SENIOR Rugby

Creggs Development Team gain bonus point League win

Connacht J1C League.

Creggs  33,   Portumna RFC  26.

 

Creggs Development team defeated Portumna in a highly entertaining game at The Green on Sunday. In the process they go to the top of the league table. 

Both teams were committed to a running game resulting in eight tries with the outcome in doubt until Damien Nolan’s late try gave Creggs a notable victory.

CONNACHT J1C LEAGUE TABLE

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	BP	Ded	Pts
1	Creggs	2	2	0	0	59	51	8	1	0	9
2	Oughterard	2	1	0	1	57	38	19	3	0	7
3	Portumna	3	1	0	2	57	80	-23	2	0	6
4	Ballina	2	1	0	1	61	47	14	1	0	5
5	Ballyhaunis	2	1	0	1	47	36	11	1	0	5
6	OLBC	3	1	0	2	51	78	-27	1	0	5
7	Corinthians	2	1	0	1	59	61	-2	1	-1	4

 Michael Farrell opened the scoring with a fine try in the 18th minute following a weaving run and he added the conversion to put Creggs ahead by 7 -0.

 The impressive Farrell followed this with a penalty goal from 40 metres before placing a superb kick for fullback Ja Hughes to touch down for another try which he converted.

 Portumna hit back with a try by No.8 Kevin Hayes.Farrell kicked another penalty for the home team but then Portumna’s enterprising fullback Kevin Callanan cut through for a try to which Jack Canning, of the famous hurling dynasty, added the conversion.

 A Farrell penalty put Creggs in front by 23 -12 but Portumna responded with a try by prop Niall Quinn .  

 Another superbly executed try by Ja Hughes was followed by a try by Portumna winger Aaron Connolly in the right corner with Canning landing the conversion from the touchline to reduce the deficit to just two points with ten minutes remaining.

 Then five minutes from time, in a sweeping attack Michael Holland, who impressed with his running all day, carved an opening before off-loading to Damien Nolan who crashed over for the decisive final score. 

 Creggs deserved their victory based on some excellent interplay between forwards and backs but Portumna also performed well gaining two losing bonus points from their journey to The Green.

Next League Game away v OLBC on Saturday 

Creggs face another difficult assignment away to OLBC, next Saturday in Galway. However, back to back victories over Oughterard and Portumna leave the squad well positioned for the challenges ahead.

Creggs Rugby: Ja Hughes, Jamie Ryan, Michael Holland, Mike Fleming, Ronan Cahill, Michael Farrell, David Hoare, Tommy Curley, Enda Tully, Eoghan Cahill, Alan Glennon, Damien Nolan, Michael Feeley, Sean Higgins, Kevin Rushe, Matthew Curley, Oisin McConn, Paul McNeill, Enda Garvey and Mattie Corcoran.

FIRST Team away V Connemara RFC next Sunday afternoon

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

 TRAINING continues on every Tuesday (8pm) and Friday (8.15pm) for all senior players. 

Membership now due. New and returning players always welcome. 

YOUTH Rugby 

Very good away League win for Creggs Under-18’s

Connacht Under-18 League Division 1.

Westport RFC  5,   Creggs RFC  33.

In almost perfect condition Creggs Under-18s maintained their impressive start to the season, extending their unbeaten run to top Division 1B in Westport last Sunday. 

 With scrum half Aodha Hession called into the Ireland Under-18 squad to play in Italy later this month, and Connacht Under-19’s fly half Tim Lambe returning, Creggs at full strength will be a team to be reckoned with at the business end of the season.

 Starting strongly Creggs scored first when Tom Farrell powered over from short range to give the visitors a 5 point lead. Two minutes later the lead was 12, this time Farrell the provider off- loading from close range to Tim Lambe to touch down and Mark Purcell added the extra two points. 

 Some strong defending from Westport kept the visitors out without troubling the scorers again in the first half, so 12-0 to the Creggs at the break.

 Westport started strongly in the second half knowing they needed to score, but for some last ditch excellent defending from Creggs this would have been the case. 

 Then somewhat against the run of play a brilliant piece of individual skill chasing down his own kick by Tim Lambe saw him in for his second try and Creggs were almost out of sight. 

 The impressive and very powerful Conor Rohan scored two almost identical tries in quick succession bursting through from distance, both converted by Mark Purcell who struck the ball beautifully all day. 

 In Injury time Westport crossed the whitewash for a consolation try leaving the final score 33-5 to the visitors who now top the division with four wins from four.

 The most welcome part of the day saw the return off the bench of Jack Keegan after a long layoff through injury. A full fit Keegan in January will be the best Christmas present for this super group of young men.

CONNACHT UNDER-18.5 DIVISION 1B LEAGUE TABLE

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	Ded	Pts
1	Creggs	4	4	0	0	112	38	74	0	16
2	Corrib	3	2	0	1	85	53	32	0	8
3	NUIG	3	1	1	1	65	74	-9	0	6
4	Oughterard	3	1	0	2	47	67	-20	0	4
5	Westport	2	0	1	1	38	66	-28	0	2
6	Monivea	3	0	0	3	49	98	-49	0	0

 Training continues in Creggs on Friday evenings at 7pm for Under-18.5’s and Under-17’s. 

Creggs Rugby: Tom Farrell, Eric O Doherty, Aodha Hession, Mark Purcell, Lorcan Maher, Ethan Glennon, Ciaran Corcoran, Conor Rohan , John Martin, Martin Quinn Thomas O Brien, Ronan Lambe, Jack Tucker, Tim Lambe(Capt.) Amaury Duarte, Jack Keegan, Conor Murphy, Tiernan O Sullivan, and Rory Callaghan.

Creggs Under-16’s defeat Buccaneers in local derby

Connacht Under-16 League

Creggs Rugby  21,   Buccaneers RFC  17.

Creggs Under-16’s had a good and hard fought victory over neighbours Buccaneers in Athlone last Sunday.

 Creggs opened the scoring when Edimar Filhmo intercepted a loose pass on his own ten metre line. He showed great evasive skills sprinting to the line for the opening score. Matthew Ryan converted.

Great counter rucking from the Buccs pack caused Creggs plenty of trouble but Sean O’Rourke, Jordan Kennedy, Michael Hoey and Ruairi O’Brien worked tirelessly to create good ball for the Creggs backline. 

 They used this to good effect on the 20th minute when David Gacquin crossed in the corner following a flowing passing move involving Mark Dowd, Darren Gately, Ciaran Purcell and Mark Kilcommons. Matthew Ryan converted.

 On the stroke of halftime Buccaneers scored a fine try leaving it 14 – 7 at the break.

The second half was a tough tense affair. Anthony Gorman, James Murray, Shane Connaughton, Luke Gregory, Frankie Quinn and Aodhan Kelly led the Creggs charge while MC Donnell and Fallon were to the fore for Buccanneers. 

 Evan Smith and Ruairi Tiernan provided back up for Creggs. David Gacquin scored a second for Creggs which Matthew Ryan again converted but Buccaneers responded with one of their own. 

 Remarkable Creggs defence in a close tense final ten minutes insured the visitors came away with the spoils in this keenly contested local derby.

Creggs Rugby: Mark Kilcommons, Ciaran Purcell, David Gacquin, Edimar Filhmo, Matthew Ryan, Darren Gately, Mark Dowd, Anthony Gorman, Michael Hoey, Ruairi O’Brien, Jordan Kennedy, Aodhan Kelly, Sean O’Rourke, Frankie Quinn, Shane Connaughton, Luke Gregory, James Murray, Ruairi Tiernan, Evan Smith,

Creggs Under-14 team growing in confidence

Connacht Under-14 League

Oughterard 29,  Creggs RFC 14.

The Creggs Under-14 team travelled to Oughterard last Saturday to play a Connacht League game.

The game started off with Oughterard scoring from the kick off and it took Creggs time to settle into the game. They were under pressure in the first half as Oughterard were very physical with Sean Walsh scoring two tries for Oughterard in the early exchanges. Creggs improved as the game proceeded but they reached half time with a deficit of 21 – Nil.

 The second half saw a complete turnaround as Creggs came roaring into the game in very wet conditions. The forwards were completely dominant and got a try after great pressure from the pack with Shane Maloney touching down after 12 minutes and Andy Quinn converted.

 Creggs had most of the possession in the second half and after sustained pressure Aindriu Oates crashed over for a great try which Andy Quinn converted from the touch line. 

 It was a fantastic result by the entire Creggs team as they were short of some key players but showed great fight and determination against a strong Oughterard. The final score was 29-14 to Oughterard.

 Training continues next Tuesday at 7pm.

Creggs Rugby: Aindriu Oates (Capt.), Thomas King, Adam Flynn, Brian Keagan, Tommy Morris, Sean Kelly, Shane Mahony, Ben Donnellan, Andy Quinn, Kilan O’Brien, James Davis, Jack Donnelly, Nathan Halligan, and Daniel Browne.

Creggs Under-13’s had narrow win over Westport

Connacht Under-13 League

Creggs Rugby  28,   Westport RFC  27.

Creggs played Westport in a very competitive season opening match in Creggs on Saturday in damp conditions. Creggs scored first with a converted try from John McGuinness. 

 Westport responded with three tries before the half time whistle, leaving Creggs trailing at at the break by a scoreline of 15 – 7.

 Creggs showed great heart after the break with Captain Sean Allen, Oisin Mullen, Jarlath Quinn and Josh Reddington leading the way in the forwards. They were rewarded with an excellent try from Josh Mc Cormack, converted by John McGuinness. 

 Two further converted tries from Mc Guinness saw Creggs opening up a 28-15 lead midway through the second half. 

 Westport battled back scoring a converted try under the posts. Creggs showed great spirit at this stage with Harry O’Sullivan, James Molloy, John Quinn, Jamie Betts and Lochlann Mulry all working very hard. 

 Westport’s pressure eventually saw them scoring a last minute try in the corner but the difficult conversion attempt was missed leaving the narrowest of margins at the end. 

 A great team performance from all the lads saw a well deserved victory on their first outing.

Creggs Rugby: Jarlath Quinn, Shane Ward, John Quinn, Josh Reddington, Oisin Mullen, Josh McCormack, Connor Morris, Sean Allen, Harry O’Sullivan, John Mc Guinness, Cian Escosio, Lochlann Mulry, Jamie Betts, James Molloy, Luke Dolan, and Cathal Maloney.

YOUTH Rugby – GIRLS

Connacht Girls Under-14 League

 

Sligo RFC  17,   Creggs RFC  52.

Creggs Under-14 Girls travelled to Sligo RFC last Saturday for a game and came away with a win. 

 On a very wet afternoon the Girls did very well and Creggs scores on the day came from tries from Jennifer Morris, Rachel McDonald, Sarah Purcell, and Gabrielle Kilcommons and some excellent conversions from Eabha Dowd.

 Creggs Under-14 Girls train every Monday evening at 7pm. New players always welcome.

YOUTH Team’s (Boys) Fixtures

The Creggs Under-13 team will play Sligo RFC in the Connacht  Under-13 League next Saturday in Creggs at 12 Noon.

The Creggs Under-15 team will play Corinthians RFC in Galway next Saturday at 2.30pm in the Connacht Under-15 League.

The Creggs Under-17’s team will also play away in Galway against Galwegians RFC next Sunday at 12 Noon in the Connacht Under-17 League.

YOUTH Team’s (Boys) TRAINING 

All Training in Creggs for:

 Creggs Under-13’s and 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. 

Creggs MINI Rugby

Next weekend, Creggs Minis will travel to play in a Blitz in Sligo RFC at all ages from Under-6’s up to Under-12’s. 

 Players to please be in Sligo RFC at 9.45am. Sligo RFC Pitch is in Strandhill.