reggs take away bonus point from first competitive loss

Connacht Junior 1 League

Connemara RFC  13,    Creggs Rugby  7.

Creggs First team winning streak came to an end in Clifden on Sunday but given the way this game unfolded they will be happy enough with the losing bonus point secured by a converted try minutes from the final whistle.

 Facing the stiff breeze blowing down straight down the pitch Creggs conceded the opening score directly from the kick-off when they were caught in possession running out of defence and Connemara tighthead prop Ian Staunton made no mistake with the spot kick. Creggs remained pinned in their own half and following a couple of close shaves left-winger Peter O’Toole crossed for Connemara with Staunton adding the extra points.

 10-Nil down at the interval and now playing with the breeze Creggs endured a horrid third quarter, unable to break out of defence, O’Toole added a penalty from the right touchline to stretch the home lead on 50 minutes. 

 Creggs then lost Kevin Brandon to the sin bin and continued to soak up pressure but their defence held and when they finally got within striking distance of the Connemara line, a well executed line-out drive saw hooker Maurice Buckley cross near the right touchline and Mark Brandon judged the wind to perfection to land the all important conversion.

Next Saturday see first All-Ireland Junior Cup game v Clonmel RFC

This Saturday Creggs play Clonmel on their first appearance in the All-Ireland Junior Cup and will hope for strong local support as they take on the team trained by former Ireland No. 8 Denis Leamy. Clonmel has won the Munster Junior League for the last four seasons. Kick-off at The Green, in Creggs at 2.30 pm.

Creggs Rugby: Brian Coady, Maurice Buckley, Eoghan Farrell, Brian Donoghue, Tom Oates, Ronan Cahill, Edward Clinton, Kevin Brandon, Chris Duignan, Mark Brandon, Kevin Gavin, James Brandon, Tom Callaghan, Luke Meehan, Ronan Dowd, Sean O’Higgins, Aidan Leech, Matthew Brandon, Shane Dowd, and Michael Feeley.

TRAINING continues on every Tuesday (8pm) and Friday (8.15pm) for all senior players. 

Membership now due. New and returning players always welcome. 

Creggs Development Team stay top with great away win

Connacht J1C League.

OLBC  24,    Creggs Development  27.

Creggs Development team came from 24 – 15 behind with just seven minutes remaining to edge out OLBC in a remakable finish at the Sportsgound on last Saturday evening.

 With time running out, a fine try by man-of-the-match Tommy Devine reduced the deficit to four points. Then Creggs launched one last attack which saw Gerry Keegan obstructed as he chipped ahead,and referee Mark Fitzgerald had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try, much to the dismay of the home team.

CONNACHT J1C LEAGUE TABLE

 OLBC led 7 – 0 with an early try by second-row Dara Nagle before Creggs responded with an excellent try by right winger Jamie Ryan. Creggs then went ahead in the 33rd minute when Tommy Devine scored a sensational try following an 80 metre run from deep inside his own half. Michael Farrell added the conversion.

 However, OLBC hit back with a well worked try by prop Kevin O’Sullivan following a line-out and Daithi Joyce’s superb conversion put the Galway city side alead by 14 -12  at half-time.

 A Michael Farrell penalty put Creggs ahead once more after the restart, but Boys Club added a converted try and a close range penalty after a period of sustained pressure.  

 Again, Creggs regained the initiative with Devine’s second try before the late penalty try proved decisive. 

 This was another outstanding result for Creggs in a game which was keenly contested throughout between two evenly matched teams.

 Creggs next outing in the Junior 1C League is an away game against Ballina RFC on November 4th. Training continues on every Tuesday (8pm) and Friday (8.15pm) for all senior players. Membership now due. New and returning players always welcome. 

Creggs Rugby: Tommy Devine, Jamie Ryan, Niall Cunniffe, Mike Holland, John Scroope, Michael Farrell, David Hoare, Tommy Curley, Enda Tully, Andy Boyle, Eoghan Cahill, Graham Curran, Michael Feeley, Oisin Mc Conn, Peter Lohan, Matthew Curley, Gerry Keegan, Philip Leech, Seamus Collins, and Paul Mc Neill.

YOUTH Rugby 

Connacht Under-15 League :

Corinthians RFC 31,  Creggs RFC 7.

Creggs Under-15’s travelled to play last years League and Cup double winners Corinthians RFC in Galway last Saturday and they performed much better than the scoreline suggests. 

 Creggs started the game very well and were camped in their opponents 22″ for the first 10 minutes and for the next 10 minutes Corinthians had the majority of the ball, but in truth most of this possession was in the middle of the pitch and the Creggs lads were defending superbly with Ciaran Purcell, Tomas Tiernan, Josh Verling, Ben Johnson and Noah Fallon very prominent in defence early on. 

 With 20 minutes on the clock the score was still 0-0 but a loose lineout in their own 22″ by the Creggs lads allowed a Corinthians player to dive on the ball in the corner for a 5-0 lead.

 A very soft try just before and after half time for Corinthians was the winning of this game and then having emptied the bench,

  Creggs allowed another couple of tries in the middle of the half as new players found their feet but the last 15 minutes Creggs were by far the better team. Eoin Kelly, Lee Kilcoyne, Michael McAteer, Aidan Hoare Jimmy Hoey and Cormac Feeley carrying very good ball for Cormac Dolan to feed the backs and DJ Hession, Ryan Conlon and Oisin O Beirne doing well out the backs. Edimar Fimho got in for Creggs score which Cormac Dolan converted.

Creggs Rugby: Tomas Tiernan, Lee Kilcoyne, Michael McAteer, Ben Johnson, Eoin Kelly, Ciaran Purcell, Aidan Hoare, Edimar Fimho, Cormac Dolan, DJ Hession, Jack Fleming, Jimmy Hoey, Eoin Kelly, Oisin O Beirne, Ryan Conlon, Josh Verling, Tadg Lyons, Cormac Feeley, and Noah Fallon.

Connacht Under-17 League :

Galwegians RFC 36,  Creggs RFC 15.

Due to a number of factors a much depleted Creggs Under-17’s team travelled to play Cup winners Galwegians last Sunday morning in Galway. Missing a few regulars and most of their back line, Creggs travelled with 14 players to take on Galwegians who played with the full compliment and also had a bench to call on during the game.

 With so many players playing out of position it was totally understandable that it took the lads a while to get their defence sorted and Galwegians took full advantage of their numerical advantage by running in 3 quick converted tries, however after that point Creggs took the game to their opponents and had the best of play for the last quarter of the first half and the whole of the second half. 

 Creggs got their first try after a period of forwards dominance when Jack Tucker, Conor McNulty, Adam Donnelly and Ciaran Corcoran had very good carries and when Ethan Glennon who was operating at 9 fed Darren Gately at 10, he used his quick feet to get by the covering defence to score which Mark Purcell converted to leave the score 21-7. 

 Creggs continued to dominate, moving the ball from side to side against a well organised defence and again Ben Finnerty, Lorcan Maher and Ronan Lambe were all very close but crucially Wegians held out late on in the half.

 The ultimate compliment from the opposition was they did not change their starting team and kept their best 15 out on the pitch until very near the end as this game was still very competitive but as the Creggs lads tired gaps appeared and twice in the second half Wegians ran tries from inside their 22″ when a player ran the length of the pitch to score. 

 Creggs however with ball in hand were excellent and after another sustained period of pressure where Tiernan O’Sullivan was held up just short twice and again great carrying from Tucker, Danny Hill, Jack Deegan and Rory Callaghan, a pre-rehearsed move saw Darren Gately use the cross field kick to great effect for Mark Purcell to go over in the corner and again after another period of pressure with the advantage of a penalty, Darren Gately Kicked a drop Goal to complete Creggs scoring. 

 A very committed and brave performance by the lads who were present on the day, but Creggs will need a full compliment the next time out when they face Ballinasloe RFC in the next round of the league.

Creggs Rugby: Jack Tucker, Ronan Lambe, Conor McNulty, Adam Donnelly, Danny Hill, Rory Callaghan, Ciaran Corcoran, Tiernan O Sullivan, Ethan Glennon, Darren Gately, Mark Purcell, Jack Deegan, Ben Finnerty, and Lorcan Maher

YOUTH Rugby – GIRLS

Creggs Under-14 Girls will travel to Ballina for a Connacht League game next Saturday at 2.30pm..

Creggs Under-14 Girls train every Monday evening at 7pm. New players always welcome.

YOUTH Team’s (Boys) Fixtures

The Creggs Under-14 Boys are due to travel to play Ballinasloe RFC next Saturday at 1.30pm in the Connacht Under-14 A League.

Creggs Under-16’s are due to be at home to Ballinasloe RFC, with the day and time to be confirmed (as I write), 

Creggs Under-18.5’s game v Monivea RFC next weekend is postponed as Monivea cannot field this weekend.

YOUTH Team’s (Boys) TRAINING 

All Training in Creggs for:

 Creggs Under-13’s and Under-14’s, on Tuesday night at 7pm.    

 Creggs Under-15’s train Thursday evening at 6.30pm. 

 Creggs Under-16’s on Tuesday night at 7pm.

 Creggs Under-17’s and Under-18.5’s train Friday night at 7pm. 

  Players new to rugby and returning players always welcome at all age groups. 

YOUTH Team Registration/Membership continues at training 

Registration/Membership due for all Youth Teams will continue at training this and next week. 

Creggs MINI Rugby

Last weekend, Creggs Minis travelled at all ages from Under-6’s up to Under-12’s, and in big numbers to play in the Sligo RFC Blitz. All the Creggs players had a great outing in Strandhill.

Some the Creggs Under-7’s at Sligo RFC in Strandhill last Saturday.

Next Saturday, Creggs Minis will host their first home Blitz of the season when they welcome Claremorris RFC at all ages from Under-6 to Under-12’s. 

 The Blitz in Creggs will kick off at 10.30am.

Registration/Membership is due for all Mini Rugby players – if not already done, please do so this Saturday.