 10 minutes remaining. Their fullback David Burke added the conversion much to the delight of the home supporters.

Creggs responded by attacking from deep,and some excellent line kicking by out-half Michael Holland forced Ballinasloe back deep into their own half, resulting in the concession of the decisive penalty so close to full-time.

Despite the low scoreline, this was a highly entertaining local derby with both teams deserving great credit for their commitment and skill.

Creggs Rugby: M. Fleming, P. Geraghty, E. Naughton, L. Meehan, B. Egan, M. Holland, M. Brandon, B. Coady, E. Tully, E.Cahill, D. Miskell, N. Walker, E. Fleming, M. Feeley, R. Cahill, T. Curley, J. Martin, J. McDonnell, C. Collins, J. Ryan.

ADULT TEAM TRAINING

This weekend, the Creggs Under-20’s, Development squad and First team are training at 8.15 pm on Friday evening.

YOUTH RUGBY

Creggs Under-16’s earn home League Semi Final

Connacht Under-16 League

Ballina RFC 14, Creggs RFC 25.

Connacht Under-16 League

Ballina RFC 14, Creggs RFC 25.

Creggs Under-16 team guaranteed home Connacht League Semi-Final with a fine display and victory away to Ballina last Sunday morning.

The Creggs forwards carried the game to the home team from early on, with Ciaran Purcell, Noah Fallon, Miguel Arthur prominent in the loose while Aidan Hoare, Eoin Kelly and Tomas Tiernan were excellent from the set piece and in defence.

Creggs got on the scoreboard after eight minutes when good carries by the forwards presented good possession and the ball was moved wide for Ryan Colon to score in the corner.

The lead was short lived however as the home team went ahead 7-5 after 12 minutes when a long kick clearance wasn’t dealt with by Creggs and Ballina scored under the posts.

Creggs regained the lead just before half-time when excellent play from Cormac Dolan at the base of the scrum released Edimar Fimho and Jack Fleming, who again fed Ryan Conlon to go over in the corner for a 10-7 half time lead.

Creggs had the better of the second half and again up front Darragh Gilleran, Ben Johnson, and Cormac Feeley did well, while the scores came from penalty from DJ Hession and tries from Lee Kilcoyne and Ryan Conlon had Creggs leading by 25 points to 7 before a late Ballina try reduced thee deficit to 25-14.

Creggs Rugby: Conor Betts, Josh Adams Verling, Edimar Fimho, Jack Fleming, DJ Hession, Ryan Conlon, Cormac Dolan, Eoin kelly, Ciaran Purcell, Lee Kilcoyne, Aidan Hoare, Noah Fallon, Tomas Tiernan, Senan Lambe, Darragh Gilleran, Ben Johnson, Cormac Feeley.

Creggs Under-18’s lose out away to League leaders

Connacht Under 18.5 League:

Ballina RFC 12, Creggs RFC 6.

An understrength Creggs Under-18.5 team travelled to Ballina on Sunday and put in a very spirited performance going down 12-6 to Ballina, the League leaders. Considering the players missing and the players playing out of position, it was a great performance.

Creggs two penalties were kicked by Mark Purcell and all Ballina scores also came from penalties with two in each half.

Upfront Daniel Hill, Jack Tucker, Jack Hanley and Tiernan O’Sullivan were excellent in defence while Eric O Doherty carried very well. Meanwhile in the backs, Ben finnerty was tackling like another wing forward and Mikey Dunne and David Gaquin were excellent in both attack and defence with the back three of Naoise Coyle, Jack Neenan and Ryan O’Keefe were never found wanting.

Creggs used the wind very well in the out-half with Mark Purcell continuously putting Ballina back into their half with some long range kicks. Creggs gained good set piece ball from Leon Doyle and Ronan Lambe however the lineout struggled in the latter stages of the game as players tired, as the squad was depleted.

Creggs Under-18.5’s will play Connemara at home next weekend, we hope to have a larger squad available for this game.

Creggs Rugby: Michael Dunne, Naoise Coyle, Ryan O’Keefe, David Gaquin, Jack Neenan, Mark Purcell, Ben Finnerty, Jack Tucker, Tiernan O’Sullivan, Jack Hanley, Leon Doyle, Ronan Lambe, Ethan Glennon, Danny Hill, Eric O’Doherty, James Doyle.

Creggs Under-14’s play training game in Ballinasloe

Creggs Under-14’s travelled to Ballinasloe RFC last Sunday morning for a training game.
It was proved to be a great workout. Well done to all. Pictured above are the Creggs and Ballinasloe players afterwards.

Creggs 4G Pitch hosts Connacht v Munster Under-16 and Under-17 games

About 100 of the best young rugby players (Under-16’s and Under-17’s) in Connacht and Munster, with a good crowd made for a great days rugby in Creggs last Thursday.

Creggs RFC Under-17 players Shane Connaughton, Mark Dowd and David Gaquin were in the Connacht Under-17 squad with Lee Kilcoyne, Eoin Kelly, DJ Hession, Ciaran Purcell and Edimar Fimho on the Connacht Under-16 squad.

The coaches played 3 x 30 min Under-17 segments, and in the and Under-16s played 2 x 30min segments. Both Connacht and Munster can look forward to getting stronger teams in the future with some very good young players putting in great displays.

There was mixed weather but the all-weather 4G pitch stands up to all weather, and a good crowd filled the stand and witnessed some very good rugby.

The 4G pitch also hosted a number of Connacht Rugby School League Finals prior to Christmas, with teams expressing their delight with the surface.

YOUTH TEAMS – FIXTURES

(Check www.CreggsRugby.ie and Creggs RFC Facebook for Fixture detail updates!)

Creggs Under-18.5 will play Connemara RFC in the Connacht League in Creggs next weekend. Game details/time TBC.

Creggs Under-17 Boys play Buccaneers RFC in the Connacht League next Sunday in Creggs at 12pm

Creggs Under-15 Boys training game v Tuam RFC on Wednesday night at 8pm in Creggs.

Creggs Under-14 Boys play Corrinthians RFC away next Saturday at 2.30 in the Connacht League.

Creggs Under-13’s Boys play Ballina RFC in the Connacht League in Creggs next Saturday at 1.30pm – NB – The time of this match may change.

GIRLS

Creggs Under-16 Girls will play Claremorris RFC in the Connacht Under-16 League Semi Final next weekend. Game details/time TBC.

Creggs Under-14 Girls will play Ballinasloe RFC in Creggs next weekend. Game details/time TBC.

YOUTH TEAMS – TRAINING

Creggs Under-18.5’s training TBC for this week.

Creggs Under-17 Boys training on Wednesday night at 7pm in Creggs.

Creggs Under-16 Boys training on Wednesday nights at 7pm in Creggs.

Creggs Under-15 Boys training Wednesday night at 8pm in Creggs.

Creggs Under-14 Boys training Tuesday and Thursday nights at 7.30pm in Creggs.

Creggs Under-13 Boys training every Wednesday night at 7pm in Creggs.

GIRLS – TRAINING

Creggs Girls Under-14 Training Under-14 continues each Monday at 6.30pm.
Creggs Girls Under-16 and Under-18 Training continues every Monday at 7.30pm.

MINI RUGBY

Big day for Creggs MINI Rugby proves very successful

Creggs Minis Rugby Girls and Boys Training resumed last Saturday in Creggs after the Christmas break.

Home Blitz This Saturday

Next Saturday, Carrick on Shannon visit Creggs Mini Boys and Girls this Saturday (January 11th.) and games will kick off at 10.30. Players are requested by coaches to be ready to start at 10.15am.

New MINI Rugby Players Alway Welcome

Creggs MINI Rugby always welcomes new players. We will have boys and girls teams from Under-7 (six year-olds) through each year up to Under-12’s. Come along and try it out on Saturday mornings. Registration is available on-line and the new season that will run through to April 2020.

Parents welcome to help with coaching

Parents are very welcome to help with coaching (full training provided) or to help support the great efforts at Creggs MINI Rugby coaching team.