(Pic: Nenagh's U16s battled very tough conditions to win away in Kilrush last Sunday)
Senior Rugby: A fantastic day of rugby took place in Lisatunny on Saturday last. The senior team were the headline act with their last home fixture of the Energia AIL for 2023 taking place against Greystones RFC. A really cohesive and disciplined performance from the Nenagh lads saw a bonus point bagged by half time and at the final whistle Nenagh held a comfortable 38-5 winning margin over their Wicklow counterparts.
That leaves Nenagh top of the pile in Division 2A with 8 wins from 8 before facing the equally high flying Cashel RFC who sit just behind with 7 wins and poised to spoil any notions Nenagh might have of a 100 percent record at the halftime stage of the league.
Bragging rights, county pride and much more besides go on the line in the next week firstly and will continue post Christmas as Nenagh travel to Cashel this Saturday, followed by welcoming the South Tipp men to Nenagh straight after Christmas in what is effectively a Tipperary test series that will go a good way towards dictating the likely destination of the league honours for this season.
We really, really encourage as many fans as possible to make the trip to Cashel this Saturday with proceedings kicking off in Spafield at 2.30pm and we wish all involved the very best of luck as our lads aim to keep their 100 percent record intact.
U20.5: The Nenagh team resumed their Donal Walsh Trophy campaign on Saturday taking on Cork Constitution RFC in Lisatunny after the senior game. A really entertaining tussle saw the Cork side race out to a substantial lead in the opening 50 mins before Nenagh heroically battled back to within a score heading into the last play. Amazingly Nenagh managed to close the gap to just two points on the very final play leaving two points for the draw riding on the final kick. Alas the kick was adjudged to be just wide but full credit once more to the team and coaches of this side for putting on a great display which like many of the games from this side augurs well for the future playing stocks of the club.
U16: Our U16s travelled to a very stormy Kilrushon Sunday last.The lads played with a strong wind at their backs for the first half and took good advantage, with good clearance kicks leading to the boys winning line-outs and keeping great pressure on a big Kilrush pack. Adam Boland crossed for an excellent try after 10 mins with 2 more great tries by Darragh Murphy after 15 mins and 22 mins giving the lads a 15-0 advantage at half time.
The second half saw the stormy weather worsen and the lads dealt with a ferocious wind against them.The boys battled hard in the second half with both the forwards and backs tackling hard and winning great turnovers before carrying hard back at the opposition and making excellent ground. Again after 53 mins Adam Boland crossed for another great try with Dean Carey converting. Darrgh Murphy crossed again for another superb try after 65 mins, again converted by Dean. This gave the lads a 29-0 win in horrendous conditions. The whole panel played excellent rugby, were very disciplined, worked hard for each other and scored great team tries. The lads travel to Dungarvan next Saturday for their next Pan Munster fixture.
Panel-Thomas Ryan, Liam O'Brien Dunne, Armandas Kiaulakis, Billy Hodgins, Oisin Ryan, Jack Kennedy, Jack Cleary, Darragh Murphy, James Kennedy, Max Austin, Dean Carey, Matt Leyden, Adam Boland, Martin Heveli, Ben Deegan, Michael Cleary, Diarmuid Gleeson,Shay og Kennedy, Brandon Rosney, Shaun Kennedy, Alexander Finn, Keith O'Donaghue,Ronan Maher.
U15: Nenagh U15s made the long journey to Crosshaven, Co Cork to take on Crosshaven/Cork Con in Round 1 of the Pan Munster U16 Plate. Nenagh's reward for finishing second in Phase 1 was to qualify for the U16 Plate competition which is the middle tier of the three U16’s competitions. This was a journey into the unknown as all other opponents in this competition are fielding U16s teams and this is seen as a development opportunity for next season. Nenagh started slowly and gave their bigger opponents far too much respect, allowing them to control possession and territory and the signs looked ominous when Crosshaven scored two tries in quick succession to race into a 14-0 lead midway through the first half. Then the Nenagh forwards upped the physicality and began to play. Some great carries by Oisin Gleeson, Daragh Gaynor, Jack Tierney and Ronan Devlin resulted in Nenagh being held up just short of the line. The ball was recycled, and Michael Kennedy managed to crash over the line, Charlie Talbot converted to make it 14-7 to Crosshaven. Nenagh failed to clear their lines from the restart and allowed Crosshaven an easy entry into the Nenagh 22 line and their No 8 scored from an attacking scrum to extend their lead to 21-7. Nenagh responded again and won a scrum on the Crosshaven 10m line. The backs ran a rehearsed move which saw Hugo Healy break through the midfield. He was held up just short of the line and the ball was recycled for several more phases and Oisin Gleeson managed to score under the posts allowing Charlie Talbot to add the 2 points to leave the half-time score at 21-14 to Crosshaven. Crosshaven had the advantage of the wind and the hill in the second half, and while Nenagh were now well in the game, the Crosshaven backs always looked threatening and were able to take their try scoring opportunities a bit easier. They scored again early in the second half to extend their lead to 26-14. Again, to Nenagh's credit their response was immense, they rolled up their sleeves, started to get to grips with the breakdown and dominated possession and territory against their much bigger opponents. Superb carries by the forwards brought Nenagh up to the Crosshaven line and Oisin Gleeson crashed up for his second try to make the score 26-19. From the restart the Nenagh forwards again carried hard, went the length of the field, and were camped in Crosshaven’s 22. An upset looked on the cards as they retained possession for numerous phases and pounded the Crosshaven tryline, but they just could not score and were held up just short of the line. Crosshaven finished the game stronger and scored two late tries and were flattered by the full-time score of 38-19. Thanks to all who travelled to play and support. This was our final match of 2023, and the players will take a well-earned break and return to action on the first weekend in January away to Carrick on Suir in Round 2.
U14: Nenagh Ormond under 14s made the trip over to Ennis RFC on Sunday last. Despite all the rain that fell, the pitch was in perfect condition. Nenagh made wholesale changes from last week's game and in the first half played some excellent running rugby. Ennis were first to score a converted try, their speedy winger finishing off well. That score seemed to spur Nenagh on, Cody O'Connor was moving the ball well at first centre and Oisin Hogan was carrying the ball effectively into the opposition half. Our first try came from some clever play from Harry Walsh and Daniel Boland. Both made good yards in tight spaces. From that the ball was moved back and Ben Madden made an excellent run with intent against the grain to break the line. He had the composure to beat the last two defenders to dot down. Harry O Gorman added the extras. Nenagh kept the momentum going and scored again soon after. Freddie Mitchell at 9 made a dart up the blind and from that ruck Anluan White picked at the base and beat the last defender to score under the posts. Oisin Hogan added the extras. From the kick off Nenagh switched off and let Ennis gain back possession in our 22 and a few rucks later scored under the posts. The half time score was 14 all. Nenagh emptied the bench at halftime and kicked off the second half. Anluan scored his second try of the game. Aidan Ryan made a good break into the opposition 22 and from that ruck Marcus Finn fed Anluan White who powered over the line. Oisin Hogan added the extras. Nenagh kept the foot on the pedal and scored again a few mins later. Donagh Carmody and Daniel Boland did well up the blind side. The ball was moved infield where Kaden Fogarty rounded a defender and fed Luke Slattery who showed great strength to power between two defenders and score. Ben Madden added the extras. Ennis scored next with an unconverted try. Nenagh’s last try was created initially by Alex Monko. Ennis had possession in their 22 and a brilliant turnover created the opportunity to get Luke Slattery running at the defence. He was chopped down on the 5m line, but showed great composure to off load off the deck to Anluan who scored his hat trick. Ben Madden added the extras. The last score of the game was a try by Ennis. The final score ended Nenagh 35 Ennis 24. It was a very good performance overall with some players playing in new positions for the first time. Training continues Wednesday evening.
U13: The under 13s arrived at UL Bohs today for their first competitive game of the season and an away league game against a traditionally strong UL Bohs side. The pitch had some water on it and conditions were blustery so we were worried that this might affect our open style of play. From the kick off the lads looked a bit nervous and conceded a try to UL Bohs in the first 2 minutes which was converted and things looked ominous for our charges. However we needn’t have worried. Nenagh soon took complete control of the game with the settled back row of Callahan, Comerford and Hogan causing all sorts of trouble for the opposition. Some great carries and hard work by the second rows Michael Cullinane and Hugo Stanley allowed space to play for our excellent back line and 3 quick tries soon put us in command. With the front row led by Moneygall’s finest Enda Maxwell and his 2 partners Liam O'Meara and George Graham putting serious pressure on the UL scrum we won some turnovers and sucked the life out of the UL Bohs forwards, allowing our backs to dominate. With the half back pairing of Christopher Ryan and Robbie Powell tormenting the UL Bohs defence this allowed the Nenagh Eire Óg centre combination of Paraic Sheehy and Fionn Tucker to catch the eye with Fionn Tucker especially making some big plays when they were needed and he scored 2 great tries. Robbie scored 2 intercept tries which is becoming a speciality of his,but the back three of Evan Jones Aidan O'Gorman and Shane O'Donoghue getting through some great work going forward but more importantly going backwards giving the side great solidity at the back. All the subs were used on the day with all to a man contributing brilliantly and catching the eye while on the pitch. We welcome any new players to join the squad. Training is on Wednesday night with a game Sunday to be confirmed and our next league game v Shannon on January 7th
Split the Bucket: Well done to our most recent winner Pamela O Brien. Our Split the Bucket fundraiser continues to hand out a minimum of €500 in prize money each and every week. Enter for as little as €2 per week at nenaghormondrfc.com/products or access the link on any of our social media pages.
Fixtures:
Senior: Nenagh vs Cashel RFC. Saturday @ 2.30pm. (Spafield, Cashel)- Energia AIL
U18.5: Nenagh vs Dungarvan RFC. Sunday @ 1.00pm (Dungarvan)
U16: Nenagh vs Dungarvan RFC. TBC (Dungarvan)
