ENERGIA ALL IRELAND LEAGUE – DIVISION 1B
NAAS RFC VS
Saturday 19 October 2024
Forenaughts, Naas Kick-Off: 14:30
Match Referee: Rob McGreer
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
On behalf of Naas Rugby Club, welcome to Forenaughts for today’s Energia AllIreland League Division 1B fixture It gives me great pleasure to extend a warm welcome to our visitors from Old Wesley and their President, Alan Browning
There is a strong bond between our two clubs, emphasised by the fact that today we also play for the Stephen Mooney Memorial Cup It is played every season in honour and memory of Stephen, who played for both clubs in his rugby career. The winner of the cup is decided by the aggregate score over the two games, home and away. Old Wesley are the current holders of the Cup.
The season has started on a positive note for Naas. Following a narrow defeat to Highfield in our opening game, we have won our next two games to sit third in the table after the first block of games Both of those matches couldn’t have been any more different – one a high scoring, free flowing match in glorious sunshine and the other a hard fought, physical encounter in atrocious conditions
Old Wesley’s game before last week’s break was a thrilling 22-all draw against league leaders Nenagh Ormond Sitting in 5th place before today’s encounter, Wesley will also be a force to be reckoned with this season, and a great game is in prospect this afternoon.
The club is putting the finishing touches to the upcoming Annual Business Lunch in Lawlors Hotel on Friday October 25th, kindly sponsored by Arachas Due to popular demand this event is nearly sold out To secure your place, please contact Gerry McGrath on (087) 2997 864 as soon as possible
I would like to thank our club sponsors for their continued support A list of their names is at the back of the programme, and I would encourage you to support them where possible.
Finally, Naas RFC and the game of rugby itself is founded on the values of integrity and respect. Can I ask you to take a minute to read through the Naas RFC Code of Conduct on the following page.
Please adhere to these guiding principles and especially show respect for our match officials. Without them we would have no game.
Enjoy the match, which is the first of two consecutive home games. Next Saturday we welcome UCC to Forenaughts and all support will be greatly appreciated
Gerry Prendergast
President Naas RFC 2024/25
IMPORTANT IMPORTANT
NAAS RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB
CODE OF CONDUCT FOR MEMBERS, PLAYERS, COACHES & SUPPORTERS
A person shall NOT ABUSE, THREATEN OR INTIMIDATE a player, referee, touch judge, match official or steward whether on or off the field of play and on club grounds.
A person (inclusive of players) shall NOT USE RACIAL, CRUDE OR ABUSIVE LANGUAGE OR GESTURES TOWARDS a player, referee, touch judge, match official, steward or spectator.
CLUB OFFICIALS AND STEWARDS
Shall be entitled to request any person to leave the club grounds for behaviour that they deem to be inappropriate or in breach of the code of conduct.
THE CLUB RESERVES THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO REFUSE ADMISSION TO THE GROUNDS.
NAAS RFC SQUAD THE PACK
8. Ryan Casey Naas AIL Caps: 105
6. Eoin Walsh NaasAIL Caps: 72
7. Will O’Brien Captain NaasAIL Caps: 122
5. James O’Loughlin NaasAIL Caps: 17
4. KoloaAisake NaasAIL Caps: 3
2.Aidan O’Kane NaasAIL Caps: 8
1. John King NaasAIL Caps: Debut
3.Adam Deay NaasAIL Caps: 3
NAAS RFC SQUAD THE ATTACK
11.
9. Cormac King
12.
10.
13.
15.
Naas AIL Caps: 3
Paddy Taylor Naas AIL Caps: 3
Peter Osborne Naas AIL Caps: 156
Charlie Sheridan NaasAIL Caps: 38
Michal Haznar NaasAIL Caps: 5
Jack Sheridan NaasAIL Caps: 25
14. Donal Conroy NaasAIL Caps: 56
NAAS RFC SQUAD THE IMPACT
16. Francisco Bartorelli Naas AIL Caps: 14
17. Conor Doyle NaasAIL Caps: 87
18. Darragh Murphy Naas AIL Caps: 3
19. Muiris Cleary NaasAIL Caps: 23
20. David O’Sullivan Naas AIL Caps: Debut
21. James O’Kane NaasAIL Caps: 3
OLD WESLEY MATCHDAY SQUAD
Fixtures & Results
Shannon 18 – 23 Naas | 05/10/24 | Match Report
Week 3 of the 2024/2025 Energia AllIreland League Division 1B season saw Naas travel to Thomond Park to face Shannon on the back pitch.
This is always a prestigious fixture for Naas as Shannon are the most successful club in the league, with no less than nine wins in the competition.
However Naas have a great record against the Munster side and having begun this campaign impressively, they travelled south confident that they would return home victorious. This proved to be the case, with a five-point winning margin not doing justice to their superiority.
Weather forecasters in Ireland can be a bit hit and miss, but unfortunately their prediction of heavy rain in the south last Saturday proved to be spot on. It was torrential, and conditions for both players and spectators alike were abysmal.
Credit therefore must go to both sides for the standard of the game that they produced.
Naas played with a stiff breeze at their backs in the first half and were in front after just five minutes. Cormac King was taken out off the ball and from almost the half-way line Peter Osborne slotted the resulting penalty
But the lead only lasted three minutes. An attempted clearance kick by Naas full-back James O’Kane was blocked down and gathered by John O’Sullivan, who took play right up to the Naas line.
From there the Shannon pack were stopped inches short of the line on a couple of occasions, before a quick pop pass by Ian Leonard found Cian O’Halloran who stepped inside an attempted tackle to score. John O’Sullivan added the conversion and Shannon led by seven points to three.
The visitors responded quickly. After 12 minutes from a line-out take by James O’Loughlin, Will O’Brien attacked down the blind-side. A series of phases followed before Cormac King broke free from the side of a ruck and raced away to score under the posts Peter Osborne added the conversion and Naas were back in front by 10-7.
Within three minutes there was another score. Naas lock Koloa Aisake received a yellow card for a high tackle, and John O’Sullivan was successful with the resulting penalty to level matters at ten points each.
The game was being played with incredible intensity and ferocity and there were numerous stoppages of play in the second quarter with players needing treatment. After 31 minutes a Peter Osborne penalty restored the Naas lead, but the visitors received a set back after 34 minutes, when following the intervention of a touch judge Cormac King received a yellow card. However, the 14 men of Naas responded in style.
A quick tap penalty by Naas in the Shannon 22 caught the home side unawares and saw the visitors camped on the try line.
Shannon 18 – 23 Naas | 05/10/24 | Match Report
A series of pick and goes followed before Will O’Brien managed to power over for a try which Peter Osborne converted. There was still time for John O’Sullivan to reply with a Shannon penalty in injury time, to leave the score at the interval Shannon 13 – 20 Naas.
Shannon had the advantage of the wind in the second half and when they scored within three minutes of the resumption things looked bleak for Naas. A chip over the visitors defence by John O’Sullivan led to a sustained period of pressure by Shannon, before the ball was moved out wide to Harry Long who scored in the corner Although the conversion was missed by O’Sullivan, the gap had been reduced to just two points (18-20) and the momentum was with the home side.
However, from then to the finish the Naas pack destroyed their opponents. They dismantled the Shannon scrumwinning no less than six penalties – and won all the collisions around the park. The visitors nearly increased their lead after 59 minutes, when one of these scrum penalties led to Peter Osborne having a shot at goal which went narrowly wide, but he made no mistake with a similar effort after 67 minutes –the penalty again won at scrum time.
Naas now led by 23 points to 18 and the home side never looked capable of turning around this deficit. Indeed, it was the visitors who looked more likely to score again and Shannon at times were forced to defend desperately, and indeed lost to Cian O’Halloran to a yellow card for a deliberate knock on as they struggled to keep Naas at bay.
But there was to be no further scoring, with Naas victorious by 23 points to 18. This will give Naas great satisfaction
Their previous game against Queens was played on a glorious afternoon and they were able to spread the ball wide and attack at every possible opportunity –scoring over 60 points in the process. This was the complete opposite. They had to battle in terrible conditions and proved that they are more than capable of playing this way if needed.
After the first block of games in this campaign Naas sit in third place in the league table and will certainly look forward to the rest of the season with great optimism.
Shannon: Darren Gavin, Jack O’Donnell, Cian O’Halloran, Harry Long (capt), Stephen Kiely, John O’Sullivan, Ian Leonard, Aaron McNamara, Adam Moloney, Tony Cusack, Cian McCann, Jack Brady, Luke Moylan, Oisin Minogue, Lee Nicholas. Replacements: Shane Carew, Cathal Hynes, Michael Donnelly, Tadhg O’Brien, Evin Crowe, Cillian O’Connor.
Naas: James O’Kane, Donal Conroy, Charlie Sheridan, Paddy Taylor, Jack Sheridan, Peter Osborne, Cormac King, Conor Doyle, Aidan O’Kane, Adam Deay, Eoin Walsh, James O’Loughlin, Darragh Murphy, Will O’Brien (capt), Ryan Casey. Replacements: Francisco Bartorelli, Kaleem Niazi, Koloa Aisake, Muiris Cleary, Michal Haznar, Lenny Valleyé
Referee: Sam Holt.
MATCH REPORT: MARK HERBERT
OUR GENEROUS CLUB SPONSORS
Many thanks to all our club sponsors for their continued support. Please, in turn, support them where possible.
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