Gazette
30 BLANCH gazette 23 May 2013
SPORT
FastSport
rugby: title success for westmanstown in league
D15 Basketball Blitz proves a great success St Patrick’s NS in Corduff were celebrating recently after they were crowned the winners of the inaugural Dublin 15 Primary Schools Basketball Blitz. The event, hosted by St Benedict’s NS in Ongar and sponsored by thefruitpeople.ie, saw 12 local primary school teams competing to win the trophy. The group stages were run over three days. Mary Mother of Hope NS won Group 1 after narrowly defeating Huntstown NS in the final game of the group. Scoil Thomais of Laurel Lodge won Group 2 and in doing so defeated St Patrick’s of Carpenterstown. Group 3 saw some high-scoring games and St Patrick’s won the group after a thrilling final game against St Benedict’s Ongar. The semi-finals were played the following week and St Benedict’s NS gym hall was decorated with banners, posters and a sizeable crowd of parents, teachers and over two hundred children. The host team were up first against St Patrick’s, who scored two quick baskets in the final quarter to progress to the final. The second semi-final was contested by Scoil Thomas and Mary Mother of Hope. It was a very high scoring game but Scoil Thomas had no answer to the relentless pressure applied by Mary Mother of Hope. In the final, Mary Mother of Hope went into an early lead and it looked like they would go on to win, but St Patrick’s coaches made two substitutions at half time that seemed to inspire the team. St Patrick’s scored three baskets without reply. In spite of Mary Mother of Hope dominating possession, they could not break down St Patrick’s resolute defence, and the Corduff side hung on to win by two points.
Westmanstown Youths revelled in their success of bringing home the club’s first-ever league title at Templeville Road
Youths deliver title glory U-13 League final St Mary’s College RFC Westmanstown Youths sport@gazettegroup.com
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W e s t m a ns t own Youths Rugby Club received at major boost recently when they claimed the first league title in the club’s history. Last week, the Under13 boys team travelled to Templeville Road for what was a winnertakes-all encounter with St Mary’s College RFC in the Metro League decider. Both teams had enjoyed unbeaten runs in the league, and this
final decider was expected to be a thriller on all fronts. Gusting winds greeted the teams at the southside venue for what was a closely contested first half. S t r o n g t e a mwo r k ensured a flying start for the west Dublin club. Winning possession in the first minute set up Westmanstown’s Adam Feely for a powerful run for the first try of the game. Ten minutes later, Feely followed this his opening strike by running almost the length of the pitch for a further try
Champions! Hartstown/Huntstown celebrate their season HARTSTOWn/Huntstown FC’s NDSL
Under-17B team’s season ended on a high recently when they won their first ever league campaign. HHFC were clear of the pack by two points, and also reached the semi-finals of their cup competition, which saw them compete against the teams from three leagues. Managed by Danny McCann and Bob Ward, the Under-17s and are looking forward to the new season.
despite the efforts of St Mary’s to keep pace. Both tries were converted by Darragh Hewson, which gave the visitors a 14-point lead. At this point, St Mary’s found a higher gear which saw the hosts keep Westmanstown pinned down deep in their own territory for the reminder of the first half. During this period of sustained pressure, David McInerney left the field through injury and was replaced by Alex Tracey. St Mary’s efforts were rewarded with two tries,
but Westmanstown’s determination and teamwork ensured that they retained their four-point advantage at the break. With the wind at their backs, Westmanstown started the second half with a flourish. Feely scored an early try to complete his hat-trick. The Dublin 15 boys now had the momentum and the second half saw outstanding performances throughout the team, and the spectators were treated to an exciting display of rugby from the young side. A further three tries were registered by Cian
Brannigan, Darragh Hewson and Stephen Byrne to ensure a comprehensive victory over their league rivals. Westmanstown: S. Mitten, M. Ryan, G. Quinn, D. Hewson (Capt.) (1 try, 4 conversions), S. Byrne (try), C. Brannigan (try), S. Quinn, C. Murray, D. McInerney, T. Watson, A. Reddy, A. Feely ( try x 3 ), M. O’Brien, A. Watson, A. Tracey, O.Byrne Westsmanstown Youths RFC is open to all children from age six years and upwards. They are based at the Garda RFC grounds at Westmanstown Sports and Conference Centre.