PROVINCIAL TOWNS CUP SECOND ROUND AND MICHAEL OSBORNE CENTENARY TROPHY
I am delighted to welcome you to Forenaughts for our Bank of Ireland Provincial Towns Cup second round tie A warm welcome also to Joe Byrne, President of Cill Dara RFC, the players, coaching staff and supporters
Today’s fixture is Naas RFC’s 200th Towns Cup match. To date we have had 103 wins and 88 defeats, with 8 drawn games.
Naas had a comprehensive 103rd win in the first round against Skerries, while Cill Dara got a bye and come to Forenaughts hoping to add an 89th defeat to the stats.
This is only the 2nd occasion that the two teams have done battle in the Bank of Ireland Provincial Towns Cup Our first meeting was in last year’s competition at the quarter final stage in Forenaughts, with Cill Dara winning by a single point.
While virtual strangers when it comes to the Towns Cup, Naas and Cill Dara have a long history of doing battle in the Leinster League. Today we will also be competing for the Centenary Trophy in memory of the late Michael Osborne and in recognition of his contribution to both clubs
Michael Osborne played rugby for Naas and was Club Captain in 1953 / 1954 and Club President in 1969 to 1973. In his first year as President, the Club won the Provincial Towns Plate in 1969, the Club’s first trophy since the Leinster Junior Cup in 1924. He was also actively involved in the establishment of Youth Rugby in Naas in the early 1970s and in the negotiations for the purchase of the Club’s current home at Forenaughts.
In his capacity as manager of the Irish National Stud he became a great friend to Cill Dara providing the Club with practical assistance in terms of playing and training pitches and the conversion of stables into dressing rooms
We are looking forward to presenting the trophy to the winning captain after the match in honour of Michael.
Best of luck to Naas RFC today and for the rest of the competition, along with all the clubs hoping to lift the famous Towns Cup trophy in 2024 I hope we have an enjoyable, sporting and injury free game
Yours in Rugby
Paula Laffan
President Naas RFC 2023/24
1. Jim Downey Two Mile House
2. Glen Condell Athy
3. Ben Howlett Kilcock
5. Sarib Qazi Srinagar
4. Ruben Lyons Santander
6. Lorcan Murphy Kilteel
9. Ben Noone Ballymore Eustace
10. Matias Giannetti Santiago
7. Francisco Bartorelli (C) Lagomar
8. Evan Coyle Naas
11. Ruairi Cleary Naas
12. Lyle O’Connell Plettenberg Bay
13. Lance Batten Harare
15. Jack Sheridan Naas
16. Tadhg Dooley
17. Stephen Lackey
18. Will O’Brien
19. Tom Jenkins
20. Ross Cleary
14. Kaelan Burke Hollywood
