Garryowen FC Notes w.e 15^th April 2007

Our Senior team go in to their final AIL game with an outside chance of qualifying for the top four following their dramatic 12-10 win over Clontarf at Castle Avenue last Saturday. It was a teak tough contest with the outcome in doubt up to the final whistle. We started very lively and some industrious play by our loose forwards yielded two Conor Kilroy penalties, the second a whopping effort from inside his own half. A long range penalty effort by the home out-half Conal Keane looked to be landing short of it’s target but the ball deceived our full back who had the misfortune of guiding the ball into the hands of the chasing ‘Tarf centre Darragh O’Shea for a fortuitous try under the posts. Stunned by this setback we forced our way down field and had regained the lead before the break when Kilroy again found the range from 30m. The second half was a real ding dong contest with an extremely high tackle count being made to avoid concession of precious yards. We stretched our lead to 12-7 with another penalty but from then on had to defend heroically to keep our line intact. Conal Keane reduced the margin with a penalty and O’Shea was inches from the line when felled by a crunching Ciaran O’Boyle tackle. It was a match winning tackle and the large travelling support from Dooradoyle were relieved we were awarded a penalty for not releasing. Our defence was excellent in those palpitating last few minutes and the valuable four points effectively means Shannon or ourselves will qualify on the last day. In the interim we will be attempting to win our second senior trophy of the season when we play Belfast Harlequins in the final of the AIB Cup in Dubarry Park on Saturday. Note the kick off is at 4.00. Supporters buses have been organised and we would urge all our supporters to travel to ensure we bring the cup back to Limerick. Congratulations to our Junior team who were crowned Munster Junior Cup Champions after they beat UL Bohs 9-7 in the final at Tom Clifford Park last Sunday. It was our first double since 1993 when we also added the Munster Senior Cup. It was a tough honest game with both sides having their periods of supremacy. An early injury to Dave Sherry might have upset the balance of the back-row but Frank McKenna was an able deputy with some good drives in open play. With Captain Eoghan Nihill leading by example, the well drilled Bohs pack was never allowed to dominate sufficiently to bring their three quarters into play. The Robins were first to score when Ian Costelloe landed a penalty in the 19m. Clear-cut opportunities were scarce enough but we threatened on a couple of occasions notably when Jamie Carroll made a telling break and chipped ahead only for the ball to find touch. The second half started at a cracking pace and we withstood quite a bit of pressure before Willie Staunton equalised in the 51^st minute. We took the lead seven minutes later when Willie kicked a majestic effort from inside his own half. Bohs fought back and following a missed dropped goal the referee called play back and Ian Costelloe restored parity. Our opponents may have rued their decision to kick to touch when a wide-angle penalty chance beckoned inside our 22 in the 75m. We somehow managed to stem the drive off the lineout and when the ball eventually went wide, our hard tacking midfield forced the error. This seemed to give the team confidence and our backs began to move the ball. A number of runs brought play deep into their half. An infringement at a maul in the 79m gave Willie Staunton an opportunity to win the game and he kept his cool once again to slot the decisive score. In fairness the Annacotty side never gave up and a fine tackle by JP Hartigan on Michael Skelton saved the day in the last play of the game. Well done to Damien Fahey, David Hayes and Joe Hassett for their fantastic efforts in preparing the team for this competition. Some of the younger players excelled on the day, notably Neville Melbourne, Declan Lavery, Niall O’Driscoll and John Barry. Dave Heaton was rock solid in midfield with Jamie Carroll, while Cillian O’Boyle and Alan McNamara alternated well throughout. The Staunton family were delighted as the lion-hearted John who packed down on the loose-head side accompanied his brother Willie up to collect their winner’s medals. The incomparable Pat Humphreys was excellent in finding Donald Sheehan and Dave Keane in the lineout. Thankfully the injury incurred by the latter is not as serious as we feared and we send our best wishes to Dave for a speedy recovery. The Under 18’s played their 1^st of 2 games on the Easter weekend against York R.F.C. They got off to a great start with Dan Griffin powering his way over for a try converted by Dave Harrington. The boys seemed to relax for a while and allowed the outstanding York 2^nd row crash over for 2 unconverted tries. In the second half we played some very exciting rugby with Diarmuid McCarthy getting a great individual try. He chipped over the top on the half way line, caught the ball and raced home for Evan Healy to add the points. Next a break out of defence saw the ball move through a number of hands and Barry Sheehan was in support to touch down under the posts. The York defence was prised open again for Mike Hackett to score in the corner and Barry Sheehan rounded off a great performance with his second try. Evan Healy converted two of the efforts to leave the score 33-10. York made a brave fight back and scored three unconverted tries but we held on to win 33-25. A great performance all round with Ross Murphy, Darren Molar, Gar Clarke and Dave Rowley others to catch the eye. On Saturday the team led by Paddy Spillane travelled to Naas to play the current All Ireland Champions. A slow start saw us fall 3-0 in arrears but Brian Morrissey equalised with a penalty. Ross Murphy forced the turnover that led to speedster Barry Sheehan racing over for the first try converted by Brian Morrissey. Then the heroic Darren Molar broke from his own line up to half way when it was spread to Mike O’Shea. He ducked and dodged his way through the Naas defenders before using the space to run over for the second try. Just before half time (15-3) scrum half Mark Rowley got injured and was replaced by Billy Glynn. After the break Naas really began to show why they were All Ireland Champions as they tested our boys with a convincing maul. They scored three tries but the missed conversions left the door open at 15-18.In the dying moments we pushed Naas back and forced a penalty at a scrum in their 22. The resulting lineout was won and our forwards rumbled to the line. In this the last play of the game, the ball was spread wide, Mike O’Shea made space and offloaded to Gar Clarke who ran in at the corner for a 20-18 win. It was a great Garryowen display and the players did themselves justice most notably Tadgh Casey, Jamie Keogh and Shane and Alex Kennedy. The U13’s beat Shannon 20-0 in the semi final of the NM Cup at Dooradoyle on Tuesday evening. Full report can be viewed on our website www.garryowenrugby.com. Supporters are reminded that our Annual Greyhound night in aid of our Youth Development Fund will take place on Monday night 16^th April at 8.00 in the Markets Field. Please return all “buster” tickets to the organising committee prior to that date. The club is very pleased with the positive response following the Against the Head programme which was relayed from Dooradoyle on Monday last.