Fixtures for week ending 20/10/2013
Fixtures for week ending 20/10/2013
Girls Tag and Girls Under 15 12/10/2013
Dundalk girls travelled to Boyne on Saturday to kick start their 2013/2014 season. The Under 10’s, 12’s and 15’s had new and seasoned players in surplus ready to meet Ardee, Boyne and Ratoath clubs.
The Under 10s played great tag with three games back to back beating their rivals in all games, a very promising start for our minis! Tara Herr, Lily McEntegart and Temi Fagbamila among the girls running in tries for their club New comer Natasha Swan had a fantastic start and got stuck in against the opposition from the first whistle. Under 10’s – Tara Herr, Lily McEntegart, Ruth McGee, Isabel Holmes, Aoife Purcell, Sophie Woulfe, Sophia Murdock, Natasha Swan and Molly McLoughlin.
Under 12’s started off well against Ratoath and beat them with ease. Competition was stiff against Boyne and they were pipped in the last minutes of the game. Fantastic game for Holly McEntegart, who moves up to the Under 12’s this year and signalled her intent for the season with several tries. Tries also run in by Caoimhe O’Callaghan and Deborah Malone in what was a good start to the season for the Under 12’s. U12’s Clodagh Flynn, Neasa Boyle, Aoise Finegan,Chloe Ticehurst, Caoimhe O’Callaghan, Holly McEntegart, Temi Fagbamila and Deborah Malone.
Under 15’s have started their season with a transition of younger players moving up and senior players having finished playing tag. With plenty of players available for the blitz it was great for coaches Linda Valentine, Chris Scully and Maria Cartwright to be able to choose from a wide selection of talented and eager players. The girls however found it difficult to get into their first game and with a few mistakes and turnovers were lucky to be beaten by only one try against Boyne. They settled into their game against Ardee and had a reasonably easy time overcoming the fast paced Ardee players. Tries run in by Sophie Murtagh, Zoe Valentine, Libby Turnbull, Meadhh O’Callaghan and Niamh Belton. Under 1’6’s – Sophie Murtagh, Libby Turnbull, Zoe Valentine, Meadhbh O’Callaghan, Niamh Belton, Orlagh Conway, Aoife Craven, Siadhbh McDonnell, Joy Quigley, Niamh Craven and Shona Kelly.
Under 17s Vs boyne 12/10/2013
Dundalk 53 Boyne B 5
Dundalk’s U-17 got off to a great start against their counterparts from Boyne when Dylan Quigley received an off load from Stephen McGivern to score under the posts after only 2 minutes of play. Evin Quigley converted to leave the score 7-0. The 10 am kick off seemed to catch the Drogheda team out and within 15 minutes they found themselves trailing 17 – 0 when Dundalk’s captain Tadgh McElroy, scored a further two tries.
Dundalk eased up and this gave Boyne the chance to get one back in the 27th Dundalk scored a fourth try late in the half when Tadgh McElroy grabbed his third which was converted by Evin Quigley to leave it 24 – 5 at half time. The second half started slowly with neither team really focusing on the job in hand. Dundalk eventually got into gear with 20 minutes to go and went on a scoring blitz adding another 5 tries.
The first was scored by full back Cillian Quinn after the forwards had punched a hole in the Boyne cover. After some good rucking the ball was fed to the backs where Aaron Quinn at outhalf moved it on quickly where it found his brother Cillian who finished off in the corner. After some more good work from the forwards Evin “Paulie” Quigley made a dash for the line from the 20 only to be brought down meters short. However, when politely asked he popped the ball up for Stephen McGivern who crossed for Dundalk’s sixth try.
Not to be out done by his brother Cillian, Aaron Quinn crossed over for Dundalk’s seventh after some quick passing between forwards and backs left him with ten yards to cover. With less than five minutes to go Dundalk’s Barney McElroy scored two tries to bring the total to nine. His first try resulted from a ruck with the ball coming to out half Aaron Quinn who fed Barney McElroy who ran a good line which wrong footed the Boyne defence. A conversion by Stephen Arrowsmith brought the score to 53 – 5.
The result means Dundalk have won three of their first four games and are top of the North East League. Overall this was a good team performance with new man Ciaran McConnon making a good impact in the second row. Others to play well were Niall Malone, David Durnin, Ryan Meegan, Morgan McLoughlin and Alex Cahill.
Team: Dylan Quigley, Niall Malone, Stephen McGivern, Evin Quigley, Ciaran McConnon, Ryan Meegan, Morgan McLoughlin, Stephen Arrowsmith, Tadgh McElroy, Tom Gardiner, Oisin Duff, Aaron Quinn, Aaron McGuigan, Barney McElroy, Dan McWall, Alex Cahill, David Durnin, Cillian Quinn, Andrew Williams, Keith Dorian.
Under 10s Vs Boyne 11/10/13
Dundalk Sharks Under 10s Kick off New Season in Style against Boyne
The all conquering undefeated under 9 side of last season, kicked off their new season as Under 10s in style on Friday under lights at mill road with an excellent hard fought victory over Boyne RFC. Boyne travelled with a well oiled compact unit of 20 players while the Sharks ranks have swelled to 40 plus players with many new players to rugby having joined the team for the new season. The Sharks were split into 2 even teams, the Black Sharks guided by Stuart Jones, John McDonnell and first team player James McConnon and the White Sharks guided by Hugh Pheifer and Paul McEvoy. The first outing of the season was always going to be a balancing act between the seasoned players ready to hit the ground running and the newer players getting their first taste of match rugby against a physically strong and talented Boyne side.
Game 1 for the Black Sharks was a tight affair with brilliant tackling, rucking and competing at the breakdown from the likes of Conal O’Callaghan, Robert Malone, Ronan McDonnell, James O’Connor Sam Malone, Jonny Jones, Luke Clarke and Cillian Murphy but to name a few. Worthy of a mention was a great defensive tackle in the second half from Aaron Murphy, new to rugby and playing in his first game. Some strong performances from newcomers Aaron, Tadhg, Cillian, Peter O’Hanlon, Aaron Murphy and Sean Leonard were also worthy of a mention. The Black Sharks ended up victors in an extremely tight affair, winning 5-4 thanks to tries from Ronan McDonnell, James O’Connor (2) and man of the match Kieran McArdle who capped a fantastic running display with 2 excellent tries.
Game 2 for the Black Sharks was a more routine victory, a 5-2 win coming courtesy of tries from Ronan McDonnell (2), man of the match James O’Connor, Kieran McArdle and Conal O’Callaghan. There were excellent performances from Sam Malone, Robert Malone and all of the newcomers were a credit to their families and coaches for the way they handled themselves on the night.
The White Sharks were equally as impressive winning both their encounters, the first match an 8-6 nail biter and the second a more comfortable 4-1. Both matches were tight and there wasn’t much between the teams, but the sharks prevailed thanks to more solid defending. The early season training was clearly bearing fruit with mighty tackling from the White Sharks with this full commitment combined with powerful determined running from the backs. Every player played their heart out in both matches with try scorers including Eoghan Staunton, Joseph Pheifer, Leo MacRuairi, Fionn Duffy, Aaron McGuinness, Milo Moore, and Aron McEvoy. Trojan tackling by the smallest man on the field Brian McCahill was definitely a highlight as was tireless work from Fiacra O’Gorman, Lorcan Ticehurst, Ciaran Tiernan and Alex Gregory. The newcomers were all again a credit to themselves, but particular mention goes to stunning displays from Liam Dorian and Lorcan Rice who acquitted themselves more akin to seasoned pros and defied their lack of experience showing remarkable promise at this early stage.
All in all it was a fantastic opening night with a clean sweep of wins. There will be tougher challenges ahead, with the team competing against the cream of Dublin rugby this season in the Gold section of the Metro League, but the lads have certainly shown they are up for the challenge.
Under 9’s Metro League 13/10/2013
Dundalk U9s welcomed DLSP to the Mill Road on Sunday morning to kick off their Metro League campaign. The visitors traveled with disappointing numbers and could only field one team whereas Dundalk had over thirty players. There was no option but to split the Dundalk lads into three teams to keep everyone involved. The result was that DLSP played three matches against the home teams while simultaneously two Dundalk teams played against each other. The outcome was there was a very tired bunch of kids heading back to Dublin! There was some wonderful scores executed by the lads with some ferocious tackling throughout the games. The improvement already this season points to a very promising year.
Training continues on Saturday at 10.30 in Rugby Club.
Dundalk Squad: Max Valentine, Liam McNamara, Thomas McNamara, Enda Dooley, Euan Malone, Eoin Purton, Luke O Connell, Ewan Kelly, Cian McGuinness, Donal Lavery, Tomas McDonald, Darragh Collier, Oisin Nash, Eamonn Donnelly, Tom McCourt, Conal Mullins, Oisin McBride, Rory Wallace, Adam McCoy, Josh Spaight, Theo Connolly, Daniel Cartwright, Jacob Dunlevy, Ryan Martin, Jake Kenny, David Coyle, Michael Carroll, Matthew McArdle, Tom Cunniffe, Ash Robinson.
Dundalk 2nds Vs Clondalkin 2nds 12/10/2013
Dundalk 2nds 10
Clondalkin 2nds 25
Dundalk 2nds went down to 25-10 at home to Clondalkin last Saturday at mill road. Dundalk started
off strongly and good running by the forwards breaking the gain line brought about good position
early on but like week against Cill Dara, Dundalk failed to put the final pass together as a three
on one overlap resulted in no score as the ball was knocked ok. Clondalkin settled into the game
and ran hard at Dundalks defence but they stood up strong but some poor discipline didn’t aid
Dundalk’s cause at times and this poor discipline resulted in two kicks at goal for Clondalkin as they
took a 6-0 lead. Coming up to half time dundalk tried hard to make a breakthrough but all they
could muster for their efforts was a Donal Clare penalty. On the stoke of half time came a blow to
Dundalk as Clondalkins pressure finally told as they made their way over in the left corner for an
unconverted try to make half time score 11-3 to Clondalkin.
Clondalkin stretched their lead early in the second half when after a kick downfield the ball was knocked from Errol boules grasp straight
into a Clondalkin player and he raced away to stretch out the lead to 18-3. Dundalk didn’t let their
head drop and showed great attitude and commitment to try and get themselves back in the game.
Some excellent handling by the backs put Michael Crawley away but in the process of putting the
ball down for the try the ball slipper from his grasp.Dundalk continued to attack and they eventually
worked fullback Kieran Lenihan away for a converted try to make the score 18-10 with 15 mins to
go. Dundalk continued to press to get something out if the game but Clondalkins excellent work at
the breakdown stopped any rhythm of dundalk and it was they who finished stronger going over for
a converted try with the last play to make the score 10-25 to the away side. Dundalk resume their
league campaign in three weeks on November 2nd with an away match against Wanderers on the
Aviva Stadium back pitch.
Team
Kieran Lenehen, Joseph Olaoye, Robert Williams, Stephen Murphy, Errol Boyle, Donal Clare, Simon
Byrne, Robbie Farrell, Sean Arrowsmith, Stephen Soroghan, Connor Kane, Chris O’Hanlon, Chris
Brady, Stephen Traynor, Laurence Steen. Subs Chris Duffy, Dermot Laide, Diarmuid Sloan, Michael
Crawley
Dundalk 3rds Vs Ashbourne 12/10/2013
Dundalk thirds travelled to Ashbourne on Friday night.
Dundalk kicked the game off and Ashbourne attacked early, testing Dundalk’s defence but after
holding out for 5 minutes they eventually scored after creating an overlap and raced down the
sideline. They scored their second try on the ten minute mark after mauling over the Dundalk line.
Dundalk didn’t give up though and after a few minutes of the forwards battling up the pitch and
the backs questioning their defence, a loop move between Chris Mcgeady and Mike Doyle released
Gerard Lawless down the wing, he was tap tackled but not held and scored a try! The referee
deemed it a double movement and disallowed it!
For the next 30 minutes the two teams battled hard with Dundalk coming out top in the scrums!
Our backs continued asking questions of their defence with great play between Doyle and Mcgeady
releasing Grattan O’Hagan, Lawless and McGuinness but Ashbourne’s defence held out.
Dundalk started the second half a lot better with great attacking by French student Vincent, who
lead the forwards and Dundalk once more attacked the Ashbourne line but to no avail!
With big hits being put in by both sides, the casualties started to mount with McGeady coming off,
followed shortly afterwards by Brian Igoe.
As Dundalk rearranged their team with players having to play out of position, Ashbourne exploited
this and scored a number of tries.
The Dundalk players never gave up with some good crash balls from forwards like Steven Smyth,
Andrew Holmes and Brian Crosbie and backs like Doyle and O’Hagan, Dundalk still couldn’t find their
way past a good Ashbourne defence and ended the game without any points on the board.
Final score Ashbourne 32, Dundalk 0.
Dundalk travel to Navan this Friday for another round of Friday Night Lights!
Dundalk 1ST XV v Clondalkin 12/10/2013
For the first time this season a cold breeze cut through the fans and players alike as Dundalk took
to the field against Clondalkin a side currently sitting third behind Dundalk in the league table.
Expectations heading into this game were that this would be a challenging match plus the fact that
Clondalkin arrived following a narrow loss to Enniscorthy. This game really was a tale of two halves.
The first half was a rather disappointing start for Dundalk, with Clondalkin camping out in their half.
Clondalkin kept intense pressure on Dundalk with some excellent breaks by the opposition which
were shut down by some solid tackling from Isaia Petelo who showed shear class in defence. As
a result of repeat pressure in their own half Dundalk conceded several penalties early on, however
Clondalkin’s Chris Jebb failed to capitalise missing a total of nine points within the first thirty
minutes such an error would cost the side dearly later on. Dundalk turned over possession on several
occasions and following a winning line out won a penalty from an unthinkable angle which Ultan
Murphy neatly sliced over the bar. Clondalkin again managed to maintain possession by creating line
breaks yet failed to capitalise even after Paul Megan was sent to the bin. Dundalk managed to turn the
game in the later moments of the first half by turning over possession again thanks to Petelo and Mike
Bentley.
In the second half, Dundalk’s bench was rotated adding power and pace which lifted the tempo of
the game. Following impressive turn over ball and general dominant play by both flankers James Mc
Conon and Brendan Hadden the first try of the game came. From a back of a ruck Jonathan Williams
picked and found a gap before powerfully smashing through the full back to score the opening try
setting. Murphy slotted over the conversion to leave it 10-3. From there Dundalk opened up the game
with a second try coming off the back of a clean break from the line out by Paul Meegan which was
finished by Brendan Hadden the try was again converted by Murphy.
Following a nasty incident in mid-field Clondalkin lost a player to an immediate red card. For the
rest of the second half Dundalk faced a 14 man Clondalkin. Dundalk capitalised on their numerical
advantage with a nifty try from Petelo in the far right corner which was once again skilfully converted
by Ultan Murphy. This last try encouraged the Mill Road men to push for their fourth try and the
valuable bonus point. The team went through about ten phases and stretched the Clondalkin defence
from side to side. This lead to a huge overlap out wide and simple hands put Paul Meegan over in the
corner. Murphy added the conversion to wrap up the match. Once again the squad will take immense
confidence from their strong defence in particular when under pressure. Despite a slow start Dundalk
will be satisfied with this win and player/coach Ene Faatau will be delighted with some excellent
performances from Isaia Petelo, Brendan Hadden, James McConnon and Mike Bentley.
Team:Ciaran Brannigan,Darren Mc Guinness,John Smith, Paul Meegan, Mike Bentley,James
McConon,Brendan Hadden,Ene Faatau,Thomas Campbell,Ultan Murphy, Rory O’Hagan, MJ
McKevitt, Isaia Petelo, Robert Shields,Owen Mc Nulty.
Subs: Conor Williams, Johnny Grey, Robert Farrell, Jonathan Williams, Stephen Murphy.
Dundalk 3rd XV vs Rathoath 05/10/2013
Dundalk 3xv travelled to Ratoath on Saturday. Dundalk’s back line was depleted through injury and had to start with a number of players playing out of position. Dundalk held out a very good, well drilled and youthful Ratoath side. But after about 20 minutes Dundalk’s defence dropped and Ratoath lived off Dundalk’s mistakes and scored their first try. As hard as Dundalk tried they couldn’t live up to Ratoath’s youthful back line and Ratoath led 20-3 at half time.
Dundalk came out of the blocks in the second half and caused Ratoath problems at scrum time turning over three Ratoath scrums. Dundalk’s line out and rucking caused the Ratoath forwards trouble, allowing second row Alan Kennedy to crash over the line. Ratoath came back strong with some well rehearsed moves and inter play between forwards and backs putting pressure on the Dundalk back three and even though they never gave up Ratoath proved too strong and scored a couple of more breakaway try’s.
Richard McGuinness converted a penalty late in the second half to leave the final score 40-10. Grattan O’Hagan and Gerry Lawless played well at full back and wing with some try saving tackles and counter running. In the forwards Chris Duffy played well at tight head and showed great power and strength enabling Dundalk to turn over a number of scrums against the head. Dundalk 3xv face Ashbourne away this Friday in their next match.
1: Andrew Holmes, 2: John Kerr, 3: Chris Duffy, 4: Bryan Crosbie, 5: Alan Kennedy, 6:Brian Igoe, 7:Niall Kerley, 8: Gavin Mullen, 9: Cathal Myles(c), 10: Mike Doyle, 11:Pearce Campbell, 12: Alan Bryne, 13: Richard McGuinness, 14:Gerry Lawless, 15: Grattan O’Hagan.
Dundalk 2nds 20 Vs Cill Dara 2nds 18 10/5/2013
Dundalk 2nds claimed their second league victory of the year with fully deserved victory over Cill Dara. The scoreline doesn’t reflect Dundalks dominace as they produced a performance with loads of energy and aggression to dominate a large and more experienced Cill Dara team. After two missed kicks at goal by Donal Clare, Dundalk hit the front as they spread the ball out to full back Kieran Lenihan to break the Cill Dara defensive line to finish in the corner to put Dundalk 5-0 up. Dundalk failed to build on this lead as missed kick at goals and several try scoring opportunities missed with the final pass not reaching the target. As a result of his Cill Dara got themselves into the game and managed to force two penalties which they converted to leave the half time score 5-6 to the away side
Dundalk continued to dominate after the interval running the ball with the forwards producing good all from the scrum and lineout and with good aggressive rucking.
Dundalk eventually hit the front again after good running from the forwards building phases eventually created an overlap out wide where Lenihan crossed for his second try. Dundalk kept the pressure on Cill Dara and Stephen Murphy broke a tackle to cross for Dundalks third try and the conversion by Robbie Williams had Dundalk 17-6 up with ten minutes to o. Dundalk were caught out a few minutes later when Cill Dara ran a penalty and their winger sped away from Dundalk cover to bring the score too 17-11. Dundalk didn’t let this setback phase them and they continued their good attacking play to force a penalty in front of the posts which Williams slotted to make the game safe for Dundalk at 20-11. Dundalk conceded a late try but held out to secure a fully deserved 20-18 victory. This victory keeps Dundalk in touch with the league leaders and they continue with another home game against Clondalkin this Saturday at 1.30pm.
15. Kieran Lenihen
14. Robbie Shields
13. Robbie Williams
12. Stephen Murphy
11. Joe Olaoye
10. Donal Clare
9. Simon Byrne
1. Connor Williams
2. Sean Arrowsmith
3. Stephen Soroghan
4. Chris O’Hanlon
5. Connor Kane
6. Chris Brady
7. John McGahon
8. Laurence Steen
Subs
16. Will Lauaki
17. Diarmuid Sloane
18. Stephen Traynor
19. Michael Crawley
