SENIOR RUGBY 

Creggs go top of the League with bonus point win 

Connacht Junior 1 League

Corinthians RFC  10,   Creggs RFC  29.  

Following this bonus point win over Corinthians in Galway on Saturday night Creggs top the league at the pivotal half way point. An unexpected blip the previous weekend had reduced Corinthians lead over Creggs to just 2 points and this result leaves Creggs three points clear with the teams meeting again in Creggs this Saturday night.

Pos	Team	Played	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	BP	Ded	Pts
1	Creggs	7	5	1	1	148	82	66	4	0	26
2	Corinthians	7	5	0	2	167	110	57	3	0	23
3	Castlebar	7	4	1	2	154	101	53	4	0	22
4	NUIG	7	4	1	2	168	137	31	3	0	21
5	Tuam	6	2	1	3	116	102	14	6	0	16
6	Ballinrobe	7	3	0	4	132	157	-25	3	0	15
7	Dunmore	7	1	0	6	119	184	-65	3	-1	6
8	Corrib	6	1	0	5	45	176	-131	0	0	4

From the kick-off Creggs looked like they meant business, the pack determined to control all matters from the off and after 10 minutes the first chance fell to Creggs but Mark Brandon was just slightly off target with a penalty attempt.

The out-half made amends just a minute later when he landed from a more difficult position to give his side a 3 – nil lead. The forward exchanges evened out and the home side always looked dangerous on the break and a penalty on 32 minutes levelled the scoring and left the game evenly poised at half time.

5 minutes into the second half Creggs scored their first try finished by Alan Brandon following concerted forward pressure. Mark Brandon added the conversion.

Shortly afterwards scrum-half Andrew Callaghan sniped through the home defence to touch down following a series of forward drives, again converted by Mark Brandon. Corinthians were now 17-3 behind and an attempted counter attack resulted in an amazing try from Creggs no. 8 Kevin Brandon who executed the perfect jackal and sprinted clear from just inside the opposition half.

The game was now over as a contest, only question was if Creggs could secure the bonus, they duly did so when right-wing Luke Meehan crossed following a great break by second row Tom Fleming, Mark Brandon converting. 

A rather soft try from Corinthians at the finish was very much a consolation score but the teams go head to head again in Creggs on this Saturday night and Corinthians will be anxious to avenge this defeat to prevent Creggs putting distance between themselves and the chasing pack. That includes Castlebar, NUIG and Tuam and with Creggs down to meet both Castlebar and Tuam this side of Christmas we are now clearly at the business end of the season.

Creggs : K Gavin, L Meehan, E Jennings, T Callaghan, A Duignan, M Brandon, A Callaghan, M Blighe, S O Higgins, A Leech, B Donoghue, T Fleming, J Brandon, A Brandon, K Brandon, E Farrell, E Coyle, P Lohan, M Farrell, D Nolan.   

Creggs Rugby:  Kevin Gavin, Luke Meehan, Elliot Jennings, Tom Callaghan, Chris Duignan, Mark Brandon, Andrew Callaghan, Mike Blighe, Sean Og Higgins, Aidan Leech, Tom Fleming, Brian Donoghue, James Brandon, Alan Brandon, Kevin Brandon, Eoghan Farrell,  Peter Lohan, Eoghan Coyle, Michael Farrell, and Damian Nolan.

Senior Rugby Fixtures

Creggs First Team play Corinthians RFC again this weekend in the Connacht J1 League. This week the game will in Creggs on Saturday evening at 7.30pm. 

Creggs Seconds XV play Sligo RFC in the Connacht J1 League in Creggs this Sunday.

Training for all senior teams (First, Seconds, Under-20’s & Under-18.5’s) continues on Friday evening. 

YOUTH RUGBY 

Understrength 18’s just lose out to Ballina 

Connacht Under-18.5 A League 

Creggs Rugby  17,  Ballina RFC  22.

A understrength Creggs lost their unbeaten record to Ballina RFC in a tight encounter on Sunday afternoon in the Under-18.5 A Connacht League. 

 Ballina playing with the wind took the lead after 5 minutes with a converted try but it was Creggs who were playing the better rugby and up front Brian Maloney, Danny Arnold, Adam Finnerty and Killian Higgins were making good ground and out wide Shane Purcell, Eoghan Coyle and Mairtin Quinn were breaking the tackles to create space. 

 It was a break from Shane Purcell, Which was carried on by Finnerty that led to Creggs opening score when Tim Lambe fed Aaron Glennon who offloaded well to Mark Purcell to score in the corner. Aodha Hession scored the second try from close range which was converted by Shane Purcell to give Creggs a 12-7 half time lead.

 Creggs turned around with the wind dying down and they had the better of the early pressure but frustratingly were continually penalised at the breakdown to allow Ballina to kick their way back up the pitch and secure territory. Creggs failed to moved the ball out through the backs in the same way as they had done so well for much of the first half.

 In fairness to Ballina the tight forwards game suited them and they took their scores well to eventually lead 22-12 before Mark Purcell went over for his second try to reduce the deficit to 22-17 with time up. 

 Creggs will play Galwegians next week in the Under-18.5 Connacht League. Training continues Friday at 8pm. New players always welcome.

Great Under-15’s away win in Tuam

Connacht Under-18.5 A League 

Tuam RFC  20,   Creggs Rugby  29.

On a miserable evening in Creggs on Saturday last, Creggs Under-15s locked horns with nearby rivals Tuam RFC. Conditions weren’t desirable but that wasn’t going to stop this from being a thrilling encounter. Creggs approached the game as underdogs but came out victorious in the end.

  Creggs were slow to start with the possession stats leaning in Tuam’s favour. Tuam found themselves 15-0 up after 10 minutes. Creggs worked hard in the following minutes with aggressive tackling from centre pairing Edimar Filho and David Gacquin, loose head Anthony Gorman while Darren Gately conducted the play from out half. 

 Wingers Sean O’Roarke and Matthew Ryan ran well with the ball in hand. Excellent breaks from Shane Connaughton and Ruairi O Brien brought the play into the Tuam 22 where a cross field kick from Mark Dowd found the hands of Matthew Ryan who finished in style.

 More tries followed for Creggs, the first from Shane Connaughton after an excellent set-play move. Creggs’ run of form was interrupted at the beginning of the second half, with Tuam snatching a chance to score in the corner after Creggs fell asleep. 

 Creggs’ regained the initiative with tries from David Gacquin and Michael Hoey after excellent runs from Ciaran Purcell and Luke Butt.

 Replacements Jack Donnellan, Micheal McAteer and Tom Geoghan came on to finish the game out. Shane Connaughton of Creggs made a great break to score his second try in the corner near the end of the game. 

It finished 29-20, and it was a well-earned victory for Creggs after a gruelling encounter.

Youth Rugby Fixtures/ Training

Creggs Under-13’s went to Monivea last Saturday and lost in their league game. Training continues Tuesday night at 6.45pm on the astro turf in Lisnamult.

New players alway very welcome come along and start playing rugby. 

Creggs Under-14’s played a friendly against Ballina RFC on Sunday last. A great work out for the new players and next Saturday, Creggs Under-14’s welcome Corinthians RFC to Creggs in the Connacht League, with 1.30pm kick-off.

 Training is on the astro turf in Roscommon every Tuesday at 6.45pm.

Creggs Under-15’s  had a great win over Tuam RFC last Saturday in the League. Trainng ontinues Thursday at 7pm in Roscommon.

 Creggs Under-15’s squads will train on the Astro turf in Roscommon this Thursday evening before 7pm. 

Creggs Under-16’s league game against Castlebar was called off last Saturday. Creggs will welcome Galwegians RFC to Creggs in the Connacht Under-16 League. Training continues in Roscommon on Thursday before 7pm.

Creggs Under-17’s are due to play Carrick RFC in the Connacht Ubnder-17 League next weekend. Training continues Thursday at 7pm.

Creggs Under-18.5’s will play Galwegians next week in the Connacht Under-18.5 League. Training for the Under-18.5’s next Friday at 8pm. 

All youth team players, please note – any outstanding registrations/membership for this season will need to be completed in the next 10 days (Sunday, 26th. November). After that, all non registered players with their membership unpaid for this season, will unfortunately not be eligible to train or play. 

MINI Rugby

Last Saturday Creggs Minis welcomed Monivea RFC to Creggs on Saturday for a Blitz, and while played in wet conditions, well done to all those that played and produced some great rugby. It is great to see new faces joining the Mini Rugby Coaching Team, as the number of players continues to grow.

 Next Saturday, Creggs will visit Ballinasloe RFC for a Blitz at 10:30am

 New players always welcome at all ages from Under-7 to Under-12 (boys & girls). More info on: www.creggsrugby.ie / Facebook: Creggs RFC / Phone: 089 7078296.

As referred to above, we’ve had a good response from parents of Mini Rugby players to get involved in training last week. We would still like to attract some more parents and remember no previous experience of rugby is necessary – A short foundation course (one evening) and new easy to follow drills/ training manuals provided.

  Please note – any outstanding registrations/membership for this season will need to be completed in the next 10 days (Saturday, 25th. November). After that, all non registered players with their membership unpaid for this season, will unfortunately not be eligible to train or play. 

CREGGS RUGBY LOTTO

The Creggs Rugby Lotto Draw numbers this week were: 4, 19, 21, 22. There was no winner of the jackpot, which no rises to €5,600 for the next weekly draw. The winner of the Lucky Dip draw this week was Mark Kilroe.

 Please support the Creggs Rugby Lotto, as we develop our new training and playing facilities for all our Mini, Youths, Schools and Senior Players. Your support is much appreciated!