Garryowen FC Note w.e. 18^th February 2007.

A weeks recess from the Six Nations sees the action focus on the AIL front this Saturday and the Munster Junior Cup on Sunday. There should be a large attendance in Dooradoyle on Saturday when high-riding UL Bohs put their title credentials to the test at 2.30. Following our dramatic win over St. Mary’s in the AIB Cup our boys have rediscovered their form and will be anxious to press hard for the play-offs. It promises to be an intriguing match as the AIL gets to the business end of the season. Last year we had a convincing win in Thomond Park but the Annacotty side have been on a roll recently so it’s all to play for. There are still a few remaining places for the pre-match luncheon which commences at 12.30. Please text John Noonan at 087-9308318 or Geraldine Morrissey at 087-2466815 to reserve a seat. On Sunday our 2^nd XV travel to play Clanwilliam in the Munster Junior Cup. The game may bear no resemblance to our recent friendly (won 22-14) at the Tipperary venue and this competition is notorious for throwing up the unexpected. Still, David Hayes is well aware of the requirements for successful cup football and in what should be a close-encounter his team may have that extra bit of class to edge home. The team had a good workout against Naas 1^ST XV in the Billy Reid Memorial Cup last Saturday. The Leinster side proved too strong in the finish although we led 15-14 going into the last quarter. Eoghan Nihill and Pat Humphries were the try scorers and Alan McNamara again added a penalty and conversion. Our 3rdXV will want to put last Saturday’s 16-3 McInerney Cup semi-final defeat to Shannon behind them very quickly. It was a bad day at the office and we never seriously threatened a strong Shannon XV who won in a canter. The U20’s finished up their AIL campaign for the season when losing 22-14 to UL Bohs in Annacotty. It was a tremendously exciting game with the home team getting a flier of a start to race into a 10-0 lead, courtesy of a Myles Riordan penalty and David Moloney try. Our boys battled back bravely and with our pack seizing the initiative, the Robins defence was asked some serious questions. The pressure eventually paid off when Barry McNamara touched down and James Carroll added the conversion. Some poor tackling preceded the concession of a further try to Ed Torrie to leave the score 7-15 at the interval. The game looked beyond us when Kevin Bracken touched down to put the home team closer to bonus point territory. 7-22 and playing towards the incline would normally spell curtain-time for most teams. However it was then that the quality of the team surfaced and our pack dictated matters for the remainder of the game. We missed quite a few chances before Darragh O’Brien made the goal-line and James Carroll’s conversion narrowed the gap to 8 points. John Paul Hartigan was almost clean through from an interception on half way but the ball slipped agonisingly from his grip. Turnovers at key moments relieved the pressure for ULB on more than one occasion but in fairness their teamwork and composure were the deciding factors in the end. With the NML final still down for decision, Gary Quilligan will be keeping our boys focused despite the obvious disappointment of not making the play off stages for the fourth consecutive year. The under 14s had a heart-stopping 19-17 win over a very strong UL Bohemians team to finish top of their group in the NML. The winning score came in the last play of the game. It was a rather fortuitous win insofar as they had to absorb enormous pressure from the opposition who virtually camped themselves in our 22 for most of the game. The ULB scrum half was unfortunate to be the scorer of a hat trick of tries and still come away on the losing team. However despite a limited supply of ball, our superior backline took their chances with well-executed tries by Andrew Fullen and Ben Drew (2). Rory Collins added two conversions. The last 5 minutes of the game were very exciting with both sides scoring 2 tries a piece. Ben Drew scored 2 spectacular tries, running the length of the pitch for his first. The effective difference between the team was a great touchline conversion by out half Collins. Best for the light blues were Darragh O Brien, Sam O Rourke, David Canny, Dom Furnell up front, and Sean Noonan, Paul O Sullivan, John Mc Donnell and Ben Drew in the backs .They now proceed to the semi finals against the runners up in Section A, which has yet to be decided. Our U16’s also got back on the winning trail when they beat a gallant Bruff side 17-7 in the NML at Dooradoyle.