(A jubilant Nenagh U20.5 side celebrating with the Donal Walsh Plate after victory over UL Bohs in the final last Sunday)

Reflections on a Great Weekend: Sometimes you don’t always get what you feel you might deserve. It’s a feeling encountered by many in the world of sport. If you trawl through recent history you think of the Tipperary team shooting the lights out in the 2016 All Ireland hurling final before conceding late on to draw then ultimately losing a replay to the all conquering Kilkenny team. You think of the Irish soccer team bravely outplaying France for the best part of 90 mins in a World Cup playoff in the Stade de France only for Thierry Henry to quite literally snatch it away with an unseen hand. In rugby you think of the width of Jordie Barrett’s knee keeping Ronán Kelliher from touching down to send Ireland to their first World Cup semi final last October. In Thomond Park almost a year ago to the day we saw Nenagh’s senior team defy all predictions to lead in a Munster Senior Cup Final as the clock ran into the red before a last gasp penalty for Young Munster saw the dream die with the stroke of a boot. But that’s sport!

However sometimes things just come together at the right time. The past weekend was one time in this club that we can say the latter was true. That hard work and commitment from various parties paid off. Teams from the club lined out at pretty much all age groups this past weekend and while we can’t claim an unblemished record it was pretty close, with some notable highlights.

On Saturday the senior team lined out on what should have been a down week, to catch up on their league counterparts by playing the refixed game vs Ballymena RFC which had fallen foul of poor weather earlier this month. With the travelling side fighting hard to move clear of the drop zone and Nenagh not quite in their full stride yet after some stuttering form post Christmas, the likes of Barnhall in 2nd place and Cashel in 3rd may have been hoping for an upset here.

The reality was something different. It is a mark of the character of this side that in the past two weeks when perhaps observers might have sniffed some vulnerability in the Nenagh title challenge, the team have slammed the door shut on their doubters. In one of their most clinical performances in some time, Nenagh embraced the chance to play on a much improved Lisatunny playing surface and piled on the pain for a Ballymena side who were game, but just not up to the level Nenagh brought them to on Saturday. The final score of 52-7 meant Nenagh now have an 11 point gap over the chasing pack at the top of Division 2A and 5 points from the remaining three games will see them wrap up the title and automatic promotion to Division 1B. Heady times indeed but perhaps a tad soon for victory parades just yet.

The U20.5 team however can in fact pop the champagne corks as they rounded off a really creditable first season at Donal Walsh League level by winning the Plate final of the competition on final’s day in Tralee RFC last Sunday afternoon. Senior players Rob Buckley and Kevin O Flaharty along with their fellow coaches and backroom team have done trojan work in getting this team up to speed with the demands of rugby at this level and most importantly in bridging the gap from juvenile to adult rugby, which has been a challenge for the club in recent years. The final was won in style too with a late, late Joe Gleeson try at the corner flag leaving Nenagh in need of a touchline conversion for the win. Evan Fitzpatrick had the unenviable task of carrying the hopes of all involved as he lined up the last kick of a truly enthralling final. Some shrink in these situations, thankfully for his Nenagh comrades, not this guy and he nailed the kick to cue massive celebrations in the Nenagh camp.

Hopefully this will be the spur on for many of these young men to push into contention for senior honours in the coming years. Also, it will encourage the next crop of players exiting U18.5 rugby this year to throw their lot in as the next generation of U 20.5 players and to chase their own success.

The thrills didn’t stop there as our teams at U13, U15 and U18.5 also recorded wins at the weekend while our U16 side put up a great battle in defeat against an impressive Ennis RFC in the Pan Munster Cup semi final.

We finish back where we started. You don’t always get what you deserve, but if you show enough hard work, dedication and perseverance every once in a while maybe you do. Well done to all involved. Keep up the good work and hopefully there are a few big days left in the year yet!

U13: The under 13s headed into Limerick once again on Sunday to play the famous Garryowen. It was the final match of the league series with a win securing top spot and home advantage in the semi finals. Garryowen always produce good teams but in this instance our lads were just too strong and seem to be getting better all the time the more they play. We surged into a big half time lead of 28-0 before a further 2 tries just after the break put us into an unassailable lead. We took the opportunity to make sure everyone played their part with all the squad getting a run. Garryowen to their credit never gave up and and scored some tries of their own towards the end with the score finishing 42-24 to Nenagh. The tries were scored by the excellent Evan Jones,Tiernan Dillon, captain JP Callahan with 2 tries and Jack Comerford one off too. Fionn Tucker capped an excellent all round display with a try of his own and credit to Robbie Powell Jnr who had a 100% success from the kicking tee as he kicked all 6 conversions from a variety of angles in breezy conditions. Well done to all on a great display.

U11: Our Under 11s travelled to Fitzgerald Park in Limerick for a blitz hosted by Thomond RFC. The three Nenagh teams put in a massive shift winning games against Thomond and Old Crescent. After all the recent rain it was great to get a few matches under our belt before we head to tournaments in Naas, Shannon and Seapoint in the coming weeks. Thanks to Thomond RFC for being such great hosts as always.

Split the Bucket: Congratulations to our most recent winner, Jamie Maxwell. 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.

Other Results:

U15: Nenagh 30 - Ennis 0

U16: Nenagh 16 - Ennis 41- Pan Munster Cup Semi Final

U18.5: Nenagh 29- Rugbaí Corca Dhuibhne 19 - Pan Munster Development Cup

Fixtures:

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