#9 daniel mchugh (longford rfc) leinster u18s (proof1)

U18’s Leinster

The Interprovincial Championship 2015

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Sports Photography

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# 9. Daniel McHugh (Longford RFC)

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Leinster U18 Clubs squad 15. Conor Nash (Navan RFC) Captain, 14. Daniel Achimugu (Suttonians RFC), 13. Conor Dunne (Tullamore RFC), 12. Sean O’Brien (Mullingar RFC), 11. Keelan McKeever (Navan RFC), 10. James McCourt (Suttonians RFC), 9. Daniel McHugh (Longford RFC), 1. Quinlan Kelly (Co Carlow FC), 2. David Nicholson (Wicklow RFC), 3. Daragh Bolger (Clontarf RFC), 4. Kevin Dolan (DLSP FC), 5. James O’Dea (Navan RFC), 6. Ruadhan McDonnell (Longford RFC), 7. Colm Heffernan (Tullamore RFC), 8. Sean Masterson (Portlaoise), 16. David Fox (Navan RFC), 17. Ben Glennon (Mullingar RFC), 18. Conan Dunne (Kilkenny RFC), 19. Donnacha Mescal (North Kildare RFC), 20. Cormac Daly (North Kildare RFC) 21. Sean Cribbin (Suttonians RFC), 22. Mark McDermot (Co Carlow FC) 23. Peter Breen (Enniscorthy RFC)

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U18 Clubs Retain Interpro Title 20 September 2015 14:36 Tullamore’s Conor Dunne pitched in with 18 points as Leinster retained their U18 Clubs Interprovincial Championship in emphatic fashion against Connacht at The Sportsgrounds on Saturday.

The problem for the home side was that they had to rack up a big score and deny Leinster a losing bonus-point to hold out any reasonable hope of taking the title.

The feeling out process took some time to set in as both forward packs went at each other. Connacht shaded those exchanges without the points that would have given them impetus.

Even then, there was a sense that the first try would be very important.

Leinster broke the deadlock when centre Dunne intercepted inside his own 22 to go the length of the pitch and convert for 7-0 in the 25th minute.

It was crucial for Connacht to strike a blow from there.

They couldn’t manage it.

The visitors were as good as out of sight, in terms of winning the title, if not quite the match, when a lineout was taken and the maul driven over for flanker Ruadhan MacDonnell to claim their second try, converted by Dunne for 14-0 at the half. leinster u18 clubs By this stage, Connacht must have reassessed their priorities. They had to fight their way back into it. This looked possible when their scrum-half Barry Walsh kicked a penalty for offside.

The response from Leinster was quick and emphatic as three phases of play resulted in wing Keelan McKeever going under the posts for Dunne to add the points.

It was then Dunne took it on himself to take an unpredictable angle onto the ball off a ruck for five more points to make it 26-3 in the 59th minute.

Connacht were restricted to playing for home pride at this point and they did come back into it when fine approach play exploited holes on the edges of the Lein-

ster ruck defence with a try by flanker Michael O’Neill converted by Walsh for 26-10 in the 65th minute.

The final word fell to replacement wing Peter Breen in showing his pace to out-strip the Connacht cover down the flank for the near-perfect Dunne to convert for the fourth time.

“We finally showed our true colours when we needed it most,” said Leinster Team Manager Pat Keena.

“We played some exciting running rugby to open up Connacht and the five tries was a reflection of how we played.”

CONNACHT 10 LEINSTER 33 At The Sportsground - CONNACHT 10 (try; B Walsh pen, con); LEINSTER 33 (C Dunne 2 tries, 4 cons; R McDonnell, K McKeever, P Breen try each).

U18 Clubs Secure Ulster Win In Tight Contest 13 September 2015 12:23 It took a last minute penalty from Conor Dunne to save Leinster’s bacon against a pumped-up Ulster in the U18 Clubs Interprovincial Championship at Rainey Old Boys RFC on Saturday afternoon.

The Northern Province has not been at the races in this category in recent years and this may have led Leinster into a false sense of security.

This perception was enhanced when they came through the middle to get in behind Ulster’s first line of defence.

The ball was moved to the wing where hooker David Fox was on hand to take the ball home.

Tullamore man Dunne landed the touchline conversion for 7-0 in the fifth minute.

Leinster were soon disabused of any notion that this would be an easy assignment as they leaked 15 points to two tries, the first converted, and a penalty goal in what was a real show of force from the home side.

The visitors were in a hole and it took their captain Conor Nash to get them out of it.

The full-back scythed through four Ulster would-be tacklers, coming off his left and right feet, to touchdown behind the posts for Dunne to add the extras in the 32nd minute.

This had the double effect of lifting Leinster’s waning confidence and allowing coach Dan van Zyl to make alterations by bringing wing Keelan McKeever and flanker Sean Masterson off the bench.

Centre Dunne showed he isn’t just a kicker by taking a ball on the angle from a quick ruck to shred Ulster for seven points in the 38th minute.

Nash’s derring-do on the ball meant a fourth try arrived soon after for Dunne’s conversion to make it 28-15 in the third quarter.

Leinster look home and hosed.

However, Ulster were not done. They created and finished off two tries with both conversions on top to capture the advantage 29-28 by the 67th minute.

It all came down to a pressurised endgame in which Ulster could not keep their discipline and Dunne could keep his nerve to strike the winning points with no time left on the clock.

“We have a week now to get our heads right, to get our game plan right,” said Team Manager Pat Keena.

“We will have to up our performance. We will have to play substantially better than we did today in Connacht next week.

“We cannot afford to pay like this or we will find ourselves on the wrong end of a title decider as we both go for the Championship.”

ULSTER 29 LEINSTER 31 At Rainey Old Boys RFC - ULSTER 29; LEINSTER 31 (C Nash 2 tries; C Dunne try, pen, 4 cons; D Fox try).

Leinster U18 Clubs come out on top with a 29-21 win 5 September 2015 15:01 Cormac Daly, Leinster, in action against Jack Daly, Munster. U18 Clubs Interprovincial Rugby Championship, Round 1, Leinster v Munster Dan van Zyl’s Leinster boys had to come from fourteen points down to see off Munster in the U18 Clubs Interprovincial Championship at Donnybrook on Saturday afternoon.

The home side coughed up a free-kick for agitating at the scrum and a penalty for not releasing in the tackle.

It took a take against the throw by number eight Kevin Dolan to settle them, or so it seemed.

Munster centre David McCarthy poached a penalty on the floor. Their left wing Ethan Greene was close to a breakthrough.

It wasn’t long in coming as McCarthy’s footwork, wing Timmy Phelan’s burst and number eight Odhran Ring’s support line produced a first-rate try for McCarthy to make it 7-0 from the conversion in the sixth minute.

Leinster were trying referee Jason Cairns’ patience getting pinged for penalties that handed Munster attractive

positions and loaded pressure on their defence, captain Conor Nash ordered to have a word as early as the twelfth minute.

It was not as much about weathering the Munster storm as settling down into their patterns. They had to wait a while. Nash countered into the arms of flanker Dev Murphy for another penalty.

There were signs of positivity from flanker Ruadhan McDonnell’s magical pick-up at the tail of a lineout. But, Leinster couldn’t make progress.

From a scrum on the left side, Ring and scrum-half Finn Rhys Thomas connected for the latter to send fly-half Alex Molloy between defenders for McCarthy’s conversion to take it out to 14-0 in the 24th minute.

Nash’s arcing run and McDonnell’s deception enabled Leinster to move forward. They really needed points on the board.

Instead, they could not control an attacking lineout and Munster openside Jack Daly seized on a loose ball to defuse a dangerous situation.

There were improvements. Centre Sean O’Brien took a half-gap and Phelan’s intervention was crucial. However, Nash dragged Phelan to the touchline.

The lineout was driven up for referee Cairns to be convinced that a penalty try was necessary. Centre Conor Dunne halved the difference with his conversion in the 33rd minute.

It could have been all-square only for Molloy to head O’Brien off at the pass in the last play of the half.

Leinster had the benefit of a strong wind at their backs.

Nash made hard yards look easy. McDonnell was almost through.

Just as Munster looked to thrive through the middle, the ball went to ground and Leinster centre Dunne latched onto it for a try. He also converted to make it level in the 44th minute.

Leinster lock Cormac Daly clamped down on Darragh O’Shea for a penalty which was sent 60 metres tumbling into touch.

From there, Nash fed Daniel Achimugu for an effective carry. McCarthy saw yellow for his part in the ruck and Dunne nudged The Blues ahead for the first time 17-14

in the 50th minute.

Then, Achimugu grabbed a ball meant for touch and took off for thirty metres. The recycle came. The crossfield kick was taken in by left wing Keelan McKeever for the killer try, converted by Dunne in the 53rd minute.

Replacement Donnacha Mescal was hauled down by hooker Tadgh McCarthy ahead of Leinster’s Colm Heffernan being binned for his illegal work at the ruck.

The reduction in numbers didn’t hamper the home boys too much, Nash sending O’Brien over for 29-14 in the 58th minute.

The battle of the breakdown was turning Leinster’s way too, second row James O’Dea the groundhog this time in earning a penalty.

Back came the Reds. They were held up over the line before replacement Conor Ferns squeezed to the whitewash and McCarthy hit the touchline conversion at the death.

At Donnybrook - LEINSTER 29 (C Dunne try, pen, 3 cons; S O’Brien, K McKeever try; Pen try); MUNSTER 21 (O Ring, A Molloy, C Ferns try each; D McCarthy 3 cons).

LEINSTER: Conor Nash (Navan, Capt); Daniel Achimugu (Suttonians), Conor Dunne (Tullamore), Sean O’Brien (Mullingar), Keelan McKeever (Navan); Peter Hastie (Wicklow), Daniel McHugh (Longford); Quinlan Kelly (Carlow), David Nicholson (Wicklow), Daragh Bolger (Clontarf), Cormac Daly (North Kildare), James O’Dea (Navan), Ruadhan McDonnell (Longford), Colm Heffernan (Tullamore), Kevin Dolan (DLSP).

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