(Picture shows our U11 squad proudly sporting their new training tops. A big thank you to Tippo International Ltd. and Maginn Machinery Ltd. for their generous sposorship)

Senior Rugby: Pride of place this week goes to our Senior Seconds squad who had a superb win on the road against Muskerry RFC in Round 3 of the Munster Junior Cup. As has been mentioned several times this year this is a very young squad who despite not having won every week they’ve played throughout this season, have been competing strongly and steadily improving with every game. They put in a great showing at home to Ennis RFC in the previous round of this competition and looked to be finding form at just the right time for what is very much the business end of their season.

Muskerry are a solid side in Section A of the Munster Junior League so no doubt they will have expected to take care of business in a home tie at this stage of the competition. Nenagh however were totally undaunted by the challenge at hand and despite possibly not hitting the heights of their performance against Ennis still had more than enough to get the job done here.

A dominant set piece performance was the foundation stone to this win and that coupled with the reliable place kicking of Conor O Brien will be a good recipe for eking out wins as they hopefully progress through this competition. Notable contributions were also provided by Patrick Scully, Darragh Flannery and Joseph Gleeson in the backline while the senior experience of Kevin O Gorman and Ben Armitage up front was another telling factor.

The scorers on the day were Darragh Flannery, Patrick Scully, Ben Armitage and Joe Gleeson with tries while Conor O’Brien kicked three conversions and a penalty. Muskerry had 2 tries, a conversion and penalty in reply for a final score of Nenagh 29- Muskerry 15.

Nenagh progress to the last 16 of the prestigious competition now, where they will welcome Garryowen RFC to Lisatunny on February 26th. Mark that date in your diary as this is a team well worth supporting and more than capable of another big performance.

Nenagh Team: (1-20) Cathal Ryan, Ben Armitage, Niall O Gorman, Michael Doughan, Kevin O Gorman, Joe Coffey, James Meagher, John Brislane, Luke Graham, Conor O Brien, Jack Molamphy, Cian Ryan, Patrick Scully, Darragh Flannery, Joe Gleeson, Seán Frawley, Cian Comerford, Danny White, James Finn, Brian Doughan

Energia AIL: The Senior team return to action this week too as they look to close in on a promotion playoff spot. They face Old Crescent at home in Lisatunny this Saturday at 2.30pm. All support is much appreciated as always.

Under 16: Having received a walkover in their final pool game, NORFC U16s have finished top of their group in the Pan Munster Clubs U16 Cup, securing a place in the top 8 teams in the province and a home quarter final in early March.

With a North Munster League final also coming up in March the lads will be working hard in training in the next few weeks in preparation. Please follow our social media pages for updates of upcoming fixtures.

U14: Nenagh Ormond under 14’s took on Shannon in a challenge match on Sunday last in Tyone. Our team have been hit hard with injuries so we only had the bare 15 players, some players played out of position with some of our backs slotting into second row and back row as a result. All adapted really well to their new positions.

Shannon got off to a good start with a try scored in the first 5 minutes which they did not convert. Nenagh scored a great try through Hugo Healy at out half which was run from midfield. This was converted by Hugo himself. Nenagh later scored a great try from a pick and go from midfield, an excellent score finished by Aaron Walsh and converted again by Hugo Healy. Shannon came back to score a second try which was converted and Nenagh went in at half time 14-12 ahead.

Early in the second half Shannon scored a try which was not converted. Nenagh responded quickly with a magnificent try which was run by Hugo Healy from our 22 to score under the posts. This was converted by Danny Powell. However Shannon kept chipping away and got a try in the last run of play to win 24-21. A very good performance overall and a useful workout for both teams.

We play Ballina/ Killaloe on Sunday next in Nenagh in a league match.

Under 13: Nenagh Ormond under 13s played their final group league match at home on Sunday last. Nenagh kicked off the game and started the game quite well putting Young Munster under pressure. Nenagh regained possession after a handling error from the opposition and took the game to them. Some good carries from Aidan Stead, Sean Ryan, Callum Ryan and Scott Powell brought play into the 22. Cody was moving the ball at pace giving the opposition little time to get their defence set. After multiple phases Cody O Connor fed Oisin Hogan who showed great awareness to beat 2 defenders and dot down for the first score. Nenagh kept the momentum going and James Dwyer carried back the drop off with good intent. The ball was then moved by Kaden Fogarty and Girvan Mooney to the opposite wing to Daniel Boland who made good yards up the line on multiple occasions. The ball was then moved into midfield where Luke Slattery powered up the middle and offloaded to Aidan Ryan who in turn beat the defense out wide to score. Nenagh scored a third try in the second half which was a forward orientated try. Cody was feeding the pack who were carrying at pace, namely David Mulcahy and Anluan White. When on the 5m line Aidan Stead collected the ball and showed good strength to get over the line. Young Munster started to get a bit of momentum coming towards half time and scored a try of their own. All conversions were missed to leave it 15-5 at half time. Nenagh made some positional changes and brought on subs at half time. Again Nenagh started the second half quite well and scored a very good try. The ball was being moved around midfield when James Dwyer fed Donagh Carmody who sprinted for the line and scored in the corner. The next 20 mins turned into a very stop start game with neither team dominating. During that spell there was some great tackling by Kaden Fogarty, Freddie Mitchell, Joe Fahy, Oisin Hogan and Luke Slattery. Nenagh scored the last try of the game and it started in the Nenagh 22. Luke Slattery made a great break from the scrum and offloaded to Robbie O'Brien who made it to halfway. After multiple phases Shane Gleeson brought play into the opposition 22. The ball was moved left where it looked like Nenagh were going to score but the defense held firm. From the resulting lineout the ball was slapped back and Freddie Mitchell collected and made great yards in a very tight space. From the ensuing ruck the ball was passed to Anluan White to cross the white wash and score, leaving the final score 25-5. A good performance overall but lots to work on in training.

U11: The Under 11 boys had a blitz v Bruff RFC in Bruff, Limerick last Sunday. There were great matches and running rugby on show. All players enjoyed putting their training into action. Thanks to Bruff RFC for hosting us. We have another blitz this week away to St Mary’s RFC in Limerick.

U10: Our Under 10s hosted a blitz in Nenagh College on Sunday morning with Young Munster and Scarriff visiting us. With conditions perfect for running rugby the crowd were treated to a wonderful display from all teams. This group of Under 10s continue to make progress every week and with blitzes scheduled over the next couple of weeks there will be plenty of opportunity for them to put into practice what they have been learning in training all season.

Fixtures:

Senior: Nenagh v Old Crescent. Saturday @2.30pm (Lisatunny)

U14: Nenagh vs Killaloe/Ballina. Sunday @12.00pm (Lisatunny)

U12: Blitz vs Garryowen FC. Sunday at 10.00am (Garryowen)

U11: Blitz vs St Mary's RFC. Sunday @10am (St Marys RFC)

U10: Blitz vs Birr RFC. Sunday @10.00am (Lisatunny)

U9: Blitz vs St Senans RFC. Sunday @10.00am (St Senans RFC)