SENIOR Rugby

Creggs Firsts win massive battle in Castlebar

Connacht Junior 1 League

Castlebar RFC   0,     Creggs RFC   6.

Two Mark Brandon penalties separated the sides after a gruelling battle in which the defences dominated throughout. From the opening exchanges it was clear the scoring chances would be at a premium and the try lines were rarely threatened as the game played out mainly between the 22s. 

CONNACHT J1A  LEAGUE TABLE

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	BP	Ded	Pts
1	Creggs	2	2	0	0	31	12	19	0	0	8
2	Monivea	2	2	0	0	28	21	7	0	0	8
3	Westport	3	2	0	1	46	50	-4	0	0	8
4	Buccaneers	3	1	0	2	63	65	-2	3	0	7
5	Galwegians	3	2	0	1	68	95	-27	1	-2	7
6	Connemara	2	1	0	1	52	27	25	2	0	6
7	Castlebar	2	0	0	2	27	34	-7	5	0	5
8	Sligo	3	0	0	3	39	50	-11	3	0	3

Creggs First Team lead Connacht’s top Junior League on score difference after two wins from two games.

The season has started very well after promotion last season and more players will be returning to the squad over the next 2-3 weeks.

Creggs dominated the opening quarter but their dominance was marginal and switched back to the home side as the first half progressed. Castlebar had impressive strike runners in Mark Staunton and Sam Hastings but whilst they almost always made ground they ultimately failed to crack a Creggs defence which held fast despite some failures to nullify the initial threat. 

Creggs countered well, full back Ronan Dowd and scrum-half Chris Duignan made searing runs through the opposition with Brian Diffley on his senior Creggs debut and Kevin Brandon making the hard yards upfront. 

 Creggs finally got on the score sheet with a Mark Brandon penalty on the stroke of half time following a sustained onslaught on the Castlebar line and in conceding the penalty the home side also lost wing forward Kevin O’Sullivan to the sin bin.

On the resumption Creggs failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage and in fact Castlebar took the initiative from the kick-off with Creggs absorbing wave after wave of attack which through a combination of good defence and the attackers concession of penalties came to nought. 

 A second Brandon penalty midway through the half stretched the Creggs lead but the last frantic minutes showed just how perilous a lead it was as Castlebar pounded the Creggs line but failed to find a way through and they conceded the final scrum penalty with the game in injury time to secure Creggs a hard earned victory which leaves them two from two with Galwegians next up at The Green on Sunday.

As well as those already mentioned Brian Coady, Eoghan Farrell and Maurice Buckley stood out in the pack and Michael Feeley impressed in everything he did on the right wing.

Creggs Rugby: Ronan Dowd, Michael Feeley, Tom Callaghan, James Brandon, Kevin Gavin, Mark Brandon, Chris Duignan, Eoghan Farrell, Maurice Buckley, Brian Coady, Brian Donoghue, Thomas Oates, Edward Clinton, Brian Diffley, Kevin Brandon (captain), Sean O’Higgins, Matty Brandon, Ja Hughes, Ronan Cahill, Luke Meehan.

FIRST Team home V Galwegians RFC next Sunday afternoon

Next Sunday at 2.30pm, Creggs First Team play Galwegians RFC in the next round of the Connacht J1 League. 

 TRAINING continues on every Tuesday (8pm) and Friday (8.15pm). Membership now due.

New and returning players always welcome. 

DEVELOPMENT Team away V Corinthians RFC next Saturday evening

Creggs Senior Development Team return to Connacht League Action on next Saturday evening at 7.30pm in Creggs. The team play Portumna RFC. 

CONNACHT J1C LEAGUE TABLE

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	BP	Ded	Pts1
1 2	Creggs Oughterard	2 2	2 1	0 0	0 1	26 57	25 38	1 19	0 3	0 0	8 7
3	Corinthians	2	1	0	1	47	12	35	1	0	5
4	Ballyhaunis	2	1	0	1	47	36	11	1	0	5
5	OLBC	3	1	0	2	51	78	-27	1	0	5
6	Portumna	2	1	0	1	31	47	-16	0	0	4
7	Ballina	1	0	0	1	12	35	-23	0	0	0

Creggs Development Team lead Connacht’s Junior 1C League after two games. The season has started well after gaining promotion from J2 last season and more players will be returning to the squad over the next 2-3 weeks.

 Creggs Development team received a very late walkover from Corinthians RFC in Round 3 last Sunday. And having travelled to Galway, the team had a training session there instead.

 TRAINING continues on every Tuesday (8pm) and Friday (8.15pm). Membership now due.

 New players (including if new to rugby) and returning players always welcome.

YOUTH Rugby – BOYS

Creggs Under-18’s top the table with 3 wins from 3

Connacht Under-18.5 League

Creggs RFC 36   Corrib RFC 12

Creggs U18.5’s continued their impressive start to the U18.5 league with a 36-12 victory over Corrib RFC on Friday night in Creggs. Corrib were a very well drilled and big team but Creggs were impressive on the night, going through multiple phases up front before moving it through their backs for some impressive scores.

CONNACHT UNDER-18.5 DIVISION 1B LEAGUE TABLE 

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	Ded	Pts
1	Creggs	3	3	0	0	79	33	46	0	12
2	Corrib	3	2	0	1	85	53	32	0	8
3	NUIG	3	1	1	1	65	74	-9	0	6
4	Westport	1	0	1	0	33	33	0	0	2
5	Monivea	2	0	0	2	34	65	-31	0	0
6	Oughterard	2	0	0	2	14	52	-38	0	0

Creggs Under-18.5 Team has had a great start to the season with three wins in the Connacht League from three games.

Creggs had a 12-7 half time lead after tries from Tim Lambe and Conor Rohan and a conversion from Mark Purcell in the opening half. 

In the second half Creggs took control in the pack and the front row of Thomas O Brien, Ethan Glennon, and Jack Tucker were prominent in the loose and in set piece while Tom Farrell, Jack Hanley, John McDonnell and Ciaran Corcoran got through a lot of work in both defence and attack, out the back Aodha Hession was a great link between forwards and Backs.

Creggs Rugby Under-18’s Team.

Creggs Had further tries in the second half from Mairtin Qunn (2), Tim Lambe and Lorcan Maher and a further two conversions from Mark Purcell completed the scoring for Creggs before Corrib got the final say with a try to leave the final scoreline Creggs RFC 36  Corrib RFC 12  and leave Creggs top of the league table after 3 games.

Creggs Rugby: Thomas O Brien, Ethan Glennon, Jack Tucker, Tom Farrell, Ciaran Corcoran, Eric O Doherty, Diarmuid Quinn, Micheal Beirne, John McDonnell, Conor Rohan, Jack Hanley, Aodha Hession, Tim Lambe, Mark Purcell, Mairtin Quinn, Amuray Duarte, Lorcan Maher, and Ryan O Keefe.

Great win for Creggs Under-15 team v Westport RFC

Connacht Under-15 A League

Creggs RFC  36,    Westport RFC   7. 

Creggs U15’s kept up their unbeaten start to the start to the U15 league with a 36-7 victory over Westport RFC on Saturday in Creggs. 

CONNACHT UNDER-15 DIVISION 1 LEAGUE TABLE

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	BP M	Ded	Pts
1	Corinthians	3	3	0	0	60	20	40	0	0	12
2	Creggs	2	2	0	0	65	24	41	0	0	8
3	Galwegians	3	2	0	1	61	34	27	0	0	8
4	Westport	3	1	1	1	56	80	-24	0	0	6
5	Ballina	2	1	0	1	51	41	10	0	0	4
6	Sligo	3	1	0	2	47	42	5	0	0	4
7	Ballinasloe	2	0	1	1	27	58	-31	0	0	2
8	Buccaneers	1	0	0	1	17	29	-12	0	0	0
9	Oughterard	3	0	0	3	39	95	-56	0	0	0

Creggs Under-15 Team has had a great start to the season with two wins in the Connacht League from two games. The team is in second place in the League with a game in hand over leaders Corinthians.

The first half of the game was very even with Westport causing issues for Creggs at the breakdown and Creggs were finding it difficult to get clean ball, but upfront Cormac Feeley, Patrick Keane, Eoin Kelly and Aidan Hoare were doing well. and Creggs got scores through Josh Verling and Tomas Tiernan  with Cormac Dolan coverting one to give Creggs a 12-0 half time lead.

Westport got back into the game at the start of the second half with a  try after 5 minutes to reduce the deficit to 12-7 but Creggs were now doing better at the breakdown with Aindriu Oates, Ben Johnson and Lee Kilcoyne to the fore while out the backs Senan Lambe, Noah Fallon, Jack Fleming and Oisin O Beirne were doing very well in attack. 

Creggs got an important try to settle themselves after 12 minutes when Ciaran Purcell scored an opportunist try from an interception from a lineout near the line and again through an interception try for Edimar Fimho after 17 minutes and further tries followed from Eoin Kelly and DJ Hession and 2 conversions from Cormac Dolan completed the scoring.

Creggs Rugby: Lee Kilcoyne, Patrick Keane, Cormac Feeley, Aidan Hoare, Ben Johnson, Ciaran Purcell, Eoin Kelly, Tomas Tiernan, Cormac Dolan, DJ Hession, Edimar Fimho, Senan Lambe, Josh Verling, Noah Fallon, Jack Fleming, Oisin O Beirne, Aindriu Oates

YOUTH Team’s (Boys) Fixtures

Creggs Under-14 team will play Claremorris RFC in the Connacht  Under-14A League next Wednesday in Creggs at 7.30pm

Creggs Under-16 team will play Buccaneers RFC in Athlone next Sunday at 12pm in the Connacht Under-16A League.

Creggs Under-18.5 team will play away to Westport RFC next Sunday at 12 Noon in the Connacht Under-18.5 League.

YOUTH Team’s (Boys) TRAINING 

All Training in Creggs for:

 Creggs Under-13’s, on Tuesday night at 7pm. 

 Creggs Under-14’s on  Tuesday night at 7pm.    

 Creggs Under-15’s train Thursday evening at 6.30pm. 

 Creggs Under-16’s on Tuesday night at 7pm.

 Creggs Under-17’s and Under-18.5’s train Friday night at 7pm. 

  Players new to rugby and returning players always welcome at all age groups. 

YOUTH Team Registration/Membership continues at training 

Registration/Membership due for all Youth Teams will continue at training this and next week. 

YOUTH Rugby – GIRLS

Creggs Under-14 Girls off to winning start

Connacht Girls Under-14 League :

Creggs RFC  31,   Claremorris RFC   27.

Creggs Under-14 Girls played their first League game under lights in Creggs last Thursday night. A large Crowd turned up to watch the girls in their first ever game and were rewarded with a highly entertaining and high scoring end-to-end game of rugby.

Creggs Rugby Under-14 Girls Team.

Claremorris took an early lead in this game but it was Creggs who got 3 first half tries through Siofra Hession and then two tries from Sarah Purcell to have a 17-5 half time lead. 

 

Upfront Gabriela Kilcommons, Rachel McDonald, Jemina Verling  and Julie Ann Fahy were doing very well, while out the backs Michaela Gillooly, Emma Mannion, Eabha Dowd and Beibhinn Maher were prominent early on.

Claremorris scored first in the second half to reduce the deficit to 17-12 but Creggs struck back with a very well worked score  after great work up front from Roisin Maher, Fiona Duffy and Jean O Boyle and Creggs moved the ball out the backs for Jennifer Morris to touch down in the corner which Hession converted, to stretch the lead back to 24-12. 

Claremorris then had a period of dominance and looked to have taken control of the game with 3 tries in quick succession which they crucially failed to convert to take a 27 to 24 lead with 10 minutes left.

The Creggs girls regained the initiative and after very good ball carrying from Gabriela Kilcommons and Sarah Purcell Creggs got into the Claremorris 22 and after good work from Emily Murray and Aoibhinn Murray, Eabha Dowd got over in the corner for the winning score which Siofra Hession once again converted for a 31-27 win. 

The girls are due to have their second game away to Sligo RFC in the Connacht Under-14 League at 12 Noon next Saturday.

Creggs Rugby: Emily Murray, Beibhinn Maher, Rachel McDonald, Jennifer Morris, Emma Mannion, Siofra Hession, Jemina Verling, Gabriela Kilcommons, Fiona Duffy, Michaela Gillooly, Julie Ann Fahy, Roisin Maher, Eabha Dowd, Sarah Purcell, Jean O Boyle, Aoibhinn Murray and Aishling Nally.

Girls Under-14’s TRAINING every Monday at 7pm in Creggs. New Players always welcome – no previous experience necessary. Great fun!

COMING SOON – “Give it a Try Day”

The club will run a “Give It A Try Day” for girls of all age-groups in Creggs in a few weeks time. All girls interested can contact Dave Purcell on 089 7000547 or Micheal Glennon through the teachers/ coaches in the schools. 

Creggs MINI Rugby

Mini Rugby Blitz in Carrick-On-Shannon this Saturday

All other Creggs MINI Rugby teams (Under-6s; Under-7s; Under-8s; Under-9’s; Under-10’s, Under-11’s; and Under-12’s) are travelling to Carrick-On-Shannon for a Blitzs this Saturday (13th October). All players please be there at 10.30am for a great day. 

Registration for all Minis Teams continues. We welcome new players for all Boys and Girls age groups. Come along and enjoy the fun as you learn the basicsof the game.

Parents interested in starting coaching

Thank you to all our existing coaches and to the new volunteers joining the Mini Rugby Coaching Team. Parents interested in starting coaching boys or girls teams are always welcome – please contact Dave Purcell; Aengus Oates, Shane Fleming, Graham Curran or any Mini Coach or committee member. Remember, no previous rugby coaching experience is necessary to start.

Creggs Rugby LOTTO

There was no winner of the Creggs Rugby LOTTO this week. The numbers drawn were: 7, 8, 11, & 16. Eileen Sweeney was the Lucky Dip Winner. The Jackpot now rises to €3,600 next week. 

 The Creggs LOTTO can be played on-line at www.CreggsRugby.ie  Thank you for your continued support for the development of training and playing facilities in the club.