Naas vs Buccaneers 02Dec

ENERGIA ALL IRELAND LEAGUE – DIVISION 1B

VS NAAS RFC

BUCCANEERS

Saturday December 2nd, 2023 Forenaughts, Naas Kick-Off: 14:30

Image thanks to Michael Linehan Photography

PRESIDENTS MESSAGE After two exhilarating games of rugby to finish the last block, we all needed a well-deserved break to recover – players, coaches, managers and supporters alike!

We are up and running again for the final block of games before the Christmas break. I extend a very warm welcome to Brendan Wilkins, President of Buccaneers Rugby Club, his squad of players and traveling supporters.

Last year the weather was not kind to us, and this fixture was moved to the 4G pitch in Tullow. We were treated to an entertaining encounter with Naas clinching it with a late score just before the final whistle was blown!

Naas come into this game after two impressive performances. They will be looking to make amends for a last-minute penalty defeat in a pulsating encounter in Stradbrook against Blackrock College before the break. After a slow start to their season, Buccs come to Forenaughts hoping to build on backto-back wins against Queens and Old Wesley.

This has the makings of a classic competitive and entertaining AIL 1b clash. I wish both teams an enjoyable, sporting and injury free game.

In keeping with the values of the game of rugby, please ensure that all players, coaches and match officials get the respect they deserve today.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge our many club volunteers who give freely of their time every week. From administrators and grounds men to our coaches and team managers of all age groups, who are helping to develop our players to the best of their potential.

Without volunteers our club simply wouldn’t exist and we are grateful to have so many returning each year. Thank you for your passion for our wonderful game of rugby and your commitment to Naas Rugby club.

Yours in Rugby Paula Laffan President Naas RFC 2023/24

NAAS RFC TEAM 2. Aidan O’Kane Raheny

1. Conor Doyle Naas

4. Paul Monahan Caragh

6. Cillian Dempsey Eadestown

3. Stephen Lackey Blessington

5. Conor McVerry Whitianga

8. Eoin Walsh Suncroft

9. Tadhg Brophy Kilcullen

11. Jack Sheridan 12. Craig Ronaldson Naas Ballymore Eustace

7. Muiris Cleary Naas

10. Bryan Croke (C) Portlaoise

13. Charlie Sheridan Naas

14. Donal Conroy Athgarvan

15. Fionn Higgins Naas

16. Niall O’Hanlon

17. Jack Coyle

18. David Benn

19. Jack Rodgers

20. Peter Osborne

21. Derry Lenehan

BUCCANEERS RFC TEAM Forwards

Backs

Replacements

1. James Kelly

9.

2. Matthew Victory

10. Mickey Hanley

17. Sean O’ Connell

3. Matthew Burke

11. Josh O’Connor

18. Fionn McDonnell

4. Fergus Galvin

12. Stevie Mannion

19. Luke Balsiger

5. Danny Qualter

13. Daniel Hawkshaw

20. Shane Layden

6. Cathal Walsh

14. Orinn Burgess

21. Conor O’Shaughnessy

7. Gavin Daly

15. Liam McNamara

8.

Frankie Hopkins (C)

Cian McCann

16. Dylan Bolger

+ Ross Murphy Sweeney

Match Referee: Graeme Ormiston

NAAS RFC BUSINESS LUNCH The 26th Naas RFC Annual Business Lunch took place on 10 November in Lawlors Hotel with over 350 guest attending. Guest speakers on the day included Gary Keegan Performance Coach IRFU, Sene Naoupu - Ireland Women’s Rugby International, Caelan Doris Ireland Rugby International and Bernard Jackman as MC. Many thanks to Arachas Insurance for their sponsorship of the day.

A special mention for Gerry McGrath and his team. Events of this scale do not happen by themselves. A huge amount of unseen work went in behind the scenes to make it an enjoyable day for all our guests.

Division 1B Table

Fixtures & Results

Old Wesley deducted 3 points for a breach of the international player clearance process

Date 07 Oct 14 Oct 21 Oct 04 Nov 11 Nov 18 Nov 02 Dec 09 Dec 16 Dec 13 Jan 20 Jan 27 Jan 10 Feb 17 Feb 02 Mar 23 Mar 30 Mar 06 Apr

Home Old Belvedere Naas Old Wesley Naas Naas Blackrock College Naas UCC Naas Highfield Naas Buccaneers Naas Garryowen St Mary’s College Naas Queens Naas

Score 18 - 20 33 - 50 48 - 26 14 - 25 41 - 38 32 - 29 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0

Away Naas Queens Naas St Mary’s College Garryowen Naas Buccaneers Naas Highfield Naas UCC Naas Blackrock College Naas Naas Old Wesley Naas Old Belvedere

Blackrock College 32 – 29 Naas | Match Report Another week of 2023/2024 Energia AllIreland Division 1B action, and another drama filled game with Naas involved.

Seven days after that unforgettable comeback victory against Garryowen, Naas travelled to face Blackrock College last Saturday afternoon, and it was a contest that was not decided until late in injury time.

Naas will rue the fact that defeat was to be their lot, as they were the better side for much of the match, dominating both possession and territory.

Naas were forced to make a late change with Sam Cahill coming in to replace Fionn Higgins, and they were rocked by the concession of a try after just five minutes.

After a series of pick and drives by the Blackrock pack, scrum-half Oliver Coffey picked up from the base of a ruck, and he broke clear to score under the posts. Coffey converted his own try to give his side a seven-point lead.

Sam Cahill reduced this deficit with a penalty after nine minutes, which was awarded for a high tackle on Gary Kavanagh, but the visitors conceded another try on 14 minutes. After being harshly penalised for collapsing a scrum, Blackrock kicked the subsequent penalty deep into the Naas 22.

From the line-out they set up a driving maul which Naas did well to halt just short of the line. Blackrock then pounded away at the Naas line, before moving the ball into midfield to Liam Turner who powered over to score. Coffey was again successful with the conversion to make it 14-3 in favour of the home side.

That lead was increased to 21-3 after 21 minutes. From a line-out win on the tenmetre line, Blackrock moved the ball out to Dave McCarthy in the centre.

His lovely inside pass to the on-rushing Graham Curtis split the Naas defence apart, and the latter was not touched as he scored under the posts. Coffey again successfully converted.

Naas had given themselves a mountain to climb again, but they took over for the remainder of the half. They gained a foothold in their opponent’s half and were rewarded with a fine score after 28 minutes.

From a scrum on the Blackrock 22, Naas attacked out to the left and a powerful run

by Jack Sheridan almost got him in at the corner.

The ball was quickly recycled and moved into midfield where Peter King was unstoppable from close range and powered over. Sam Cahill added the conversion, and he was again on mark after 34 minutes following another Naas try. This time following a high tackle by Roy Whelan – for which he received a yellow card – the visitors elected to turn down a shot at goal and went for touch.

From the line-out Naas set up a driving maul that Blackrock could not stop, and the pack crashed over for a try, which was awarded to Aidan O’Kane. As stated, Sam Cahill converted the try to make it 21-17, which was the interval score.

Naas continued to be the better side in the early stages of the second half, and despite conceding another three points after 49 minutes when Oliver Coffey kicked a penalty for Blackrock, they were very close to levelling the scores on 57 minutes.

Following some powerful drives by the Naas pack, Connie Campher charged over the Blackrock line, but could not ground the ball and the home side escaped with a goal line drop-out.

Blackrock College 32 – 29 Naas | Match Report However, the home side were struggling to contain Naas, and at times were resorting to cynical and desperate tactics to stay in front. Finally the referee Henry Richmond had enough, and after 62 minutes he brandished a yellow card to Oliver Coffey for a deliberate knock-on, and immediately Naas exploited their numerical advantage.

They elected to tap the penalty, a series of powerful carries by the pack sucked in the Blackrock defence, before the ball was moved out to the right wing where Peter Osborne squeezed in at the corner.

Although the conversation was narrowly missed, Naas only trailed now by 24-22.

But, on only their second visit to the Naas 22 in the second half, Blackrock scored again after 67 minutes. Playing with a penalty advantage after Naas had collapsed a driving maul, the Blackrock outhalf James Fennelly put in a cross-field kick.

It was gathered by Brian Colclough, and he found the supporting Graham Curtis at his shoulder, who dived over for a try. Fennelly missed the subsequent conversion, leaving the score 29-22 in favour of the home side.

Naas came again. Blackrock ran a ball from half-way with three minutes left, but Jack Sheridan managed to intercept brilliantly and passed to Peter Osborne. The latter showed great pace to take play into the visitors 22, but when stopped his attempted offload was cynically knocked away by Odhran Ring.

Referee Henry Richmond had no hesitation in showing the Blackrock player a yellow card and awarding Naas a penalty try, which levelled the scores at 29 points each.

But Naas lost the game in injury-time. A big charge by Gav Thornberry took play up to the Naas 22 and following a series of phases by the home pack, Naas were penalised for not rolling away.

Up stepped Oliver Coffey and holding his nerve he slotted the resulting penalty.

Almost immediately the full-time whistle was blown, and Naas had suffered an agonising defeat.

Despite the result a lot of positives can be taken from this display. The performance by the pack was immense, with the likes of Aidan O’Kane, Connor McVerry, Muiris Cleary and Eoin Walsh particularly impressive.

Certainly Naas have played worse and won games, and they can look forward to the remainder of the campaign with great anticipation.

Next up for Naas is a home fixture against Buccaneers on Saturday, December 2nd.

Kick-off is at 2.30pm and as always, all support will be greatly appreciated.

Blackrock College: Brian Colclough (capt), Graham Curtis, Liam Turner, Dave McCarthy, Matthew Dawn, James Fennelly, Oliver Coffey, Paul McSweeney, Niall Hardiman, Shane Connolly, Roy Whelan, Gav Thornbury, Josh Dixon, Dave Fortune, Odhran Ring. Replacements: Liam Nicholson, Andrew Savage, Louis Keys, James Burke, James Moriarty, Liam McMahon.

Naas: Sam Cahill, Donal Conroy, Charlie Sheridan, Gary Kavanagh, Jack Sheridan, Bryan Croke (capt), Tadhg Brophy, Stephen Lackey, Aidan O’Kane, Peter King, Paul Monahan, Conor McVerry, Eoin Walsh, Muiris Cleary, Sean O’Brien.

Replacements: Tadhg Dooley, Connie Campher, Francisco Bartorelli Lagomar, Jack Rodgers, Peter Osborne, Derry Lenehan.

Referee: Henry Richmond.

MATCH REPORT: MARK HERBERT

Naas 41 – 38 Garryowen | Match Report This was the ultimate game of two halves!

When the Naas versus Garryowen 2023/2024 Energia All-Ireland League Division 1B game commenced last Saturday afternoon, nobody in attendance could have imagined the drama they were about to witness.

In one of the most extraordinary games that I have had the privilege to watch, Naas managed to overcome a 33 points deficit, in the process leaving their Munster rivals stunned and shocked to the core. That is not a misprint or typo. After 32 minutes Naas trailed by 33 points, yet somehow turned it around, in a game that will be talked and reminisced about for decades to come.

It had all begun so well for Garryowen. On a dry, crisp afternoon, they started at a pace that Naas could not live with, playing some exhilarating rugby for the first half hour. They were in front after just four minutes. Liam Coombes evaded a couple of tackles to make ground down the left wing, and he then passed inside to the supporting Jack Oliver who dived over to score.

Oliver failed to convert his own try but made no mistake with his next attempt after 12 minutes, which followed a Donnacha Byrne try, who could not be stopped from close range after sustained Garryowen pressure.

Within two minutes the visitors were further in front. Great hands by the Garryowen backs created space out wide for Liam Coombes, who raced clear to score in the corner.

Although Oliver missed this conversion attempt his side led by 17 points to nil.

After just 18 minutes they had gained their 4try bonus point, when a few missed tackles by Naas saw Bryan Fitzgerald break clear and he punished the Naas mistakes by scoring under the posts. The successful conversion

by Oliver stretched the lead to 24 points.

Naas had to respond and to their credit they did on 22 minutes.

From a line-out win by Paul Monahan, they went through a number of phases, before quickly moving the ball out to the backs, where Donal Conroy was waiting in space on the right wing, and he dived in for the score.

Peter Osborne narrowly missed the conversion, leaving the score 24-5 in favour of the visitors.

Unfortunately, things were to get worse for Naas. After 26 minutes a great sidestep by Oran McNulty left the Naas defence for dead as he raced away for a fifth Garryowen try – converted by Jack Oliver.

Two minutes later Naas prop Adam Coyle received a red card for what referee Kieran Barry deemed to be a dangerous tackle, and then Jack Oliver rounded a tremendous first half display which a superb individual try, which he converted himself.

32 minutes gone, Garryowen, the three-time All-Ireland League winners, leading Naas by 33 points – a Naas team with just 14 men, a Naas team low on confidence after a few recent defeats. Surely the game was done and dusted.

To suggest otherwise might have seen the men in white coats called for. But that is the beauty of sport. It is unpredictable and anything can happen. On this occasion it certainly did, thanks to the never say die attitude of this Naas side.

They began the long road to recovery with a sublime try by Charlie Sheridan in first-half injury time. He collected a ball on the right wing, put a deft chip over the Garryowen defence, collected the loose ball and raced away to score. The conversion was missed, leaving the interval score 38-10 to Garryowen.

Naas were only playing for pride at this stage, and they certainly displayed a lot of that in the second-half. They reduced the margin even further after 46 minutes. They won a scrum penalty which was dispatched to touch.

Naas 41 – 38 Garryowen | Match Report From the line-out they set up a driving maul which the visitors collapsed, giving Naas another penalty.

The home side, knowing they had a penalty advantage, elected to spin the ball wide out to Donal Conroy and he again finished in style to score in the corner. A great conversion by Sam Cahill made the score 38-17.

After 49 minutes the playing numbers were evened up when Byran Fitzgerald received a red card for a high tackle, but the Garryowen lead remained at 21 points as the game entered the final quarter. Then on 61 minutes Naas scored again.

The visitors were penalised for another high tackle and Naas took a quick tap penalty which caught them unawares. The home side transferred the ball out to Gary Kavanagh, who showed great strength to crash in at the corner. Although the conversion was missed the score was now 38-22.

This score gave Naas the hope that they might be able to score another try, which would give them a try scoring bonus point, and something to take out of what was, to this point, a miserable afternoon for them. This score duly came on 76 minutes when a Bryan Croke cross field kick was gathered by Donal Conroy who duly scored his third try of the day and a fourth for Naas.

Garryowen were rattled, and every Naas attack looked like yielding a score. With the game entering its 80th minute, a great break

by Bryan Croke put Jack Sheridan away and he scored under the posts, which Peter Osborne converted to make the score 38-34.

There was still time for more drama – there was no less than 13 minutes played in injurytime. In that period two Garryowen players Donnacha Byrne and Jack Delaney received yellow cards, as the visitors did everything they could to stop Naas completing a sensational comeback.

But it was now 14 playing 12, Garryowen could not plug the gaps that were appearing.

They finally cracked in the very last play of the game, when Jack Sheridan sliced through them for a brilliant score. Peter Osborne converted, Naas were in front for the first time all day by 41-38 and immediately afterwards referee Kieran Barry blew the full-time whistle. The impossible had happened!

After the match there were not the normal scenes of jubilation that normally prevail.

Instead, there was a stunned shock around the venue. The Garryowen supporters and team were coming to terms with their concession of such a big lead, while Naas people were digesting what had just happened, wondering if they had imagined it all, and shaking their heads in disbelief.

Storm Debi is due to arrive on these shores this week. Around 3.15pm last Saturday, Storm Naas managed to blow the unsuspecting Garryowen team away. It truly is a game that words cannot fully do justice to.

Naas: Peter Osborne, Donal Conroy, Charlie Sheridan, Gary Kavanagh, Sam Cahill, Bryan Croke (capt), Tadhg Brophy, Adam Coyle, Aidan O’Kane, Peter King, Conor McVerry, Paul Monahan, Muiris Cleary, Francisco Bartorelli Lagomar, Eoin Walsh.

Replacements: Neil O’Hanlon, Conor Doyle, Jack Rogers, Cillian Dempsey, Jack Sheridan, Derry Lenehan.

Garryowen: Oran McNulty, J.J. O’Neill, Bryan Fitzgerald (capt), Gordon Wood, Liam Coombes, Neil Cronin, Jack Oliver, George Hadden, Dean Fanning, Darragh McCarthy, Kevin Seymour, Jeronimo Ureta Saenz Pena, Des Fitzgerald, Jack Daly, Donnacha Byrne.

Replacements: Ben O’Sullivan, Mikey Veale, Johnny Keane, Sean Rennison, Kelvin Langan, Jack Delaney.

Referee: Kieran Barry.

HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO: https://youtu.be/LyrMekWg7To MATCH REPORT: MARK HERBERT HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO: RICHIE HAYDEN

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