(Great teamwork from our girls at the U12 Girls Blitz in Ballina Killaloe last weekend)

Adult Rugby: After a hectic January the adult players of the club had a well earned rest this past weekend but the coming weekend will be a good deal more taxing as resources will be stretched across a good stretch of the island on Saturday afternoon. Our Senior side make the long trek north to Co. Down for an away date with Banbridge RFC in Rifle Park, Banbridge. This has always been a very challenging venue for Nenagh over the course of our AIL journey so nothing will be taken for granted against a home team in urgent need of points to stay away from an increasingly dangerous looking relegation battle. Nenagh meanwhile will want to keep the buffer they have established at the top of the table with Cashel ready to pounce on any slip up to close the gap to the automatic promotion spot and avoid a playoff series come the end of the season.

At the same time our U20.5 side play their next Donal Walsh Trophy game at home to Dolphin RFC and they will be anxious to get points on the board as they hope to find form ahead of what will likely be a place in the playoffs for Plate honours in this competition in the coming weeks. All support for either side would be very much appreciated. Full fixture details in the fixtures section below.

U13: The under 13’s, due to pitch unavailability, had to travel once more to the 4G pitch at the University of Limerick for a home fixture. The management team were very wary of this Bruff team having played them at numerous tournaments over the years. Most recently Bruff had given us one of our toughest games at the Pat Lawlor tournament earlier in the year.

Bruff traditionally produce big, well drilled and well coached teams so we had the boys well prepped for the encounter.

However the team from the off really flexed their muscles. Nenagh started like a train and the game was effectively over as a contest after their first quarter blitz with 3 tries in quick succession, 2 converted putting us into a 19-0 lead. Bruff to their credit came back into it though and scored an unconverted try to make it 19-5 shortly after. This was as close as Bruff got though as a further 2 tries,with one converted pushed us into a 31-5 half time lead. A further try straight after the break ended the competitive contest. We took the opportunity to give all the players on the panel good game time with most playing nearly the entire second half. Our next league game is away to Ballina Killaloe on Feb 25th. This win helped us put one foot firmly in the semi finals and the business end of the season.

U12 Girls: Our U12 girls made the short trip to Killaloe on Sunday to take part in a blitz there. They played in 4 games and performed outstandingly in each. We were delighted especially by some very strong performances from our new girls. They continue to build on their level of performance week by week. Training continues every Wednesday evening from 7 to 8 and new members are always welcome

U11: Our Under 11s welcomed Portumna and Thurles to Nenagh College on Sunday. The weather cleared up nicely for an 11.30 kick off and conditions, while soft under foot, were perfect for the boys to play some free flowing rugby. The lads came up against some very skillful opposition and hats off to Portumna & Thurles for providing what were our toughest games of the season so far.

Juvenile Fundraiser: Our Juvenile Section are holding a fundraising table quiz on Friday February 9th at 8.30pm in the Dapp Inn. Tables are €40 and finger food will be provided on the night. All funds raised will go to the running of the Juvenile section and also towards the upcoming U12 trip to Barcelona. All support would be greatly appreciated.

Split the Bucket: Our Split the Bucket Draw continues to hand out a minimum of €500 in prize money every week. This is our main fundraiser and supports the work of the club at all age levels. Go to nenaghormondrfc.com/products to enter and be in with a chance to win our next weekly jackpot.

Fixtures:

Senior: Nenagh vs Banbridge RFC. Saturday Feb 10th @ 14.30 (Banbridge RFC)- Energia AIL

U20.5: Nenagh vs Dolphin RFC. Saturday Feb 10th @ 14.30 (Lisatunny)- Donal Walsh Trophy

U18.5: Nenagh vs Highfield RFC. Sunday Feb 11th @ 12.30 (UL 4G)

U16: Nenagh vs UL Bohs RFC. Sunday Feb 11th @ 12.00 (Lisatunny)