BOI Prov Towns Cup Rd1 Naas v Skerries 04 Feb

PROVINCIAL TOWNS CUP 2024

FIRST ROUND

VS NAAS RFC

SKERRIES RFC

Sunday 04 February 2024 Forenaughts, Naas Kick-Off: 15:00 GENERAL ADMISSION €10.

Club members and children go free.

PROVINCIAL TOWNS CUP HISTORY | PRIDE | PASSION I am delighted to welcome you to Forenaughts for our Bank of Ireland Provincial Towns Cup first round tie. A warm welcome also to the Skerries RFC squad, coaching staff and supporters.

The Provincial Towns Cup is one of the oldest trophies in existence in Irish rugby union. The competition has a rich history and has been played for over a century. First established in 1888, the trophy itself bears the title of the Leinster Junior Challenge Cup. In 1925, the Leinster branch of the IRFU reorganised its junior competitions and the Leinster Junior Challenge Cup became the Provincial Towns Cup. It was changed to a knock-out competition for junior clubs from outside Dublin and remains so to this day. The first Provincial Towns Cup was won by Enniscorthy RFC in 1926, defeating Naas RFC 6-0 in the final.

The most successful club in the history of the cup is Co. Carlow RFC, who have appeared in 16 finals, winning on 12 occasions. They are followed closely by today’s opponents who have featured 15 times in the final, winning 11 of those. They beat Naas 6-5 in the 1952 decider, the only time our two clubs have faced each other in a final.

Naas have done battle in 10 finals and have won the famous trophy on three occasions in 1995, 1998 & 2005.

Fun fact: probably the most boring Towns Cup final ever was in 1950 – the first match was a 0-0 draw and Skerries won the replay 3-0. I hope the weather was good!!

The current holders are Tullow RFC, who won the Cup for the second time by defeating Kilkenny by 24-20 in the 2023 final at Energia Park in Donnybrook. Their previous win was against Skerries in 2017 on a scoreline of 20-3.

The Provincial Towns Cup is regarded as a prestigious and competitive tournament, traditionally attracting large crowds and media attention. The cup is a source of great pride and passion in local communities. This year is the 97th Provincial Towns Cup, played every year since 1926 except for 2020 & 2021 due to the pandemic.

Best of luck to Naas RFC today and for the rest of the competition, along with all the clubs hoping to lift the famous trophy in 2024. I hope we have an enjoyable, sporting and injury free game.

Yours in Rugby Paula Laffan President Naas RFC 2023/24

NAAS RFC SQUAD 1. Stephen Lackey Blessington

2. Glen Condell Athy

4. Sarib Qazi Srinagar

6. Tom Jenkins Newcastle

5. Ruben Lyons Santander

8. Lorcan Murphy Kilteel

7. Francisco Bartorelli (C) Lagomar

10. Peter Osborne Naas

9. Ben Noone Ballymore Eustace

11. Jack Sheridan Naas

3. Ben Howlett Kilcock

12. Lance Batten Harare

13. Matias Giannetti Santiago

14. Kaelan Burke Hollywood

15. Ethan Travers Naas

16. Ewan Macgabhann

17. Eoin Tierney

18. Andrew Sweeney

19. Ruairi Cleary

20. David O’Sullivan

SKERRIES RFC SQUAD Forwards

Backs

Replacements

Shane Hannon

16. George Harrington

1. Kilian Stuart

9.

2. Vinny Watson

10. Mark Mulcahy

17. Conor Nulty

3. Ryan Kiernan

11. Adam Boyers

18. Mark McElroy

4. Sam Deering

12. James Downes

19. Ciaran McKeown

5. Cormac Murphy

13. Tadgh Keane Boylan

20. Declan O Reilly

6. Sean Price

14. Ronan Winters

21. Aidan Smit

7. Darragh McEneaney

15. Brian Walsh

8. Jonny Clear

Match Referee: William Murphy

LIGHTS  CAMERA  ACTION Channel your inner movie star!

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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