Club Notes 09

Hard to believe its that time of the year again but the new rugby season is right upon us and preparations are well underway at Nenagh Ormond RFC. After a bumper Summer revolving around the hugely successful Tag Rugby competition run at the club it is almost time for the serious business of competitive rugby to begin again. The senior panel incorporating both the First and Second XV are already hard at work in pre-season training and looking forward to the season ahead. Now heading into our fifth season as a Senior club and well established in the All Ireland league the first team are looking forward to the season ahead and hoping to build on the consistent form of the last four seasons which has seen the team finish in the top six of Division 3 on each occasion. With a number of new players to bolster the squad as well as the ongoing progression of players from our underage system to senior rugby there is a quiet air of confidence around the squad but with the strength of competition in this division no-one will be getting ahead of themselves at this early stage. The Second XV made huge progress last year reaching the final of their league competition and narrowly missing out on promotion. They also reached the quarter finals of the Munster Junior Cup and will be hoping to build on this in the season ahead. Training is ongoing and takes place every Tuesday and Thursday at 7.15pm in Lisatunny and all are welcome. The First XV kick off their season in the Limerick Charity Cup vs. Garryowen in exactly four weeks time so getting back to training as soon as possible is essential for all players.
The Ladies XV which also enjoyed a very successful season last year are also back in training Wednesday and Friday at 7.30. The team narrowly lost out in the All Ireland semi final last year and are hoping to go one better this year so if there are any girls interested in giving rugby a try and becoming part of a really enjoyable squad don’t hesitate to come to the club any night during the above times, you wont be disappointed.
There will be more news, match reports etc... to come in the next few weeks. In the mean time feel free to turn up to train at any of the times outlined above if you want to play or if you require any further information visit our website at www.nenaghormondrfc.com for further news, contacts etc.

Nenagh had their final run out before the season begins for real on Friday evening with a friendly victory over old Crescent. The division two side were good opponents and Nenagh did well to get the better of them.

Once again the pack was very good and the first score which was credited to Conor Whelan came from the old driving maul tactic. The second was a breakout try by James Kingston in the second half when Nenagh moved the ball inside their won twenty two and kept it going until the centre scored. A Trevor Kenneally conversion completed the Nenagh scoring.

Nenagh team: Mike kennedy (Capt), Conor Whelan, Damien Dunne, Darren Gallagher, Bryan Williams, Shane O’Callaghan, Keith Quigley, Ruaidhri O’brien, Mikey Fogarty, Trevor Kenneally, Paudie Breen, Trevor Connolly, Willie O’Connor, Ger Hermse, Stephen Harvey. Subs; David Corcoran, James Kingston, Darren Horan, Michael Slattery, Anthony Grey, John Flynn.

The seconds went down in a big way in the Mansergh cup to Cashel, 40 – 5 being the final score.

The thirds had their first outing of the year on Saturday and went down to Tallaght by 21 – 12.

Fixtures: This week our Senior squad will play Cashel in the first round of the Munster Senior Cup. This match kicks off at 2.30pm in Cahsel and all support will be greatly appreciated.

In a week overshadowed by Nenagh Eire Og’s north final win and the great expectations for the county team in the upcoming final against arguably the greatest team of all time, indeed vying for that title, rugby’s head appeared above the parapet on Friday night in New Ormond Park with the visit of Garryowen for the first round Charity Cup game.

With a nice evening for a change and a decent crowd to boot, the fare served up was highly entertaining not to say competitive. A strong breeze aided the home team in the first half and they took full advantage to race into a 12-0 lead through tries from Kennedy and Harvey and a conversion by Kenneally. By the half though, Garryowen class and superior resources had cut that back to 15-8.

The second half was dominated by the visitors, yet, they ran out winners by a not emphatic 15-23 and Nenagh pressing hard for a score for the last ten minutes. That latter was a tribute to fitness levels and when the rest of the squad is in place both firsts and seconds will be strengthened.

That latter point was emphasised in Galbally on Sunday when the locals overcame a gallant Nenagh seconds by a score of 13-0 in the Garryowen Cup. Once again, the qualities shown on Friday night were evident with every ball fought for and every yard defended with great resolve. The pack will be good enough to go far and the returning players should strengthen the side somewhat too.

The season quickens a beat on Friday night when Munster open their account away to Glasgow in the Magners league and Nenagh take on either Old Crescent or Thomond in a friendly the same night in Lissatunny under lights, kickoff 7.30pm. The seconds are idle as of press time and the burgeoning thirds have as yet to get off the mark.

The following week sees what should be a mighty tussle when Nenagh are drawn away to Cashel in the Munster Senior Cup. The home side can be expected to put everything into this one and a great fixture of historic, not to mention mouth watering proportions, beckons.

Well Done to Keith Quigley and Stephen Harvey who made it into the Munster Academy and played with them last week and also to Genevieve Bergin, Sandra Williams and Maeve Darcy who made the Munster Ladies squad and played with them in France at the weekend. Congratulations from all in N.O.R.F.C.

Nenagh came out second best in a Tipperary Derby which was the Munster Senior Cup played in Cashel last Saturday. A beautiful day made for plenty of open rugby, however it is disappointing to say that Cashel were well deserved victors on the day. They were more fluent in their play and as the game progressed they grew in confidence.

On the other hand Nenagh did not execute properly and they appeared to lose confidence as the game progressed. Nenagh had their chances particularly in the first half and should have scored with an overlap. There was also a number of penalty misses, however Cashel just seemed to have the edge and they were definitely more clinical. The score was nil all at half time but being objective Nenagh were fortunate to be drawing at this stage.

In the second half Cashel got their due reward for their consistency and work rate with two penalties. Nenagh never really looked like threatening the Cashel line and even though Nenagh were missing a number of players it will be a big source of disappointment to the team and management and perhaps not a bad thing with the AIL soon to start in a few weeks time. At this stage last year Nenagh had beaten Landsdown and appeared to be on the verge of carrying all before them. Saturday was a wake up call and hopefully the wake up call will be heeded. A special mention for Trevor Connolly who had a fine game at inside centre.

TEAM: M. .Kennedy (Captain), D. Horan, F. Brislane, M. Slattery, D. Gallaher, S O’Callaghan, C McMahon, R O’Brien, M. Fogarty, T. Kenneally, T. Connolly, W. O’Connor, S. Harvey, T Breen, G. Harmse

Fixtures for this week – Senior XV travel to Bruff to play them in a friendly on Saturday, 2nds will also play a friendly – details will be given at training and also available on ‘www.nenaghormondrfc.com’ later in the week.

Training resumes for the coming season on this Thursday night (17^th Sept) and every Thrusday onwards at 6pm in Tyone training ground.

Underage Registration

Please note that in order to register underage players you need to provide a 2 passport sized photos, signed on the back by the player and a copy of his/her Birth Certificate (not original please).

Please bring these to training with you if you have not already provided them. Contact Dorothy Keating on 086 1709150 or Helen Young on 087 6322934 for further details.

A reminder to all members that membership is now due, if not all ready paid please. The subscription for the season remains €120 for family membership (not € 140 as per the letters sent out, mea culpa) €80 for adult members and €25 for juvenile members. If you wish to utilise the direct debit option for membership please return the form as soon as possible. We hope to finalise these at the end of next week. The membership books have arrived and will be available for distribution next Saturday before and after the AIB Cup match versus Portadown. We would also welcome new members of course, if you are new to town or enjoyed your time at the TAG Rugby during the summer come along and have a look on Saturday. It is important to point out that all playing members must have paid their sub by October 1st to remain eligible for selection. Also, only fully paid up members can apply for Munster and international tickets. Munster's first home Heineken cup match is October 17th. There are also mouth watering clashes with Australia and World Champions and newly crowned Tri Nations champions South Africa in November. Tickets can be ordered for these and all matches in the usual fashion by ringing Breda at 31841. Tickets for this seasons club draw can be purchased from any committee member, full details are available on our website www.nenaghormondrfc.com. Tickets are only € 30 each and this enters you into 6 separate draws for a pair of stand tickets for Munster’s Heineken Cup and Ireland International tickets. We would be grateful if you could also complete the personal details form sent out with membership letters, we are trying to finalise a corrected database of members and are especially keen to get as many mobile numbers and e-mail addresses to help forward club notices and information etc. If you use e-mail can you please send one to jgleeson@dugganbrothers.ie and we will update our list.

The Nenagh Ladies kick off their league campaign next Sunday at home to new comers Thurles. Nenagh topped the AIL Division 2 Munster pool last season and were unlucky in the All-Ireland semi-final, losing to City of Derry by just 2 points. The girls are looking forward to another successful season this year with two new teams in the south section, Galbally and Thurlas.

Thurlas are somewhat of an unknown and the match next Sunday will be the first competitive Senior Ladies match for Thurles RFC. Having had several successful years with underage girls teams, this season is the first time they will field an adult ladies team. This is an exciting time for ladies rugby and shows the strength in the development of the game in Tipperary and Munster.

Nenagh have been working hard in their pre-season training under the watchful eyes of new coaches Fergus Austin and Fergal Brislane. With a new-look team from last season, Nenagh have recruited well with several girls joining the team to play rugby for the first time. The new recruits have put in some excellent performances in both of the pre-season friendly matches, against Young Munster and Portlaoise. Bringing youth and pace into the team they are sure to give the coaches some selection headaches in the coming weeks.

New players are always welcome, of all ages and fitness levels. Whether you have played before, are a total beginner to the game or just a fan of Paul O’Connell and want to see what rugby is about! The ladies train Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30pm in the Rugby Club, Lisatunny. Come along to try it out or give Jen a call or text on 087-2201596.

Thursday and continues this Thursday at 6:15 (6:00 is too early) for Under-8’s 10’s and 12’s. Also, new members welcome – registration forms available on the evening – please bring 2 x passport photos and COPY of birth cert for new members.

Nenagh Ormond U11s travel to Port Du Bock Rugby Football Club, Southern France, on this Thursday, 24th September to an International U11 Tournament .

The town of Port Du Bock is only a short distance from the City of Marseille . As well as Nenagh Ormond RFC, a total of twelve other teams from all over Europe are taking part.

Nenagh boys will be travelling with their parents & coaches, and will be the only Irish team taking part. They return home from France to Shannon Airport on Sunday evening 27th September.

Our Under 19 team travelled to Clonmel and took part in a Blitz there on Saturday.

Senior XV at home to Portadown in the first round of the AIB cup on Saturday at 2.30pm

2nds at home to Shannon in the Munster Seconds League on Sunday, kick-off to be decided. Will be notified at training and updated on www.nenaghormondrfc.com

This time last year Nenagh enjoyed one of their great days in their history when they defeated Lansdowne Rugby Football Club in the first round of this competition. It created a mirage that led to five straight defeats in the beginning of the league and tested the core of players, supporters and management as the season went on. Thankfully Nenagh went on to win seven of the last eight league games and defeated three of the top four divisional teams later in the season.

So the question was what awaits this season. A disappointing defeat against Cashel in the Munster Senior Cup would have raised eyebrows and while it is possible to discuss these things until the ends of time, nothing beats hard work and graft on behalf of players and management. This season will see somewhat of a change arising out of recent personnel changes on the playing point. Moses Volavola will no longer be part of the Nenagh horizon and this huge carrying number 8 will be missed as the season goes on. However, the arrival of Stephen Carey and David Delaney some what changes the power base and on that basis on what was seen on Saturday gives a better balance to the team for the forthcoming season.

As with Landsdowne last year nothing should be read too much into the result, however it was the manner of play that gives everybody that little bit more hope. In the absence of Moses the forwards will have to step up and there is a lot of good young talent there to do that. The forwards went at it vary hard and got their rewards on Saturday. There is an awful lot to work on and set pieces will have to be tighter. However, they provided great ball for the backs who when they moved it wide made large amounts of ground. Messrs Carey and Harvey add a little bit of pace and James Kingston provided the guile in using that pace. Eoin Gardiner was would have been un accustomed to his out half rule but performed admirably assisted by good service from scrum half Mike Fogarty. With Harmse, Connolly and Delaney to fit in somewhere the selectors will have a headache in picking the back line, but it is a good headache.

The forwards hunted together well and Anthony Grey, Brian Williams and Darren Gallagher had fine games. Nenagh always seem to be a little bit lighter than their opponents and so the forwards will meet many stern tests throughout the season. Saturday was a pleasing start and they more than provided good possession for the backs. They were very competitive at the breakdown and robbed a lot of ball at the contact area

For the record Nenagh scored four tries and all bar one were from open play. Nenagh could have had more tries but trying to beat the man rather than passing to a colleague meant that scores were left behind. The trys came from Stephen Harvey, Rory O’Brien, Mick Kennedy, and Stephen Carey with two conversions added by Stephen Harvey. Nenagh had opened scoring first, however Portadown were extremely sticky and were rewarded a try of their own. Thereafter Nenagh took control and further trys came the more the game seemed to open up the better it suited Nenagh. Nenagh dominated territorially. The Portadown defence wilted somewhat towards the end of the game and Nenagh were worthy winners. As a result of the victory Nenagh have an away game in the next round against guess who? Lansdowne - in three weeks time. Its that time of year again, hopefully lessons are learned.

TEAM: M. Kennedy (Captain), D. Horan, S. Brislane, D. Gallagher, B Williams, S O’Callaghan, E. Ryan, A. Grey, M. Fogarty, E. Gardiner, J Kingston, S. Carey, S Harvey, P. Breen, D. Corcoran

Nenagh seconds played their first league game of the season on Sunday last at home to Shannon. With Nenagh having 70% of the possession in the first half it was a disappointment to them not to be able to gain enough ground to take it into Shannon’s half. Shannon went ahead shortly before the break with a penalty, leaving it 3 – 0 at half time. Nenagh again dominated the second half and 10 minutes in Robbie White equalised with a penalty. We were unlucky with Robbie’s two further penalty attempts which were narrowly missed and would have sealed a victory for the home side. For the final 15 minutes of the game Nenagh were camped on Shannon’s 22 but were just unable to score. This week our seconds are away to Old Crescent on Sunday.

The Nenagh Ladies got a walk over on Sunday last in their first game of the league when Thurles couldn't field fifteen. The girls are away to Galbally next Sunday. Training continues every Wednesday and Friday night at 7:30 in the rugby club. New players are always welcome, wheather you have played before or are a total beginner. Contact Jen on 087 2201596.

Nenagh Ormond RFC got their league season off to a great start with a win at home to Connemara this weekend. Prior to kick-off the club hosted a lunch for guests and sponsors along with the visiting team’s committee members. The Nenagh Ormond Brass Band played outside to welcome supporters and visitors into the ground and to top it off the Magners League Trophy was on display in the club for the day. The day was thoroughly enjoyed by all and we would like to thank all who helped out in making it such a great success. A successful day both on and off the pitch for Nenagh Ormond !

Nenagh got off to the best possible start in the All Ireland League division 3 on Saturday. There were seven trys with five coming from the backs. That tells a lot of the story. As was evident from the previous week’s game, Nenagh had a bit of pace out wide in this year’s game plan. It is a lot different when compared to last year. Something to highlight the point would be Eoin Gardiner who has been a valuable scrum half to Nenagh for the last number of years, starts at out half until the specialist out halves come back to training. However Eoin’s interlinking and quick passing is now providing space out wide for the full back and wingers. Suddenly it is hard to see a change as his interlinking fits the game plan extremely well.

Not to be giving all the plaudits to the backs, the forwards were very good and provided a lot of ball. Line outs worked and functioned very well with Connemara struggling to cope with Darren Gallagher. The forwards were ably led by the captain who was outstanding and seemed to be everywhere. Michael Kennedy is playing a Captains role and his team were following.

Saturday was a great start but there will be no one getting carried away. There are lots of fellas on the side line trying to get their place so standards will have to be maintained and kept. Nenagh owned the ball in the first half and were on the score board very early. Trys by Messrs Kingston, Carey x 2, and Delaney secured Nenagh a bonus point before half time. Nenagh put a lot of width when playing with the ball in hand and Connemara tended to struggle with the pace particularly out wide. It was difficult for Connemara when they were without the ball for long periods, however just before half time they were awarded with a try when their loose forward broke away from a ruck situation and suddenly for all Nenagh’s play they were only 15 points clear. There was a good breeze behind Connemara in the second half and they tagged on a penalty and missed a second one. These were anxious moments for Nenagh supporters, however Nenagh got back to basics and saw Darren Gallagher score from a maul. Further try’s came from Colm McMahon for his second and David Corcoran after a lovely sweeping movement over and back across the field.

The result was pretty comprehensive. Nenagh now travel to Portadown who themselves were beaten last weekend and will be stung. They will also have the advantaged of playing Nenagh already and knowing what to expect. Last Saturday was a great start but it will matter for nothing unless Nenagh continue to push forward.

Nenagh second team travelled to Old Crescent on Sunday last and came away with a good win under their belt. Nenagh were first to score with the backs showing some good ball hadling skills and M Walsh finishing off well. Nenagh scored a 2nd try when they ran from their own 22 then worked it well through both forwards and backs before touching down for the try which was duly converted. Old Crescent got on the scoreboard through a penalty after getting into Nenagh’s half. Just before half time though, Nenagh replied with a Robbie White penalty from the half way line. Half time score Nenagh 15 - Old Crescent 3.

Nenagh were first to score again in the second half, through a very well worked move which put G Hermes through, and a well earned try was the result! Nenagh then made two changes bringing on T Connors and M Slattery. A cross field kick from Robbie White was caught on the wing by T Connors who touched down for another great try. Old Crescent then scored a try of their own through some hard work by their forwards. Nenagh were then awarded a penalty which Robbie White slotted over. C Treacy came on to replace S White. Old Crescent worked their way into Nenagh territory and a cross field kick from their out half put their winger in scoring ground. E Kelly replaced E Ryan. Old Crescent then went on to score a pushover try from a lineout. J Whelan then came on for C Ryan with a few minutes to go. The final score was Nenagh 28 Old Crescent 18

Team: J Flynn, K Ryan, W O’ Mahony, M Meklock, D Walsh, S Delaney, R O’ Brien, E Ryan, P Fogarty, R White, A Jackson, S White, G Hermse, J Long (C), M Walsh, J Whelan, E Kelly, M Slattery, C Treacy, T Connors

The Nenagh ladies went to the top of the division 2 table after round two, with a win last Sunday over a strong Galbally team. Galbally had got off to a winning start the previous week beating their close neighbours Clanwilliam so Nenagh knew it would be a tough game, particularly up front.

From the start of the game it looked as if both teams were fairly evenly matched but Galbally had a purple patch, having the wind in the first half. They took advantage of the territory they gained and from a line-out close to the Nenagh try line, they spread the ball wide. Their fullback and captain picked an excellent line to cut through the Nenagh defence and get in for a try close to the posts.

Nenagh rallied together and were determined to get back in the game. Getting a penalty close to the Galbally line, Nenagh backed themselves for the try instead of kicking for the posts. Paula Ryan crashed the ball up well getting within inches of the line and excellent quick ball to out-half Genevieve Rowland saw her power through two defenders and touch down. She also converted the try to leave the score 7- 7 at half time.

The second half was even tougher with both teams competing at every break down. Nenagh kept their structure very well and were much stronger in contact. The two hard training sessions during the week really paid off and Nenagh bonded very well as a team with the new players this season really gelling with the older heads. The determination from the entire team paid off and with continued pressure inside the Galbally 22, Nenagh again backed themselves by running a penalty. Paula Ryan looped around Genevieve Rowland to score in the corner with only a few minutes left to play. Nenagh kept their composure for the last few minutes and kept the pressure on, winning a Galbally lineout to spoil their last play.

Noticeable performances came from Sandra Farrell in the second row who scrummaged well against a much bigger pack and took on the ball, making good ground. Eithne Darcy turned over several balls at the break down with her partner in crime in the back row, Paula Ryan. Kyla Maxwell made some good tackles from outside centre to halt several Galbally attacks and Anne O’Reilly made a big impact from the bench making several breaks up the wing putting Nenagh in behind the Galbally defence.

Nenagh have a break now for two weeks and are planning a team night out next weekend. Training continues Wednesday and Friday nights in the rugby club. New players are always welcome whether you have played before or are a total beginner. Contact Jen on 087 2201596.

Team; Breda Doheny, Maria Butler, Kyla Maxwell, Niamh Hogan, Claire Maxwell, Genevieve Rowland, Colleen McCullough, Sam Zubrzycki, Dawn Kennedy, Bob Ryan, Barbara Noonan, Sandra Farrell, Eithne Darcy, Paula Ryan, Maeve Darcy, Anne O’Reilly and Laura Nugent.

Nenaghs U-19’s began their defence of the East Munster League, with a disappointing defeat to their old rivals Waterpark on Sunday morning in Lissatunny.

A bright and dry morning provided an ideal day for rugby, with the game being played in almost perfect conditions - with good ground under foot and almost no breeze to speak of. Nenagh started well, with Willie O’Connor troubling the Waterpark defence every time he had the ball in hand, however this good work was undone early on when Waterpark struck after ten minutes to take the early lead. From some good pressure in the scrum, they were able to establish a good attacking platform, and after some weak tackling in the centre, were able to cross the line for an unconverted try. The home team upped their game at this point, and after some slick passing among the backs, with Fergal Hayes and Cathal Carey very much to the fore, the ball was fumbled just short of the Waterpark line, for what would undoubtedly have been the equalizing score. Waterpark responded immediately, and from a surging run from their impressive second row, made good ground into the Nenagh 22, and from a quick ruck, managed to cross out wide for their second score of the game. The Nenagh boys lifted their game yet again, and spent the remainder of the half camped in Waterpark territory, but try as they might, they could not manage to make the breakthrough. In part, this was due to some strong Waterpark defence, particularly from their pack, but much of the Nenagh misfortune was down to poor handling on the day, as two clear cut try scoring opportunities were spurned, and they were to go in at halftime ten points to nil down.

The second half continued in much the same vein, with Nenagh exerting lots of pressure on the Waterpark defence, and they always looked dangerous whenever the ball was swept wide to O’Connor, Carey, Dean or Adam Wallace. The pack were having a tough day at the office against a very well drilled Waterpark outfit, but they gave as good as they got in most area’s, with Thomas McNamara, Cathal Donovan and Conor Whelan worthy of a mention. Waterpark got in for two more converted tries in the second half, with Nenagh getting over for a much deserved score, after many near misses, when Fergal Hayes touched down after at least half a dozen phases of ruck and maul on the Waterpark line, to leave the final scoreline of Waterpark 24 - Nenagh 7.

Although the final scoreline was disappointing and did somewhat flatter Waterpark, there were a lot of positives to be taken from the match, and but for some early season handling errors, the scoreline would have been quite different. The backline on show on Sunday will give most teams a tough time of it as the season progresses, and the pack (short of 2-3 regular starters) performed well and will only improve from this game.

Forwards – Thomas McNamara, Paidi Curtin, Padraig Maxwell, Kevin O’Gorman, Cathal Donovan, John Bourke, Ronan Murray, Ryan Cooney and Conor Whelan

Backs - Fergal Hayes, Sean Fogarty, Dean Wallace, Willie O’Connor, Cathal Carey, Kevin Walsh, Eoin Chadwick, Adam Wallace and Michael Long

The team will hope to get back to winning ways with an away fixture to Dungarvan on Sunday 11th of October at 11am, and training continues as normal in Lissatunny each Friday night at 7pm, and the management would ask for a full turnout as players return for the season.

The under 17’s had their first full game of the season on Sunday last against Waterpark in the East Munster league. Despite limited preparation the team showed good promise in an open encounter.

Waterpark started very well scoring near the posts after good early pressure. Nenagh then started to defend well led by D Cottom , C Lucey , P Ryan and J Nolan. A sweeping break by G McNamera got Nenagh back into the game with a penalty scored by J Donovan. Nenagh now began to play with very good work by K Seymour, E Keller, E Maher in the backs and A Commane , K Keogh up front. In the second half Nenagh dominated the set pieces, particularly the lineouts, with good work by C Comerford, J Hayes , K Meagher and K buckley. J Larkin, E Fogarty, and D Flannery also contributed well.

From this domination K OFlaherty was unfortunate not to score when at the line following a good drive. Waterpark sealed the game in the final minute.

With a number of players injured and with some players to come back into the squad the training needs to be increased in intensity. Training continues on Tuesday and Friday at 7.30 in Lissatunny. New players always welcome.

Squad: D Cottom , C Lucey , P Ryan J Nolan, G McNamera, J Donovan, K Seymour , E Keller, E Maher, A Commane , K Keogh, C Comerford, J Hayes , K Meagher K buckley. J Larkin, E Fogarty, D Flannery, K OFlaherty

17 children and 17 adults took off on Thursday 24^th September for the lovely warm climate of Port De Bouc in the south of France to participate in an under 11 International Rugby Blitz.

Under the watchful eyes of coaches Fergal Healy, Mervyn Hayes, Vincent Molloy, Michael Keating, Tony Wells and Mick Mackey, the boys played 8 thrilling matches against local clubs and neighbouring Corsica to reach the final against Lyon. This was a tough final, with each player giving their all. Billy Seymour scored a brilliant try to secure our win with the final score Lyon 0 – Nenagh Ormond 1. The shield will be hung with pride in our clubhouse for the next 12 months when it will pass to the next up and coming under 11 team to return to lovely Port De Bouc to retain the title for Nenagh Ormond RFC.

Congratulations to all the players and a big THANK YOU to Councillor Seamus Morris for organising our invitation. A great weekend was had by all.

Tries scored by: Billy Seymour 4, Ben Healy 2, David Mackey 2, Darragh Molloy 2, Mervyn Hayes 2, Alex Hayes 1, Jake Morris 1, Sean Smith 1, Jake O’ Kelly 1

Match Results: Chateaunemard 0 – 3 Nenagh, Manosque 0 – 2 Nenagh, Ajaccio 0 – 4 Nenagh, O.S.G.L. Lyon 1 – 1 Nenagh, Gandeus 0 – 1 Nenagh, Clales 0 – 1 Nenagh, Manguin 0 – 3 Nenagh, O.S.G.L. Lyon 0 – 1 Nenagh

Nenagh Ormond RFC under 13s played a friendly against Shannon on Friday night under lights in Lisatunny. They were narrowly defeated by 2 points, final score Nenagh 17 – Shannon 19. There was a good turn-out and everyone enjoyed to run out.

Nenagh Ormond RFC Under 12 group were invited & travelled to an All Ireland U12 Blitz at Dubarry Park, Athlone RFC on Sunday morning last.

Twenty teams, five from each Province were invited by the I.R.F.U. to take part.

Nenagh Ormond RFC travelled with a panel of fourteen players, which was the maximum allowed. In their group were Castleisland RFC, Malahide RFC, Corinthians RFC & Cavan RFC

Nenagh Ormond Under 12s won all their games & they all gave a great exhibition of Rugby.

Any player still not registered please contact Dorothy Keating 086 1709150 or Helen Young 087 6322934 for details

All other fixtures will be notified at training and available later in the week on our club website. www.nenaghormondrfc.com

The two previous weeks performances would have seen Nenagh travel to Portadown with a degree of optimism. They had played the same team two weeks ago in the league and had won well, so Nenagh looked to build on the first weeks performance. Portadown however had many changes to personnel and adopted a game plan that sought to contain Nenagh and counter attack thereafter. Nenagh in a lot of respects played in Portadown’s hands. Nenagh started brightly and looked to move the ball at all times. They were awarded with a penalty which was converted by David Delaney. However, they seemed to trigger trying to run the ball at all times from all places including our own 22. A good Portadown defence resulted in a turn over and Portadown ran back in a try. Nenagh responded to go 6/5 ahead, however Portadown were putting on a lot of pressure and the Nenagh set piece was beginning to creak a little. This resulted in a further Portadown try. Nenagh had a third penalty and turned 10/9 down at half time. Portadown cranked up the pressure again and Nenagh found it difficult to get good ball. A further penalty from David Delaney meant that Nenagh led 12/10. However, the concession of a further try meant that all the good work had been undone. At the last 20 minutes Nenagh more or less owned the ball and pounded the Portadown line, however knock on’s, small mistakes and problems with execution meant that Nenagh did not score any further. Portadown got a final penalty to win out the game.

Nenagh have a very young side and will look back on the game as a lost opportunity, As much down to their own naivety as Portadown’s good play. The set piece will have to be repaired. It was a good opportunity to put a lot of this to bear in the AIB cup against Landsdown in Dublin next weekend. Landsdowne have at lease eight contracted and former contracted players playing with them, so it will be a great opportunity for the Nenagh team.

M. Kennedy. (Captain), D. Horan, D. Dunne, D. Gallagher, B. Williams,K. Quigley, A Grey, S O’Callaghan, M. Fogarty, E. Gardiner, T Connolly, J. Kingston, D. Corcoran, S Harvey, S.Carey.

No fixture on Sunday last. Training continues as normal on Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30pm. New players always welcome.

No fixture on Sunday last. We play Kilfeacle in the East Munster League next weekend. K.O. time to be confirmed at training.

The u17 team went to Dungarvan on Sunday to play in the East Munster League. Travelling short handed did not help the situation and this was reflected in a poor first half performance. They trailed 27- o at half time and looked completed out of it. This was despite honest work from C Comerford, E Fogarty, K Meagher, J Larkin and E Keller

However from the kick off C Gleeson made a big hit and he went on to provide the spark for a spirited fight back. A try was soon on the board after combinations between backs and forwards by D Cottom this was converted by the same player. Nenagh now owned the ball and E Maher, K Keogh, C Lucey and K OFlaherty were making inroads every time they ran onto the ball. Nenagh got to the line on numerous occasions but did not get over. Then Good inter change lead to a another try by G McNamera and when J Donovan changed the direction of the attack to find space out wide A Commane ran in another try again converted

This left it at 27 -21 but time ran out. The second half showed what the team can do but like last week another one slipped away .

Training continues on Tuesday and Friday at 7.30pm. new and returning players always welcome.

Squad: C Comerford, E Fogarty, K Meagher, J Larkin, E Keller, D Cottom, E Maher, K Keogh, C Lucey K OFlaherty G McNamara J Donovan A Commane C Gleeson.

Roscrea RFC travelled to New Ormond Park on Sunday morning last with U8,U10 & U12 teams. An enjoyable mornings rugby was had by all underage groups.

The Under 8’s, 10’s and 12’s are away to Cashel RFC on Sunday next, 18th October in a blitz including Kilfeacle RFC .

Coaches and parents please meet at Tyone training ground at 9.30am sharp on Sunday morning

Have a number of Registration I.D. Cards to hand out from the Munster Branch of The I.R.F.U. for the Juvenile Section

Tickets for the Heineken Cup will be handed out this Wednesday night (tonight) and the Wednesday night prior to each home match. As usual this will take place in the clubhouse between 8pm and 8.30 pm on the relevant night. A reminder to all members re the procedure re tickets this season again, for each match please ring Breda at 31841 and leave your name, the number of tickets requested and a contact number. All tickets must be paid for on the night of collection, without exception. The IRFU and Munster branch have installed a direct debit system in regard to tickets, funds are debited from our account on the Monday after each match, hence all tickets must be paid for on collection. Also, please note that only fully paid up members can apply for tickets, so if you have not paid this years sub yet, please drop into Philip Talbot/Michael Gilmartin or post/hand to Mick Mackey as soon as possible. There are a number of very attractive matches taking place in Croke Park in November versus Australia on November 15th and South Africa on November 28th. Can members please ring Breda as soon as possible to outline their requirements for these matches. If you haven't bought a ticket for the club draw tickets are still available for the next 5 draws for 2 stand tickets for selected games. Details on the website www.nenaghormondrfc.com

All other fixtures will be notified at training and available later in the week on our club website www.nenaghormondrfc.com

We would like to thank everyone who supported our Club Draw, the people who sold tickets and especially those of you who bought them ! Our first draw was held last week for 2 stand tickets for the Munsver v Benetton Treviso match in Thomond Park. The lucky winner was Ger McNamara. Well done Ger ! Tickets are still available for anyone interested at a reduced cost of €25 for the 5 remaining draws. Contact Seanie McCullough on 087 2485832 or any committee member.

The Limerick Leprechauns will take on the mighty Nenagh Ormond Golden Oldies on Sunday next at 2pm in New Ormond Park, Lisatunny. This match is being organised as a fund raising event for Rape Crisis Mid West. A great day is planned for the event with Family Fun events such as Bouncy Castles, Face Painting, BBQ, Halloween Fancy Dress etc. There will also be a Monster Auction for items ranging from Signed Rugby Gear to Designer Dresses and Beauty Products to Solid Fuel Stoves !! So come on out and enjoy the fun, there will be some past greats from both Munster and Nenagh in action on the field and all in aid of a very worthy cause.

There was very little chance of Nenagh securing a repeat of the famous victory last year in the AIB cup. Landowne looked every part of a division two side and were bigger, stronger and quicker in most facets of play. That said, the score line shows a comprehensive victory and Landowne were valued for their score line.

Nenagh in the early stages seemed to be a little bit overawed and stood off Landowne a bit. The score at half time of 22 - 3 in favour of Lansdowe might have been a little more, the longer the game went on Nenagh were that bit better and showed a bit more of what they are capable of. Line outs continued to be a concern for us though. Nenagh had a better balanced side but primary position particularly from scum and line out is going to be vital going forward. Nenagh plays Sundays Well in the All Ireland League next week. Sundays Well have already won their first two games. Nenagh are now on the back of two straight defeats. Now would be an ideal time to arrest any further slide and the pressure will be on to ensure that the set pieces for scrum and line out will function properly. For the record Nenagh scores were a David Delaney penalty and a try from Stephen Carey. No doubt Nenagh will be itching to resume winning ways knowing that there will be a lot of work going on behind the scenes to ensure that this is the case.

TEAM: M. Kennedy (Captain), D. Horan, F. Brislane, M. Slattery, B Williams, K Quigley, R O’Brien, E. Ryan, M. Fogarty, D. Delaney, T. Connolly, J. Kingston, S. Carey, A. Jackson, G. Harmse

Nenagh second XV hosted Garryowen on Sunday last and were very unlucky not to secure a win. The home team were trailing by 3 and battling well but the final whistle came too soon. Final score Nenagh 15 – Garryowen 18. Next week they travel to Young Munster.

No fixture on Sunday last. Training continues as normal on Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30pm. New players always welcome.

Congratulations to Sandra Williams, former Nenagh player who was on the starting 15 for the Munster Ladies in Thomond Park on Saturday and who scored Munster’s opening try. Well done Sandra.

A depleted Nenagh U-19’s made the long journey to Dungarvan on Sunday morning in their second League outing of the season. With just the bare 15, as a result of some ongoing illness and injury problems, Nenagh took to the field in determined mood and took the game to Dungarvan from the off.

The backs were particularly to the fore in the opening minutes, with both Cathal Carey and Fergal Hayes making some good line breaks. Dungarvan too played some fine rugby in the opening half, and were it not for some strong tackling from Conor Whelan and Eoin ‘Shaggy’ Chadwick, the Nenagh line could have been breached. With the Nenagh pack now beginning to exert some strong pressure at ruck and maul, it seemed like only a matter of time before the first score would come, but try as they might, the Tipp men were unable to convert all of their pressure to points, and against the run of play, Dungarvan struck a penalty after hands at the ruck, to leave the halftime score at three points to nil.

The second half continued in much the same vein, with Nenagh camped in the Dungarvan half, and full credit must be paid to the stout defence that held them at bay. But like all great matches, and let me tell you that this was one – Nenagh’s belief and experience paid off in the end when a well worked move between backs and forwards resulted in Thomas McNamara bursting onto a superb inside pass from his Outhalf, to run in Nenagh’s first score with fifteen minutes remaining. The conversion was narrowly missed, but the game was put beyond doubt five minutes later, when David Cleary, making his season comeback, picked from the base of the scrum in the Dungarvan 22, and handed off at least three defenders to score out wide, to leave the final scoreline Dungarvan 3, Nenagh Ormond 10.

This was a hard fought victory against very able opponents, but it bodes well for the remainder of the season, as many of the things that are practiced on the training pitches on Friday nights are starting to be replicated on match day. The management team would ask for a full turnout at training on Friday night to help to ensure that the league campaign continues in a positive fashion.

Forwards – Thomas McNamara, Paidi Curtin, Padraig Maxwell, Kevin O’Gorman, Cathal Donovan, David Cleary, Ronan Murray, & Ryan Cooney

Backs - Fergal Hayes, Sean Fogarty, Conor Whelan, Cathal Carey, Eoin Chadwick, Adam Wallace and Michael Long

The team are home to Waterford City on Sunday 25^th of October at 11am, and training continues as normal in Lissatunny each Friday night at 7pm.

The U17 defeated Kilfeakle 31 - 24 in a friendly in Lisatunny on Sunday last.
This was a very accomplished performance by the Nenagh lads, but there is still a lot to be done in training to improve on what we are producing at the moment.

The word from Kilfeakle is that the leg injury sustained by one of their players is not as serious as initially feared, and the player will be back in action shortly.

Next week sees a return to League action with a home fixture against Waterford City (11am. Kick off.)

Kilfeacle RFC and Fethard RFC travelled to New Ormond Park for a Blitz, on Sunday morning last with U8,U10 & U12 teams

Weather conditions were ideal, and an enjoyable morning’s rugby was had by all underage groups.

Fixtures for U8s,10s and 12s for next Sunday 25th October 2009 will be announced later in the week.

A very special thanks to all the parents from Nenagh Ormond RFC Juvenile Committee, who provided sandwiches and pastries for our guests Kilfeacle RFC and Fethard RFC on Sunday morning. Also to the ladies & gentlemen who helped with the catering & providing hot drinks from the kitchen.

We hope to continue with this for our next home blitz, as its adds a new social aspect to our games, and its all very much appreciated by visiting Clubs.

Have a number of Registration I.D. Cards to hand out from the Munster Branch of The I.R.F.U. for the Juvenile Section. Please contact them at training on Thursday at 6.15pm or on Sunday morning at the games.

All other fixtures will be notified at training and available later in the week on our club website www.nenaghormondrfc.com

Thanks again to everybody who supported our Club Draw. Tickets are still available for anyone interested at a reduced cost of €25 for the 5 remaining draws. Contact Seanie McCullough on 087 2485832 or any committee member.

Thanks and well done to everybody who made this event such a success. A great day was had by everyone and some well deserved and badly needed funds raised for Rape Crisis Mid West. The Leprechauns came away the winners on the day but some good fun was had on the field in spite of the terrible weather.

Last Saturday Nenagh hosted Sundays Well, who are captained this year by local lad and former Nenagh player Alan Long. The final score of 6 – nil to Nenagh emphasised the poor weather conditions with Nenagh’s scores all coming from the boot of David Delaney.

Last Sunday’s scheduled away fixture against Young Munster was postponed due to the weather conditions. This week we are due to play Bruff at home.

Nenagh Ladies travelled to Shannon on Sunday last but unfortunately were beaten 17 – 10. Training continues as normal on Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30pm. New players always welcome.

Nenagh U-19’s continued their winning ways when at home to Waterford City on Sunday morning at Lisatunny.

With the return of the influential Willie O’Connor from injury, Nenagh took to the field in buoyant mood and although playing against a strong breeze blowing out from the town end, took the game to Waterford City with some excellent passing and running. Given the tough conditions, the forwards were particularly to the fore in the opening minutes, and strong running from Thomas McNamara, Ryan Cooney and Cathal Donovan gave the home team good field position, and from a scrum close to the Waterford line, David Cleary was able to pick and go for the first of the Nenagh tries. Fergal Hayes duly converted, to give Nenagh a 7 to nil lead. Cathal Carey was next to strike for what would be the first of his hat-trick of tries, when he straightened the line after some strong running from Conor Whelan and Willie O’Connor. At this point, the Tipperary outfit were in complete control of the game, and only rushed passes prevented the Waterford line from being breached yet again. With the Nenagh pack now beginning to exert some strong pressure at ruck and maul, the third try did come just before half time when a scintillating run down the sideline by Michael Long was rewarded with another try for Nenagh, to leave the half time score at 17 points to nil.

Although Waterford City began the second half by putting strong pressure on the Nenagh line, the home team were able to soak this pressure up for the first ten minutes or so, and after some try saving tackles from Sean Fogarty and Ryan Cooney, a breakout started by Cathal Carey in the centre, was finished with a well taken try by the same player. This score was quickly followed by another try from David Cleary when he chipped the winger to recover the ball and score on the right wing. It was all Nenagh at this point, and the sixth and final try was added after a well worked move between backs and forwards when a strong run from Thomas McNamara from the back of a maul was held up just short of the line, and some quick hands from Sean Fogarty to his backs saw Cathal Carey cross the line again. The conversion was duly dispatched by Willie O’Connor, to see Nenagh run out convincing winners on a scoreline of 34 points to nil.

Forwards – Thomas McNamara, Paidi Curtin, Padraig Maxwell, Kevin O’Gorman, Cathal Donovan, David Cleary, Ronan Murray, Seamus Treacy, & Ryan Cooney

Backs - Fergal Hayes, Sean Fogarty, Conor Whelan, Cathal Carey, Eoin Chadwick, Kevin Walsh, Willie O’Connor and Michael Long

The 19’s next League game is at home to Fethard on November 8th, and another big performance is expected from this talented bunch of players as they strive for a playoff place as they seek to defend their League title. Training continues on Friday night at 7pm

Our Under 15s had a good run out on Sunday morning when they hosted Kilfeakle and managed to come away with a good win.

All other fixtures will be notified at training and available later in the week on our club website www.nenaghormondrfc.com

Nenagh Ormond showed lots of heart and courage in the last quarter and secured a draw against Barnhall.

Indeed, Barnhall will be disappointed as they feel that they would probably have left two points behind them in this game.

What started as a fine Autumn day finished with rain for three quarters of the game, some of it torrential at times. Barnhall were much brighter at the start and went on the offensive immediately. They were rewarded with a penalty. Thereafter, Nenagh responded very strongly and were camped on the Barnhall line for ten minutes. This resulted in a Nenagh penalty to reply. The game was very open at this stage and both sides were attempting to run the ball where possible and an infringement of the breakdown resulted in a further penalty for Barnhall. Nenagh came right back into the game and were reward with a try from captain, Mike Kennedy who had an outstanding game. Conditions had deteriorated at this stage and close-in driving off the back of mauls was at a premium. Nenagh made lots of ground doing this and the captain was as effective as anybody in this type of play. Barnhall received another penalty to make it 10-9 and half time was just upon us.

However, Barnhall kicked a grubber kick just in behind the backs. The Barnhall player was first to meet the ball and kicked at it again which came directly off Stephen Carey and back into his hands and he ended up scoring between the posts. 16-10 seemed very harsh going in at half time but that’s what the scoreboard said.

The second half Barnhall attempted to press their advantage home. Conditions were very wet. Nenagh never let Barnhall near scoring a try, however Barnhall seemed to have lots of possession. Nenagh, for their part, tended to rush things and gave the ball away much too easily. Barnhall dominated the possession but didn’t ever look like scoring again. As the second half wore on, Nenagh came into the game more and very good driving off by the forwards in particular created space. They were rewarded with two penalties which were both converted by David Delaney and ultimately earned Nenagh the draw. The coaches will have been delighted with the commitment and courage shown in order to eek out a draw when it seemed unlikely. There still seems to be a certain naivety particularly given the wet conditions on Saturday. The territory and possession have to be at a premium given Saturdays conditions. The game was definitely progress and everybody is entitled to be very pleased. This result leaves Nenagh fifth in the table.

M. Kennedy (Capt.), D. Dunne, F. Brislane, D. Walsh, M. Slattery, B. Williams, K. Quigley, S. O’Callaghan, M. Fogarty, D. Delaney, T. Connolly, J. Kingston, P. Breen, D. Corcoran, S. Carey.

Match Report from previous week’s AIL Division 3 home game versus Sundays Well.

In a game played in howling wind and rain for most of the first half Nenagh secured a very good win against strong opponents from Cork as stated in last weeks report. It was time for Nenagh to stand up having suffered two defeats at the hands of Portadown and Lansdown.

Nenagh played with the elements in the first half and absolutely owned the ball for 20 minutes. There was good Nenagh movement and a lot of pressure on Sundays Well’s Defence and they conceded two penalties which were duly converted by David Delaney. Nenagh were playing in a howling gale and to the objective eye would have needed more scores on the board turning on the second half. The second part of the first part though belonged to Sundays Well who kept possession mauled off the back at rucks and kept Nenagh frustrated for the most part. It was not a day for spinning the ball out wide and any attempt to do so invariably broke down as the wind was interfering with the flight of the ball at all times. This was a very worrying spell for Nenagh.

Six nil up and half time the whistle blew. There would have been grave concern on the lines of Nenagh supporters.

The second half started as the first had ended and Sundays Well owned the ball. They were definitely in the ascendancy against territory. The Nenagh line out had creaked during this period, however it was easier to have a throw in in the line out with the wind blowing against you than it was in the first half and Nenagh’s line out started to function a bit better.

In the last 20 minutes of the game Nenagh really upped the ante and the defence was absolutely outstanding. Man for man men were put to the ground, frequently balls were robbed at the ruck, the scrum got stronger and the line out functioned better. It was a difficult day to be a back as they saw little action, but what action they did see the defended manfully. You get the feeling that sometimes a performance can make or break a team. After the two previous defeats this was a major step forward but more in the heart and spirit that the Nenagh players showed for each other in that last 20 minutes. The crowd really got into the game as it wore on and that was directly attributable to the Nenagh players.

A deserved victory but again next week presents its own challenges. Nenagh will travel to Barnhall and maintaining momentum is what it is all about.

TEAM: M. Fogarty (Captain), D. Horan, F. Brislane, K Quigley, D. Walsh, S. O’Callaghan, B. Williams, E. Ryan, D. Delaney, J. Kingston, T. Connolly, D. Corcoran, P Breen, S. Carey

Nenagh Ladies had no fixture last weekend. However, the previous weekend they faced Shannon in the league. With some notable absences from the pack, Nenagh still managed to have a large panel on the day and full credit has to go to the backs who lined out in the forwards for the match.

Nenagh started stronger even against the wind, getting into the Shannon 22 with some good picking and driving. However, Shannon got on the score board early in the game. From a turnover ball, Shannon cross-kicked to their pacey winger Aoife Crowley who out-paced the covering defense and touched down in the corner. Nenagh re-started well but Shannon began to gain more territory, using the wind to their advantage. As conditions worsened, Nenagh kept the ball in tight but Shannon spread the ball wide from a turnover and Crowley got in for her second try past the scrambling defense, almost a replay of the first score.

Nenagh took a blow when hooker, Dawn Kennedy went off injured in the first half. With a re-arranged scrum and line-out, Nenagh did well to continue to win most of their set-pieces. Shannon added to their lead just before half time with a strong run from their full-back Amanda Greensmith who broke several tackles to touch down under the posts. With the conversion, Nenagh were 17-0 down at the break.

With the wind behind them for the second half, Nenagh were still up for the game. Out-half Genevieve Rowland, gained good territory with the boot. Rowland got Nenagh’s first try when she crashed over the line after sustained pressure inside Shannon’s 22. Kyla Maxwell was unlucky not to convert, kicking just inches wide in the terrible conditions. Nenagh continued to pressure Shannon but with the wind dying down for the rest of the game, Shannon were happy to kick the ball at every opportunity to keep Nenagh away from their line. Nenagh crossed the line for their second try through Breda Doheny. Nenagh had the Shannon defense sucked in close to the line and then spread the ball wide for the speedy full-back to run in and get Nenagh within one score.

Nenagh lost another front rower, Bob Ryan through injury. Even with the Nenagh pack looking more and more like a back-line, the pressure continued. However Shannon retained the ball well in the dying minutes of the game and Nenagh ran out of time. Nenagh had to settle for a losing bonus point and at least denying Shannon a 4-try bonus by keeping them scorless in the second half.

Team: Breda Doheny, Laura Nugent, Kyla Maxwell, Niamh Hogan, Maria Butler, Genevieve Rowland, Jennifer Carter, Sam Zubrzycki, Dawn Kennedy , Bob Ryan, Gillian Ryan, Eithne Darcy, Claire Maxwell, Anne O’Reilly, Maeve D’Arcy, Sarah Walsh, Colleen McCullough.

Nenagh face their old rivals Youghal at home in Lisatunny next Sunday and are hoping to get back to their winning ways. Youghal are unbeaten in the league up to now so the Nenagh girls will be facing a tough challenge. Training continues every Wednesday and Friday night in the rugby club in Lisatunny. New players are always welcome to come along and give rugby a try. Contact Jen on 087 2201596.

Nenagh Ormond Under 11s played against Cashel RFC at the half time interval of the Munster V Ulster match in Thomond Park last Saturday night 31st October 2009.

The Nenagh boys played some great rugby and came out eventual winners two tries to nil.

It was a great honour for Nenagh Ormond RFC Juvenile Section to be invited to take part once again.

A special thank you to all the Coaches, who put a lot of time and effort to make it all happen in Thomond Park

Nenagh Ormond RFC Juvenile Section Under 8s, 10s and 12s travel away next Sunday morning 8th November 2009 to Fethard RFC

Any player not already registered please contact Dorothy Keating 086 1709150 or Helen Young 087 6322934

Our under 15s fixture in Scariff last Sunday morning was cancelled due to the weather conditions.

Tickets are still available for anyone interested at a reduced cost of €25 for the 5 remaining draws. Contact Seanie McCullough on 087 2485832 or any committee member.

Following on from a very successful evening when Munster A faced a Russian side in Nenagh some time back, the club has been honoured with another Munster A fixture. This time it is in the British and Irish cup competition and Bristol are the opposition. The last occasion Munster A played in Nenagh was a friendly match against a touring side and the club had more or less the run of things themselves. This time will be different, much different.

First of all, this is an official Munster competetive fixture where Munster are hosting Bristol in the B&I cup, with Nenagh Ormond providing the venue for Friday Nov 27th, kickoff 7.30PM. Initially, it was thought a friendly fixture might be had and perhaps a few local lads might turn out for the province to help mark the 125th birthday of the club. That was not feasable and so this fixture was offered in its stead and grasped with delight by the club. The last occasion Munster A played in Nenagh it was very much an academy side with a few veterans. This time will be in the Autumn international window and anyone not involved in that project or injured, will be available for selection.

Munster rugby are allowing for the possibility of a crowd of up to 3,000 and will provide that number of tickets. With such a crowd arriving, many possibly at the last minute given the Friday evening hour, a cash turnstile is deemed impossible. Tickets will be bar coded just like your Thomond Park tickets and Munster rugby will be providing their own gate staff equipped with electronic scanners. Tickets will be on sale at various venues around the town in the intervening time as well as on the Munster rugby official web site and will be selling for €10 for adults and €3 for juveniles. There may be a booth near the grounds with a limited supply for late arrivals without tickets - announcement to follow. If you are ariving from the Knockalton or beyond direction, please proceed past the club and into town to board a free shuttle bus.

In anticipation of surrounding fields being waterlogged for parking purposes, it has been decided to operate a free park and ride facility with six buses rotating between the field and town parking areas, details next week following a press night, date of which is to be announced this week also. Tickets will be on sale at both venues for patrons arriving from farther afield and Gardai will be monitoring traffic control. There will be no parking allowed on the Thurles Road nor in the grounds themselves, organisers, caterers, entertainers, special needs, emergency services and buses excepted. Anyone wishing to be exempt from the general rule for good reason, needs to make contact with a club member in advance for their special needs/treatment, passes or whatever step we can take. We do wish to make this a happy as well as proud evening for NORFC.

A special word here for the more recalcitrant among our regular patrons - you know who you are - and their visiting soulmates in the Guardian cachment area. There won't be room for YOUR car in the club grounds. Do NOT drive up to the club gates at 7.25 with a tenner held out the window or worse, hidden deep down in some forgotten pocket. Follow the stewards just like the others and take a bus from town. Your patronage as always will be greatly appreciated. There will be six buses using the club parking facilities every few minutes from six o'clock onwards plus two team buses and two tents and emergency services all taking up room. This is a Munster rugby event and their writ holds sway on the night. Please refrain until apres match from sharpening your axe on the ears of hard pressed club members at the coalface in regard to any grievance. Yours will be heard too when and where appropriate. Why do you think we need a second tent?

We look forward to seeing you one and all and hope you enjoy a good evenings rugby and entertainment and a Munster victory.

All last week’s matches were called off due to the terrible weather conditions both here and in other locations.

Senior XV have a home AIL fixture this week against Banbridge on Saturday at 2.30pm

Training continues for all teams as normal and fixtures will be notified at training or on our club website – www.nenaghormondrfc.com

Nenagh Ormond RFC Juvenile Section Under 8s, 10s and 12s travel away this Sunday morning 15th November 2009 to Fethard RFC for a Blitz which will include Thurles RFC. Please all meet at Tyone training ground at 9.15am.Thanks NORFC Coaches

Last Sunday Nenagh Ormond RFC Juvenile Section U8.U10.U12 were due to travel to Fethard RFC but was called off due to flooding.

Parents please contact any of the Juvenile Coaches if you are not on the Mobile Web Messaging service for notification of fixtures and cancellations etc.

Any player not already registered please contact Dorothy Keating 086 1709150 or Helen Young 087 6322934

Tickets currently available for Ireland v Australia on Sunday next – contact Breda on 067 31841

As we prepare for Munster A to take on Bristol Rugby in the ‘British and Irish Cup’ in New Ormond Park on Friday night 27^th November we are delighted to report that ticket sales are going very well. A large number of supporters are expected to travel from Bristol aswell as from all over Munster. Tickets are on sale now in 4 locations in the town, Talbots Menswear, Mitchell St., Gilmartin Auctioneers, Pearse St., The Dapp Inn and Una Powells. Park & Ride Facilities will be in place for this match.

Main pick-up point will be Nenagh Railway Station – other locations to be confirmed later. These will be notified in next week’s issue and also on our club website at www.nenaghormondrfc.com when confirmed.

These locations will be manned by NORFC stewards from 5.30 on the day of the match.

First Shuttle Bus will leave at 6pm and will run continuously. Return busses will leave immediately after the game and run until 10pm. Taxi services will be available after this time.

Nenagh secured a winning bonus point on Saturday last in Lisatunny in a very keen contest between two well matched teams.

Nenagh got off to the brighter start and were in front with a David Delaney penalty. The visitors responded thereafter. Nenagh got their heads in front when a half break by Michael Fogarty offloaded to Keith Quigley and he crashed over. The conversion was missed but Nenagh looked to be the stronger. Banbridge refused to lie down and were gaining an edge on the set piece. Some slack Nenagh defence allowed a Banbridge maul headed towards the Nenagh line. From the resulting pressure, a cross field kick meant their winger went in at the corner. The resulting conversion was missed and it was 8 all.

This was a wake up call for Nenagh and they responded with some very good pressure and excellent movement along the backs left Ger Harmse with a bit of work to do. He did very well to score on the corner. Again, the conversion was missed. Nenagh were awarded with a further penalty and supporters would have been confident.

Shortly after half time, Banbridge had a man sin-binned and one felt you were going to wait for Nenagh to take over the game. Within four minutes, Nenagh had a man sin-binned and Banbridge had a penalty try. It was now 16-15 and Nenagh were playing against the breeze. Again, Nenagh stepped up a gear and from broken play, a strong burst off field, first by David Delaney. John Coffey was on his way and used his big frame to burly over the line. The conversion made it 23-15, again you expected Nenagh to push on. The reverse happened and Banbridge got another try and again there was a point in it. Nenagh put their heads down and responded again, this time with fabulously worked try where there was a three or four man overlap but Trevor Connolly was the name to pick up and dive over. This was to be the final score of the game leaving the score at 28-22.

Nenagh are now third in the table and there is no game for three weeks. The next game is against Middleton in Cork who are the league leaders and this will determine to a large extent what happens for the rest of the season. It is a great opportunity for the club and the team to push on to greater things. At times, Nenagh look very, very good and look like they are going to dominate games and win them well. Other times, you feel that things go lack and particularly on Saturday, we conceded scores too easily. The set piece got stronger as the game went on. Nenagh have a very good subs bench when changes are needed to be made. One feels that a small thing will lead to an exceptional performance and that some opposition team is going to suffer at some stage but we have yet to see that. Anyway, we are never totally happy are we? Well done lads.

M. Kennedy (Capt.), D. Horan, S. Brislane, M. Slattery, D. Walsh, S. O’Callaghan, K. Quigley, B. Williams, M. Fogarty, D. Delaney, J. Kingston, T. Connolly, G. Harmse, D. Corcoran, S. Carey

The U15's started this seasons league campaign with an away match against Roscrea. It proved to be a tough game with both sides putting in some great performances. Nenagh got onto the score board first with a try as a result of good pressure form the forwards with Eathon Moloney getting the touch down. Killian Glesson added another 2 points with a conversion. As a result of a harsh decision Roscrea where awarded a penalty try which was also converted. In the second half a second try came again as a result of good pressure by the Nenagh pack with Denis Flannery getting the touch down. Roscrea responded with another try to leave the sides even. Nenagh had to defend for a long period after this try and they defend well with all players putting in a great effort. Philip Hickey had a great game on the wing.

Denis Flannery had to leave the field with a shoulder injury and it looks like he will be out of action for a number of weeks. Speedy recovery to Denis from all his team members and trainers.

The u17 team went to Clonmel on Saterday evening to play in the East Munster League. Nenagh for the first time this year had a good squad and it showed in the performance. They started brightly but a dropped pass early in the game lead to a interception try for Clonmel. From this setback Nenagh started to dominate through C Comerford, E Obrien and C Lucey and after quickly moving the ball to the wing E Maher finished well in the corner. Nenagh came back again with C Gleeson and K Seymour providing the field positions for J Donovan and D Walsh to link up with D Cottom and J Nolan in turn to get further scores. This left the score 5 -15 at half time.

In the second half the pace dropped despite good work from A Commane , K Keogh, P Ryan and K O Flaherty and it took a good run from J Lee to get the team going again. After a lot of pressure G Mc Namera got a good score converted by D Walsh and with E Fogarty, J Larkin J O Flaherty, B O Connor J Hayes doing good work G McNamera finished the scoring with another fine break.

Training continues on Tuesday and Friday at 7.30pm. new and returning players always welcome.

Squad: C Comerford, K Seymour, E OBrien , J Hayes, P Ryan, E Fogarty, J Larkin, D Cottom, J O Flaherty, J Lee, E Maher, K Keogh, C Lucey K OFlaherty G McNamera J Donovan, A Commane, J Nolan, B OConnor C Gleeson.

Nenagh Ormond U-19’s slipped to their second defeat of the season when they lost away to Clonmel on Sunday. The team travelled in buoyant mood after a strong performance against Waterford City, and chose to play with the wind in the first half. The early exchanges were evenly contested, with Clonmel having the slight upper hand in the scrum, however after some early pressure from the Nenagh boys, David Cleary appeared in midfield after some strong back play from Cathal Carey and Willie O’Connor to get over in the corner after 15 minutes to leave the score at five points to nil. At this point, the backs were playing well, with the ball being moved at every opportunity, however under the tricky wet conditions, a number of try scoring opportunities went a begging. This was to prove costly for Nenagh, when some astute kicking from the Clonmel No. 10 gave them good field position deep within the Nenagh half, and they were able to cross for a converted try after a missed tackle in midfield following a quick lineout ball which was moved through their back line. Some further errors from the Nenagh boys allied with some questionable refereeing decisions at the breakdown, allowed the Clonmel outhalf to stretch the lead with a further two penalties before the break to leave the scores at 13 – 5.

Nenagh appeared in a determined mood for the second half, and reduced the scores when Cleary crossed again for his second of the match, and with the conversion narrowly missed, the scores stood at thirteen points to ten. Some good interplay between backs and forwards had the Nenagh lads camped on the Clonmel line for much of the second half, but try as they might, they couldn’t get the lead score, and after a relieving kick from the Clonmel backs, they were awarded with yet another penalty in front of the posts, which was duly converted to leave the scores at 16-10. Nanagh were denied a number of times in the closing minutes much to the teams frustration, and Clonmel wrapped up the win with another penalty from their No. 10 late in injury time.

Forwards – Thomas McNamara, Paidi Curtin, Padraig Maxwell, Kevin O’Gorman, Cathal Donovan, David Cleary, Ronan Murray, Cronan Gleeson, Kevin Seymour, & Ryan Cooney

Backs - Fergal Hayes, Sean Fogarty, Conor Whelan, Cathal Carey, Eoin Chadwick, Kevin Walsh, Willie O’Connor, and Dean Wallace

The 19’s next League game is at home to Fethard on November 22nd, and another big performance is expected from the team if they are to progress to the playoff stages of the League Competition. Training continues on Friday night at 7pm.

Nenagh Ormond RFC Juvenile Section U8.U10.U12 were to travel away last Sunday morning 15th November 2009 to Fethard RFC to a Blitz but unfortunately, once again it was called off due to the heavy rain.

NENAGH ORMOND JUVENILE RUGBY TABLE QUIZ

A Table Quiz will take place on this Friday night in the Club House, the Juvenile Committee are asking players and parents to please support, what will be a very important fund raising event. If anyone wishes to donate a spot prize - please contact Tony Wells 086 2267464 or Declan Kinsella 087 7930342 . Its €20 for a table of four and yes, ladies we will have the fire lighting.

On Friday night, Munster host Bristol at New Ormond Park in the British & Irish cup. Nenagh has been chosen as the venue and the club will be pulling out all the stops to see that a good sized crowd will be well catered for and can enjoy the occasion in relative comfort. Unfortunately, no-one can control the weather and it is the one aspect that threatens what promises to be a great occasion for club and province.

Due to the weather, there will be no question of close by fields being used for parking so instead, the club has decided to provide a free shuttle service. Furthermore, there will be no parking in club grounds nor along the Thurles road and Gardai and stewards will be enforcing this absolutely. In fact, a one way system will be in operation up to match time and inbound traffic will be diverted at the Knockalton roundabout.

‘Park and Ride’ locations are, Nenagh Mart Car Park, Kenyon St Car Park, The Railway Station and O’ Connors Shopping Centre Car Park. After 6.30 the town parks are free and even street parking should become a bit freer.

A free shuttle bus service will be in operation from 6.00 as well as ticket sales to those who don’t already have them. This venue will be stewarded also and patrons co-operation is hoped for in all respects. Visitors or those coming for the first time can rest assured that these car parks are only a short few minutes walk from almost anywhere you will find parking in the town.

After the match, the free shuttle service will be running back into town with last buses leaving around 10.00pm. Departure of last buses will be announced so that anyone enjoying club hospitality will be kept in touch. Thereafter, service will be provided by local taxis and mini buses.

Tickets are currently available from The Dapp Inn, Una Powells, Michael Gilmartin Auctioneers and Philip Talbot menswear. It is hoped that all club members and other locals will avail of these outlets to obtain tickets and not wait until the last minute. There could be a considerable influx from farther afield and it will challenge the system to the full. Your co-operation is sought and will be fully appreciated and a pleasant and enjoyable occasion is anticipated for all.

On the last occasion Munster A played in Nenagh a good crowed enjoyed a very entertaining match. On that occasion also, our own Donncha Ryan led out the home side but, due to Ireland A duties this weekend he will be absent this time. Still, that was a pretty strong side Munster fielded in Coventry and more of the same can be hoped for results wise.

This week our second XV hosted Old Crescent in atrocious conditions and came away with a great win. It was great to see a sizable panel present and everybody knuckling down to the cause. The conditions made it unattractive to run the ball and so all the work was of the grafting variety. Nenagh were rewarded for their tenacity with a great win and hopefully this team will go on to better things for the rest of the season. The Senior team selectors will be buoyed by the form shown by their fringe players. For the record, Nenagh scorers were Martin Fogarty and Peter O’ Connor who scored a try each, Michael Walsh who scored a conversion and a penalty.

All matches last weekend were called off due to the adverse weather conditions. This week’s fixtures will be notified at training.

Nenagh Ormond RFC Juvenile Section Under 8s, 10s and 12s are scheduled to travel away next Sunday morning 29th November 2009 to Kilfeacle RFC to a Blitz including Clanwilliam RFC and Old Cresent RFC This will be dependant on weather conditions. Please check with Coaches before travelling.

A Table Quiz was held last Friday night in the Club House . A special word of thanks to Tony Wells and Declan Kinsella for the efficient organisation and running of the Quiz, and to local businesses who donated spot prizes. Thanks also to the Senior players and members of the Ladies team who supported the event.

Well done to the winning team of Joe, John and Niamh Gleeson, Benedine and Michael Gilmarting Jr. who generously donated their winnings to the Juvenile section.

The Juvenile Committee had asked players and parents to support what was a very important fund raising event, so it is only fair to point out that the response from the parents was extremely disappointing. We are a volunteer organisation who work hard at promoting the sport of Rugby and developing the fitness, skills and personalities of young players. The fundraising events are extremely important as they allow us to provide players with equipment, transport to matches and tours abroad.

We hope for a higher level of support for the next fund raising event, to be held in the Spring.

Munster came away winners in last Friday night’s British & Irish Cup game held in Nenagh. The final score was 18 – 6 to Munster.

We would like to thank all our members, players, supporters and friends who made last Friday night such a special night in the history of the club. There was a huge effort put in by everybody involved over the past few weeks and all on a voluntary basis. It was great to see all sections of the club come together to ensure everything went off without a hitch for the first big event of our 125 year celebrations. A lot of traveling fans from both Munster and Bristol were catered for and the feedback from all was hugely positive. They all received a great welcome throughout the town aswell as in the Rugby Club. Well done to all !

After all the effort and excitement surrounding Friday night’s British & Irish cup game won by Munster A, it is back to AIL league games this coming weekend. Nenagh travel to Towns Park to take on high flying Midleton in the AIL while the seconds do not resume league action after the November break until the following week which also sees the first XV return home for the first fixture since the bonus point win over Banbridge.

That weekend also sees Munster take on Perpignan in a vital Heineken cup match on the Friday night at 8.00 PM. Luckily for the league match, it does not clash on either day or time.

The Ormonds will want to take up where they left off and any kind of point gleaned in Midleton will be hard earned as well as beneficial. A win down there would be just about as good as it gets and really set Nenagh up for the remaining clashes. Midleton accounted for Queens University down there in the students only loss this year, while in the last round Barnhall also accounted for another high flying side in Wanderers. No pressure then, even though by now the loss to thirteenth placed Portadown must be grating on Nenagh minds.

Other weekend clashes involving the top four see Queens University away to Carlow and Wanderers away to Connemara. If form were to hold, it would not be surprising if the away team won in both instances and even picked up bonus points in so doing. One way or another, this weekend has the potential to re-jig the top four alignment in some major way and hopefully, Nenagh can come through with credit.

There was another significant event over the weekend when Queens University declared itself unable to field a side to play Cork Constitution in the quarter final of the All Ireland Cup. If it was seen as a smokescreen to avoid travel costs in a contest that seemed beyond them, the students may ship some retribution from the governing body which could have some adverse bearing on the remainder of their season. It could well mean that they are concentrating on winning promotion with a great deal of single mindedness. If on the other hand it was genuine, it may mean that they are thinner on the ground than earliest results would indicate. Any and all of which would mean that Nenagh have their best chance ever of making the playoffs as a top four qualifier, if indeed, not more than that. Interesting times ahead.

Nenagh Ormond U-19’s returned to winning ways with an impressive win away to Fethard on Sunday. In what can only be described as treacherous conditions, with a heavily sodden pitch and icy cold rain, the Nenagh boys chose to play into the wind in the first half. The early exchanges were evenly contested, with Fethard exerting a strong kicking game with the wind at their backs, however this early pressure was absorbed with ease by Nenagh, who chose to carry the ball at every opportunity in the trying conditions and spent much of the first half camped in the Fethard half. Best for Nenagh during the early stages of the game were Seamus Treacy, Thomas McNamara and Paidi Maxwell who carried the ball with purpose time after time, and helped to drive Nenagh deep into Fethard territory. However, for the second game in a row, indiscipline on the Nenagh side (with too much back chat to the referee), saw two sin binnings for the away team, and from a resultant penalty, Fethard took the lead by three points to nil. Nenagh weathered the storm when down to 13 men, and returned in determined mood for the second half, with their numbers evened again to 15 a-side.

After some early kicking exchanges, Nenagh again took control in the forward exchanges and from a quick ruck on half way, Cathal Carey entered the line at a great angle, and evaded three despairing tackles as he sprinted for the line and a slick pass to the impressive Ronan Murray was finished with a try to put the Nenagh side into the lead on a score of 5 points to 3. With their tails up, the Nenagh side ran time after time at the Fethard line, only to be denied by last ditch tackles or dropped passes (which was no surprise given the conditions), and with five minutes remaining, their industry was rewarded when Michael Long got over for a try to leave the scores at 10 points to 3 as the game entered its final minutes. Fethard did exert some last minute pressure to try to rescue the game, but strong Nenagh defence ensured the win, and moved the team into the play-off stages of the league. Their opponents for the Quarter Final match are as yet undecided, but it looks like being either Cashel or Kilfeacle.

Forwards – Thomas McNamara, Paidi Curtin, Padraig Maxwell, Kevin O’Gorman, Seamus Treacy, Cathal Donovan, David Cleary, Ronan Murray, & Ryan Cooney

Backs - Fergal Hayes, Sean Fogarty, Conor Whelan, Cathal Carey, Eoin Chadwick, Michael Long, Willie O’Connor, and Dean Wallace

In a game played in atrocious conditions on Saturday last, Nenagh came out second best in a very hard fought, tough and absorbing contest. Heavy underfoot conditions and driving rain did not deter both sides in any way. Indeed, Nenagh were far the brighter in the first twenty minutes. They narrowly shaved the post with a penalty from David Delaney and Keith Quigley was over the line but couldn’t actually ground the ball. As the game wore on, conditions got worse. Middleton had a very large back row and their ball carrying in particular caused Nenagh problems. The name of the game was territory and possession and both sides shared both in the first half, Nenagh in particular in the first part of the first half and Middleton more so in the second part. David Delaney converted a penalty after twenty minutes and it seemed to wake Middleton up. They came more into the game. They were short with a penalty themselves. Nenagh had to absorb alot of pressure and lost Brian Williams through injury during this period. Towels were frequently used not only to clean hands and dry a very wet ball but also to take muck out of players’ eyes.

By half time, the Referee was having a job try to distinguish who was playing with who as everybody was caked in muck. The second half started as the first half had finished with Middleton pressing to get back at Nenagh. They were rewarded with a penalty after about ten minutes. Thereafter, Nenagh had to continue to absorb pressure but did so quite comfortably. It could be said that at no stage did Middleton look like scoring a try. However, Middleton had more possession of the ball. Towards the middle of the second half, Nenagh started to drive off the bottom of rucks and made very good ground. Arising from one of these, a ball was driven upfield well into the middle of the Middleton 22. Their full back went back to gather it and prepared to launch a big kick downfield. A Nenagh player was adjudicated to late tackle the full back and as well as been sin binned, a penalty was awarded to Middleton from where the ball landed, approximately ten yards inside the half way line. It seemed a very unkickable given the underfoot conditions and when the Middleton Captain pointed to the posts, most Nenagh people would have felt it unlikely to be scored. However, the score board tells a different tale. Nenagh pressed hard for the remaining five minutes but conditions just didn’t allow for the ball to be handled in any away.

The final whistle was greeted with hoops of joy from the Middleton supporters. It was a tough defeat for Nenagh to take. A draw would have been easily merited and it just shows that Nenagh are not too far off the mark. Navan at home next Saturday provides a different test and Nenagh will need to bounce back now as quickly as possible to keep themselves on the hunt going forward. No doubt players and management will be well aware of this.

Team: M. Kennedy (Capt.), D. Horan, F. Brislane, M. Slattery, D. Walsh, S. O’Callaghan, K. Quigley, B. Williams, M. Fogarty, D. Delaney, K. Kingston, D. Connolly, G. Harmse, F. Carey, J. Lillis

Our Second XV travelled to Garryowen on Sunday last and unfortunately were beaten by a scoreline of 19 – 5.

The U15's were away this weekend with a league match against Galbally. It proved to be a tough game with the Nenagh side depleted due to a number of injuries. Some of our newer players, Conor McAdams, Eoin Magher and Conor Dohoney stood up to the mark and gave a great preformance. Nenagh got onto the score board first with a try as a result of good pressure form the forwards with Bill O'Flaherty getting the touch down. Arron Hayes added another 2 points with a conversion. Another try from Bill O'Flaherty and also one from Gavin Hayes along with two successful peanilties taken by Arron Hayes left Nenagh to take away the points.

Team: Conor McAdams, Ger O'Gorman, Gavin Hayes, Peter Ryan, Hughie O'Brien. Bill O'Flaherty, John O'Flaherty, Ethan Moloney, Darragh Hassey, Arron Hayes, Eoin Magher, Graham White, David Fox, Philip Hickey, Conor Dohoney, Derry O'Hara, Shane McCarthy

Our scheduled game against Kilfeake was posponed due to the fact that the Kilfeake pitch was unplayable.

The League Quarter Final is to be played next weekend. Opposition unknown at this stage, but will be confirmed at training.

Nenagh Ormond U-19’s continued to impress with a tough away win in the League Quarter Final to Cashel on Sunday. Nenagh welcomed back Kieran McCann from a long term injury for this important game, and took to the field in determined mood as they sought to continue their quest to retain the East Munster League title which they had won so impressively last year. In bright but showery conditions, the Nenagh boys chose to play with the wind in the first half and right from the kick off began to exert some early pressure on the Cashel line. This early pressure saw Nenagh repelled on a number of occasions by strong Cashel defence, and try as they might, they just could not seem to manage to cross the Cashel line. As the half moved on however, Cashel began to leak penalties, and the Ormonde boys accepted these with glee. Impressing on the day at No. 8, David Cleary kicked two penalties in the first half to leave the scoreline at 6 points to nil. Best for Nenagh during the early stages of the game were Seamus Treacy, Kevin O’Gorman, Ronan Murray and Paidi Maxwell in the forwards, who carried the ball with purpose time after time, and helped to keep Nenagh deep in Cashel territory. Among the backs, Cathal Carey, Michael Long and Willie O’Connor tackled strongly when Cashel threatened, and the hugely impressive Eoin Chadwick ensured that any counter attacks were snuffed out immediately.

Cashel emerged for the second half knowing that they needed to score early to keep their League chances alive, and kicked intelligently with the wind to keep Nenagh pinned in their own 22 for the first ten or fifteen minutes. However, time after time they were stopped by strong tackles from backs and forwards. Having weathered the early storm, a great kick and chase by Kevin Walsh was ended with a late tackle on the winger which saw the Cashel back sin binned. With Nenagh now deep in the Cashel 22, a great line out win was followed by some strong rucking by the forwards, and with the ball moved quickly by scrum half Sean Fogarty, Fergal Hayes appeared off his shoulder running a great line and sprinted clear of the cover to score a well worked try for Nenagh. A difficult penalty was missed to leave the scores at 11 points to nil in Nenagh’s favour. At this point, Nanagh seemed to take their foot off the gas, which saw Cashel come back into the match as the game entered its final minutes. The home team were eventually rewarded for their strong efforts as the game entered injury time, when they crossed for a try out wide, and this was expertly dispatched by their number 10. The referee blew up shortly afterwards much to the delight of the Nenagh coaches and team, and they now move on to the Semi Final stages of the competition.

Forwards – Thomas McNamara, Kieran McCann, Padraig Maxwell, Kevin O’Gorman, Seamus Treacy, Cathal Donovan, David Cleary, Ronan Murray, & Ryan Cooney

Backs - Fergal Hayes, Sean Fogarty, Conor Whelan, Cathal Carey, Eoin Chadwick, Michael Long, Willie O’Connor, Kevin Walsh and Dean Wallace

The time and date for the 19’s Semi Final match are as yet undecided, but will be known later in the week. Training continues on Wednesday and Friday night at 7pm.

Our Under 8s, 10s & 12s played in a Blitz at home on Sunday morning last including UL Bohemians RFC and Portumna RFC.

It was a cold morning and the rain held off, what was a great mornings rugby, enjoyed by all age groups.

Nenagh Ormond RFC would like to wish Portumna RFC, the best of luck in this their first Season together, and last Sunday was their very first Blitz.

Fixtures - 13/12/2009 Nenagh Ormond RFC Juvenile Section U8.U10.U12 are scheduled to play a Blitz at home next Sunday morning 13th December 2009 including Young Munster's RFC and Thurles RFC.Please be at the Club House 10.15am for 10.30am K.O. Would parents please make one loaf of sandwiches for refreshments, as tea and coffee

will be served in the Club House after the Blitz for all the travelling teams. Thanks Coaches

The Nenagh ladies suffered a defeat to table toppers Tralee in the league last Sunday. Training went very well during the week and the girls had played a tough challenge match the previous Sunday against division one side St. Marys. After a slow start in the game against Mary’s where Nenagh conceded two early tries, they worked hard for the rest of the game and held Mary’s scoreless for the rest of the match. In the second half, Nenagh controlled all aspects of the game with the majority of possession and territory and were unlucky not to turn it into points.

With these good preparations the Nenagh girls were confident going into the league match against Tralee but an untidy scrum inside their own 22 gave Tralee an early lead. The ball popped out the side of the scrum and the Tralee back row linked up well to get in for a try near the posts.

Nenagh didn’t panic and worked their way down the pitch with some good kicking from out-half Kyla Maxwell. Keeping the pressure on Tralee, Nenagh earned several penalties and opting to run one inside the 22 paid off. Paula Ryan took the ball on strongly and a few phases later, a strong pick and go from Bob Ryan around the fringes got Nenagh their first try. The teams stayed level up to the break at 7-7 but Nenagh were looking more dangerous, particularly out wide with some good breaks from Genevieve Rowland at 13 and speedy full back Breda Doheny.

Nenagh started the second half the stronger and were camped inside the Tralee 22. Coming close to the line on several occasions, Nenagh just couldn’t seem to turn the pressure into points. Tralee got a break away try from a turn over from inside their own half which was completely against the run of play. This galvanised the visitors and it was Nenagh’s turn to be under pressure defending their line.

Tralee mauled a ball from a lineout but were held up well by the Nenagh pack. They got the ball out wide and had pace to round the defence to touch down in the corner. Nenagh didn’t give up and rallied together to get back into the game. The subs that came on added fresh legs to the game and Maura Hogan made a great run up the wing in her first match and won Nenagh a penalty near the line. Nenagh ran the penalty knowing they needed a try at this stage and excellent rucking from the pack gave quick ball to the backline. With some slick handling to get the ball out wide, Breda Doheny rounded off an excellent performance with a well deserved try, which she brought in to touch down near the posts. Nenagh kept the pressure up but ran out of time, finishing the match up in the Tralee end of the pitch.

With lots of positives to take from the game, the Nenagh girls can be proud of their performance which showed great determination and real team spirit. The forwards worked as a real pack and their pod system won lots of clean ball at the breakdown. Bob Ryan was solid as always and took her try very well, and Gillian Ryan put her body on the line to win several loose balls for her team. Kyla Maxwell controlled the game confidently in her first match at out-half and gave a fine kicking display. Breda Doheny was solid at full back in aspects of the game.

Team: Breda Doheny, Laura Nugent, Genevieve Rowland, Niamh Hogan, Jennifer Carter, Kyla Maxwell, Colleen McCullough, Sam Zubrzycki, Gillian Ryan, Bob Ryan, Barbara Noonan, Maria Butler, Eithne Darcy, Paula Ryan and Maeve Darcy. Subs: Sandra Farrell, Orlagh Shanahan, Maura Hogan.

Training continues Wednesday and Friday nights in the rugby club at 7:30. The girls will continue training over Christmas to prepare for their next league match on the 3^rd January. And of course there will be some Christmas party nights for team bonding! New players are always welcome whether you have played before or are a total beginner. Contact Jen on 087 2201596 or come along to training.

No game yesterday, but we have the Semi Final of the league against Waterpark in Waterford on Sunday 20th. Kick off at 1pm.

Nenagh played Cashel in the quarter final of the East Munster u17 league on Sunday. Nenagh started nervously and were under pressure early in the game, good defence by D Cottom and E Maher kept Cashel out . However following good work by the back row of C Leo , A Commane and C Lucey the danger was cleared. The pack then started to produce quick ball and good hands at half back by J Donovan and D Walsh gave G McNamera the chance to sprint away from half way to score wide out. Soon after following clean line out ball by K OFlaherty and excellent support K Seymour scored under the posts with D Walsh converting. Nenagh kept attacking until half time but could not get another score.

In the second half Nenagh had a lot of defending to do and J OFlaherty, C Comerford, P Ryan, J Hayes and C Gleeson contributed hugely to this effort. Cashel got a score back but Nenagh upped the effort to press and get a penalty by D Walsh. In the last 10 minutes Cashel dominated getting an unconverted try and in the last play scoring again and winning by kicking the conversion.

A bitter blow for the Nenagh lads who had given their all but the season is not over yet with a league and Cup to come after Christmas. All involved with the team would like to thank the great support on Sunday. Training continues on Tuesday at 7.30pm.

Squad: C Comerford, K Seymour, E OBrien , J Hayes, P Ryan, E Fogarty, D Cottom, J O Flaherty, E Maher, C Lucey K OFlaherty G McNamera, J Donovan, A Commane, J Nolan, C Gleeson, D Walsh , C Leo, R Oakley

The U15's were away again this weekend with a league match against Clanwilliam. This was another tough game with Clanwilliam getting the better start running in three tries to give them a 21 point lead. Arron Hayes converted a penalty to reduce the deficit to 18 points. Nenagh were then awarded another penalty and this was taken quickly by Darragh Hassey who got the vital touch down. Nenagh went in at half time with a score line of 21 - 8. The second half saw the Nenagh lads come out and take the game to Clanwilliam. Nenagh ran another penalty from their own end line and Graham White ran the length of the pitch to score a great try. This was also converted by Arron Hayes. As a result of more pressure Andrew Coffey got in for another touch down. Arron Hayes again converted to give Nenagh a vital 2 points and the lead. Nenagh defended well after this and came away with a one point victory. The Nenagh team showed great strength and character to come back from 21 points down to win this match.

Team: Conor McAdams, Ger O'Gorman, Gavin Hayes, Peter Ryan, Jamie Maxwell. Bill O'Flaherty, John O'Flaherty, Eathon Moloney (C), Darragh Hassey, Arron Hayes, Graham White, David Fox, Philip Hickey, Andrew Coffey, Cormac Boyle, Conor Dohoney, Derry O'Hara, Shane McCarthy, Hughie O'Brien, Eoin Magher, Niall O'Gorman.

U8.U10.U12 played in a Blitz at home on Sunday morning last including Young Munster's RFC and Thurles RFC.

Nenagh Ormond RFC Juvenile committee would like to thank all the parents who provided sandwiches and refreshments for the visiting teams & also to the ladies

U12 Fixtures - 20/12/2009 Nenagh Ormond RFC Juvenile Section U12 ONLY are scheduled to play a Blitz away to Bruff RFC next Sunday morning 20th December 2009 including Presentation RFC of Limerick, St.Sennans of Shannon & Ballyhoura RFC of County Limerick. Please meet at Tyone training ground at 9am for 10.30am Kick off in Bruff.

Nenagh Ormond Juvenile Rugby Jerseys will be available from this Thursday at Talbot's Menswear. Contact Philip on 067 32550

Subject to the improving weather conditions Nenagh Ormond resume their AIL promotion push at home at 2.30 next Saturday in Lisatunney. Following last weeks postponement of their away match against Carlow, Nenagh will be hoping to continue their good pre Christmas form into the New Year. The team has been training very hard over the Christmas period, using the excellent facilities at Nenagh Olympics indoor track. While most clubs will not have been in a position to use such facilities, hopefully it will give ours boys an advantage entering this vital part of the season. The club’s thanks is extended to the Nenagh Olympic club who are always willing to welcome clubs in the vicinity to use their facilities. The match kicks off at 2.30 as usual and unfortunately is clashing with the Munster match which kicks off at 1.35 away to Treviso . The club has organised to have the match recorded and it will be replayed in the clubhouse after the AIL match and will be followed by the Leinster match at 6pm. We would invite all members and friends to support the team for this vital match and to perhaps shake off some of the snow bound cabin fever of the past week and watch the local boys followed by Munster’s continuing Heineken Cup campaign.

Following the big freeze the Junior Cup matched from last Sunday has been refixed for this Sunday at 2.30 away to Midleton. The team has trained well over the holiday period and are looking forward to the match, the Junior Cup holds great memories for many people around the town. As five times winners of this famous competition and in the clubs 125^th year, nothing more than a performance giving 100% from each of the boys will be expected. After last years run to the quarter finals, hopefully a similar charge can begin on Sunday and any support that can be mustered would be appreciated by the team.

Other fixtures will be communicated at training or via our website at www.nenaghormondrfc.com

Now that he turkey has been digested the business end of the season comes thick and fast over the next six weeks. On Friday week Munster play Northampton under lights at the famous Thomond Park in their final pool match, in a game to decide the group winners with a home quarter final the prize, providing of course that there will not be any shocks in this weekends matches. This will be followed on February 6^th with Ireland ’s first game in their defense of their Glam Slam title. Members can apply in the usual manner for tickets for these and the other 6 nations matches by ringing Breda at 067 31841 and placing their applications. Tickets will be distributed in the usual manner in the clubhouse at 8 pm on the Wednesday prior to the matches in question. Tickets must be paid for on the night, so if you are collecting for someone else please ensure that you have your cheque book or sufficient funds to collect your allocated tickets. As demand is already very high for the Northampton match and tickets for this game will be strictly for members only, any non members that apply for tickets will not be facilitated on this occasion. Membership can still be paid and can be dropped into Philip Talbots shop in Mitchel St or Gilmartins Auctioneers on Pearse St. or can be given to any committee members at this Saturdays home match. The club expects to have surplus tickets for the Italy match and will be allocating these tickets on a first come first served basis. The club is required by the IRFU to take its full allocation of international tickets for all the games and if we do not sell these tickets, the club is required to pay for them regardless, We would ask all members to make a special effort to either attend the match themselves or to let friends and family know that tickets are available by ringing Breda at 067 31841.

The club will be running a Race Night on February 26^th in the Hibernian Inn. Race cards will be distributed to members over the next week and we look forward to a good nights entertainment. Horses can be bought for €20, races can be sponsored for €50 and an auction race will be held on the night.

Nenagh advanced to third place in AIL Division 3 as a result of a comprehensive victory at New Ormond Park, Lisatunny on Saturday last in a game played in very good conditions. The scoreline would have been a little unjust to the visitors who were right in the game mid way through the second half. Nenagh started much the brighter and looked to run the ball in keeping with the conditions. When they did, they made large gains of ground. This pressure was rewarded with a fine try off the back of the scrum where dummy runners confused the defence and David Delaney went in under the post. As has been Nenagh’s Achilles heel this season, they conceded a penalty immediately thereafter. Nenagh added a penalty of their own to make it 10 – 3, then a further penalty extended that lead. However, Naas were doing a lot of their own pressing and had large ball carrying forwards who gave Nenagh plenty of difficulties. They were rewarded with a penalty of their own just before half time and the teams turned around to 13 - 6 to Nenagh and it was definitely ‘game on’.

Nenagh got off to a blistering start in the second half and we were rewarded with a try in the first play of the game where a fine break was finished off by the very impressive John Lillis, David Delaney added a fine sideline conversion. In fairness to Naas they continued to take the fight to Nenagh. However, the game effectively finished as a contest midway through the second half when Nenagh got two tries. The first came from a Naas clearance which was very well taken by Ger Harmse who offloaded to Shane O’Callaghan who made a great break and gave David Delaney space to score under the posts. Immediately from the kick off, Naas regained possession and passed the ball out the line only for James Kingston to intercept and run half the length of the field. Both conversions were added to make it 32 - 6. The game was effectively over, however in fairness to Naas, they were the only team to score thereafter getting a final consolation try to leave matters at 32 - 13 for a finish.

Team:D. Dunne, D. Horan, F. Brislane, D. Gallagher, D. Walsh, S. O’Callaghan, K. Quigley, B. Williams, M. Fogarty, D. Delaney, T. Connolly (Capt.), J. Kingston, G. Harmse, S. Carey, J. Lillis

Nenagh play Queens University next Saturday in Belfast. Queens are one of the teams above Nenagh on the table currently and will be a very lively outfit. They have huge experience in former rugby international Johnny Bell to call upon. This will be a huge test for Nenagh and it is hoped that the good work done over Christmas and the excellent result on Saturday can be bought forward. This is one of our very popular Northern fixtures and our traveling supporters are always assured of a good time. If anybody is interested in traveling to this game with the club please contact Tony Gregan on 087 2452835 or any committee member to book your seat on the bus. All support is welcome and will be greatly appreciated.

Nenagh Second XV traveled to Midleton on Sunday last to contest the first round of the highly prestigious Munster Junior Cup. The first half of the game was dominated entirely by Nenagh who played great running rugby. The backs were on fire and they were greatly supported by Anthony Grey and Eoin Ryan in the forwards. The scrums were very solid, however, we did struggle a little in the line-outs. We missed a very early penalty to go ahead and soon after Steven Harvey launched a counter attack from his own 22 and was very unlucky not to score a great try. Soon after that we kicked a penalty to get the first points on the board. Harvey then went on then to score a great try in the corner, the conversion was missed however. Another penalty was missed before the break leaving the score 0 – 8 to Nenagh at half time. We started off well again in the second half but just couldn’t turn domination into points. As a result of a penalty conceded for late tackle Midleton went on to score a try in the corner and a great touch-line conversion brought them to within a point. With 10 minutes to go they took the lead with another converted try. The score remained 14 – 8 and with attack after attack from Nenagh, at one stage getting to within 5 meters of their line. With almost the last play of the game we were again on the attack and Dan Fogarty put in a great cross-field kick which was caught by Eoin Ryan and touched down in the corner, the referee didn’t agree though, deeming him to have been ahead of the kicker so no try was given. Overall this was a very good performance from the whole team with Steven Harvey and Paidi Breen outstanding in the backs and Anthony Grey and Eoin Ryan likewise in the forwards. The front 3 also played out of their skins. A very disappointing result from such a great performance but one that should inspire this team who will now be strong contenders for the Munster Junior Plate.

Team: J Flynn, C Ryan, C Brislane, E Ryan, M Corcoran, A Grey, P O’ Connor, J Quigley, P Fogarty, D Fogarty, W O’ Connor, P Breen, J Long (Capt), T Connors, S Harvey

The Nenagh Ladies got the new year off to a great start with a win over Young Munster in Limerick last Sunday. This was the first game in several weeks for both teams with many fixtures cancelled due to floods and frozen pitches.

Nenagh started strong even though they were playing against the breeze and seemed quicker to react to any loose balls or chances of turn overs. Nenagh’s try came early in the game when a Young Munster attack was spoiled out wide following good pressure in defence by the back line. The ball came loose and Kyla Maxwell kicked it down the touch line. Centre Genevieve Rowland won the chase to the ball and with a slick pick up, she ran in to touch down near the posts. Kyla Maxwell added the conversion to put Nenagh 7-0 in front.

Young Munster kicked most of their possession in the first half, using the wind to gain territory. Nenagh’s back three covered well and counter attacked strongly to keep the pressure off up to half time.

Nenagh spent all of the second forty minutes in Young Munster’s half. The Nenagh pack had the upper hand in the scrum and more options in the line-outs to dominate possession. Out-half Kyla Maxwell varied her kicking, keeping pressure on Young Munster and pinning them inside their own 22 for long spells.

Nenagh will be disappointed they didn’t add to the score line with the amount of possession they had. On several occasions last passes just didn’t go to hand and although weather conditions were good, the mucky ball added several handling errors to both sides.

On the plus side it was probably the girls best team performance of the season with set-pieces working well, the forwards dominating up front against a tough pack and the backs putting on a fine defensive display against speedy opposition, never allowing the line to be broken. Everyone deserves praise but some performances to mention were Eithne Darcy for her tackle count in defence, Maria Butler for her line-out jumping and Genevieve Rowland for her superb defence both tackling and winning turn-overs. Also, Colleen McCullough was named player of the match for controlling the game at scrum-half and spoiling several scrums for Young Munster with her quick reactions.

The girls face Tralee at home next Sunday in the first round of the Munster Cup and have a score to settle after losing to them in the league earlier in the season.

Team: Breda Doheny, Laura Nugent, Genevieve Rowland, Niamh Hogan, Anne O’Reilly, Kyla Maxwell, Colleen McCullough, Sam Zubrzycki, Gillian Ryan, Bob Ryan, Barbara Noonan, Maria Butler, Eithne Darcy, Paula Ryan, Maeve Darcy and Jennifer Carter.

Training continues Wednesday and Friday nights in the rugby club at 7:30. New players are always welcome whether you have played before or are a total beginner. Contact Jen on 087 2201596 or come along to training.

Rugby for underage girls will also be starting this Friday night in the Rugby Club from 6:30pm to 7:30pm. Everyone is welcome to come along and give rugby a try in what will be a fun introduction to the sport.

Nenagh Ormond U-19’s lost narrowly to Young Munster in the first round of games in the new Avonmore Milk Munster U-19 League at home on Sunday. On a day perfect for Rugby, with a slight breeze blowing out from town and firm sod under foot, Nenagh started brightly and brought much early pressure to bear on the Young Munster Pack. A strong display from the pack which saw Munsters in trouble at the scrum and lineout, yielded much good ball for the Nenagh backs, and they sought to attack at every opportunity. The first fifteen minutes, saw Munsters camped deep in their own half, as attack after attack saw Nenagh denied on a number of occasions by a combination of strong defending and some missed passes at crucial moments. However, all of this early pressure did not yield the score that the home team deserved, and against the run of play, the Young Munster No. 8 crossed the Nenagh lines close to the post to give his kicker an easy conversion. Down by 7 points, the Nenagh boys upped the tempo again, and battered the Munsters line for the closing stages of the first half, but after a clearing kick from the Limerick No. 10, a missed tackle on the right, saw Munsters extend their lead to 12 points to nil as the half ended.

Nenagh emerged for the second half knowing that they needed to score early to put some doubt in Limerick minds, and with the pack leading the way, with strong ball carrying from Seamus Treacy and David Cleary, they were eventually rewarded for their good rugby, when Thomas McNamara stretched to touch the ball down for Nenagh’s opening score, which was duly converted. NEnagh continued to push for the equalizing score, but after some bad luck at a lineout on their 22, the Munsters No. 7 collected a loose ball at the back of the lineout to dash over the Nenagh line to move the scores to 17 points to 7. Nenagh were rocked, but quickly set to work getting back into the game, and the back now chose to run the ball at every opportunity. Another strong Nenagh scrum on a Young Munster ball, saw the away teams scrum reversing at a strong rate of knots, and when the ball shot out from the side of the scrum, Fergal Hayes was on hand to scoop the ball up and dash for the line to reduce the defecit to 17 points to 12. Nenagh increased the pressure in the dying minutes of the game, and were desperately unlucky not to get the decisive score, but Munsters closed the game out with a well taken penalty to leave the final score at 20 points to 12..

Forwards – Thomas McNamara, Kieran McCann, Padraig Maxwell, Paidi Curtin, Kevin O’Gorman, Seamus Treacy, Cathal Donovan, David Cleary, Ronan Murray, & Ryan Cooney

Backs - Fergal Hayes, Sean Fogarty, Conor Whelan, Cathal Carey, Eoin Chadwick, Michael Long, Kevin Walsh and Dean Wallace

Nenagh’s next league match in the Munster competition is at home to Castleisland on Sunday 31st of January. Training continues on Wednesday and Friday nights.

No game last weekend – training continues as normal this week and we are away to Carick-on-Suir on Sunday.

No game last weekend – training continues as normal this week, this week’s fixture to be notified at training.

Nenagh Ormond under 13s traveled to Thurles RFC on Sunday last to play in a league fixture. Nenagh put in a big performance and were very strong in all passages of their play and finished with score line of 45 - 10 to Nenagh.

The panel - Ciaran Kelly, Mark Daniels, Ned McCarthy, David Mackey, Willie Ryan, Shane Hennessy, Darragh Molloy, Mervyn Hayes, John Flannery, James Quigley, Brendan McAdams, Ian McNamara, Darragh Keating, Sean Smith, Bob Kenny, Fiachra Moloney, Aidan O Flaherty, Cillian Cullagh, Dion Dunne, Harry Young

Nenagh Ormond Under 9s, 11s and 13s - It is hoped to have an away fixture for next Sunday, a web text will be sent out later in the week with details.

On Friday Munster play Northampton in their final pool match, in a game to decide the group winners with a home quarter final the prize. This will be followed on February 6th by Ireland’s first game in their defense of their Glam Slam title. Members can apply in the usual manner for tickets for these and the other 6 nations matches by ringing Breda at 067 31841 and placing their applications. Tickets will be distributed in the usual manner in the clubhouse at 8 pm on the Wednesday prior to the matches in question. Tickets must be paid for on the night, so if you are collecting for someone else please ensure that you have your cheque book or sufficient funds to collect your allocated tickets.

As demand is already very high for the Northampton match and tickets for this game will be strictly for members only, any non members that apply for tickets will not be facilitated on this occasion. Membership can still be paid and can be dropped into Philip Talbots shop in Mitchel St or Gilmartins Auctioneers on Pearse St. or can be given to any committee member. The club expects to have surplus tickets for the Italy match and will be allocating these tickets on a first come first served basis. The club is required by the IRFU to take its full allocation of international tickets for all the games and if we do not sell these tickets, the club is required to pay for them regardless, We would ask all members to make a special effort to either attend the match themselves or to let friends and family know that tickets are available and can be ordered by ringing Breda at 067 31841. Triple ticket packages are available which consist of a ticket for all this year’s home 6 Nations matches.

The club will be running a Race Night on February 26th in the Hibernian Inn. Race cards will be distributed to members over the next week and we look forward to a good nights entertainment. Horses can be bought for €20, races can be sponsored for €50 and an auction race will be held on the night.

This was game of the highest quality and the performance by Nenagh was generally considered to have been the best of the season. Unfortunately, the scoreboard tells its own tale and Nenagh will be very disappointed and feel that a promotion position of top two will be out of their hands and left to others to decide. A top four position is definitely on the cards.

This was a build up to essentially one of the biggest games Nenagh Ormond have ever had and it showed in the intensity of the build up and the start to the game. Nenagh dominated the first forty minutes and produce the best quality rugby. The lineout was superb, the scrum was solid and the backs moved the ball freely. Nenagh received a penalty in the Queens’ half after ten minutes and kicked it to the corner which essentially showed their intent. The resulting lineout led to a scrum and in the same movement that bought the score against Naas with dummy runners sent David Delaney in under the posts. A conversion was added and Nenagh were 7 – 0 up. Nenagh went after the game again and although they missed one long range penalty, succeeded in another and led 10-0. Queens were rocked and it was only in the last five minutes of the first half that they established any sort of foothold, but given their quality, they pressed Nenagh hard and Nenagh were fortunate to hold out to half time.

Queens seized the initiative in the second half and owned the ball for long periods. They were rewarded with a try which went unconverted but added a penalty some minutes later. They scored a further try before Nenagh responded with a penalty of their own that left the game 13-13 heading into the final quarter. Sustained Queens pressure led to a further try which was ultimately the winning score of the game and left the final score at 18-13.

Just to give some indication, Queens University are coached by former Irish No.8 Brian Robinson. They had Ulster scrum half Ian Porter at No.9 and bought in former Irish International John Bell who seemed to create a lot of space and made a big impact when he came on. Nenagh can feel very proud of their performance and will be anxious to bounce against Instonians in Nenagh next Saturday. As stated earlier, the top four position is very realistic to qualify for the Cup competition and a repeat of last weekends performance would be very helpful in every way. Well done lads.

Team: D. Dunne, D. Horan, F. Brislane, D. Gallagher, D. Walsh, B. Williams, K. Quigley, S. O’Callaghan, M. Fogarty, D. Delaney, J. Kingston, T. Connolly, G. Harmse, S. Carey, J. Lillis

Subs: A. Grey, C. McMahon, C. Brislane, M. Slattery, E. Gardiner, D. Corcoran

The Nenagh Ladies had no game last weekend. Training continues on Wednesday and Friday at 7.30. Underage girls training (Under 13s to Under 19s) is on Friday evening 6.30 to 7.30.

No game last weekend. Training continues as normal this week, this week’s fixture to be notified at training.

Nenagh Ormond under 17s played a young but gallant Carrick on Suir team in the East Munster Development league on Sunday last. Nenagh pressed from the off and C Gleeson, who had a very good game, got the scoring under way in the first few minutes. Carrick suffered a number of injuries which weakened their team, Nenagh continued to press with C Gleeson, K O Flaherty and E Maher adding further tries. The spade work for these scores was done by C comerford, C Lucey, J Donovan, E OBrien and P Ryan. D Walsh added 3 conversions. In the second half A Commane, K Keogh, J Hayes , C Gleeson scored with D Walsh converting 2 more. G McNamera and R Oakley set up many of the scoring plays.

A good display with further tests ahead. Training continues on Tuesday as normal.

Squad: K O Flaherty, E Maher C Comerford, C Lucey, J Donovan, E OBrien , P Ryan, D Walsh, A Commane, K Keogh, J Hayes , C Gleeson,G McNamera, R Oakley

Match postponed last weekend due to frozen pitch. Training continues as normal this week, this week’s fixture to be notified at training.

Nenagh Ormond RFC under 13s hosted Clonmel RFC on Sunday morning last in a very entertaining match. Nenagh took an early lead in the first few minutes with a well worked try on the right wing but Clonmel responded strongly scoring from a 5 metre line out leaving the scores level at half time. A second try and conversion for Clonmel followed after the break to give Clonmel a 12 - 5 lead. The outcome was in doubt until the final five minutes during which Clonmel scored two late tries to give them a deserved if not slightly flattering victory. Final score Nenagh 5 Clonmel 22.

The club will be running a Race Night on February 26th in the Hibernian Inn. Race cards will be distributed to members over the next week or so and we look forward to a good nights entertainment. Horses can be bought for €20, races can be sponsored for €50 and an auction race will be held on the night.

Nenagh had a very good win at New Ormond Park on Saturday last in a game played in fine conditions before a large vocal crowd. Indeed all persons attending would have got great value for money, as a very good open and free flowing game was witnessed by all. This will securely placed Nenagh’s destiny in their own hands, in so far as a top four play off place is concerned, as Nenagh have played all the teams at the top end of the table. Prior to the game there existed a bit of trepidation as to whether Nenagh would be able to bounce back after the tough defeat against Queens the previous week. Indeed the first 10 minutes was all Instonians, as they pushed to break Nenagh down. They moved the ball very wide on occasions and only some strong Nenagh defense kept them out. Nenagh appeared to have weathered the storm when a kick through by the Instonians full back was not gathered properly and a kick and chase ensued, which the Instonians winger touched down to give them the lead. The resulting conversion from the sideline made it 7-0. Nenagh bounced back promptly and were rewarded with a penalty from David Delaney to make it 7-3. A further penalty made it 7-6 and Nenagh were getting into their stride. What was highlighted was the Nenagh back row, which were particularly competitive at the breakdown and Instonians were in all sorts of trouble. Nenagh benefited from a bit of mishandling by the Instonians full back, when the same individual failed to gather a kick through properly, James Kingston was on hand to gather the touch down. Nenagh were leading 11-7. However as has been their Achilles heel they took their eye off the ball almost immediately, Instonians made a break which was very well taken on by their hooker and off loaded to his team-mate who scored under the posts. For all their comeback Nenagh were 14-11 down at half time.

Nenagh got into their stride far quicker in the second half and were rewarded with a penalty immediately to level the game. However almost straight away a Nenagh player was blocked down and Instonians touched down under the posts, there were back in front at 21-14. Nenagh added a further penalty to narrow the gap and were rewarded after some free flowing movements saw Ger Harmse cross the line. Nenagh were now back in front by 24-21. Nenagh started to dominate the game territorially and put more pressure on the Instonians forwards. The Nenagh scrum was dominant although the lineout did not function as well at times. Nenagh added a further two penalties to secure the four points and joint third position in division three. This was a very strong performance by a Nenagh side who were gaining in confidence despite the recent disappointments. There is a break now to the 13^th February on which the postponed Carlow game was take place at 2.30 in Carlow.

(Team) D Dunne, T Horan, F Brislane, D Walsh, D Gallagher, S O’Callaghan, M Slattery, B Williams, M Fogarty, D Delaney, J Kingston, T Connolly (Capt), S Carey, G Harmse, J Lillis (Subs) A Grey, D Corcoran, C Brislane, E Gardiner

Nenagh hosted Fermoy in the Munster Junior Plate and put on a fine performance of running rugby. Conditions were good and Nenagh kicked off with the wind behind them and went on the attach straight away. The scoring was opened with a penalty from Dan Fogarty and a try from Ruadrai O’ Brien off the back of a scrum. They added two further tries from the very impressive Stephen Harvey. Fermoy responded with a try from a maul to leave the half time score 18 – 5 to Nenagh. The first 20 minutes of the second half was very even with both sides scoring a try each. However, Fermoy started to tire and Nenagh turned on the style with a try each from impressive sub props Coffey and Corbett and a great backs try finished by Jackson. Overall it was a very good performance with all subs playing well there is a good panel there and this team is improving with every game. Hopefully they will get a good run in the plate. Best on the day were Stephen Harvey and David Corcoran in the backs and Anthony Grey, Ruadhri O’ Brien and Mark Corcoran in the pack. Training continues on Tuesday and Thursday at 7.15 sharp and we need to see everyone there giving 100%.

Team: J Flynn, C Ryan, C Brislane, M Corcoran, J Quigley, D Cleary, A Grey, R O’ Brien, P Fogarty, D Fogarty, S White, S Harvey, J Long, A Jackson, D Corcoran

Subs: T Connors, J Coffey, P Corbett, P O’ Connor, A Kelly, C Carey, E Kelly

The Nenagh ladies faced the top Division 1 team in the country, UL Bohs in the first round of the Munster Cup last Sunday. Getting an away draw to a team like this was always going to be a tough cup opener. Despite the score line, Nenagh probably had their best performance of the season putting together some great phases of play and forcing Bohs to really work for their win.

The Nenagh pack dominated the scrum and lineout but the Bohs defense always seemed to be there in numbers. The backline executed some set moves, particularly when the pack won clean lineout ball and managed to find gaps but the pace and strength of the covering Bohs defence managed to spoil every attack.

Nenagh outhalf, Kyla Maxwell gave a kicking display that was far superior to the division one opposition and cleared her team out of the danger areas on several occasions. Captain, Genevieve Rowland led her team from the start to the final whistle, making a superb try saving tackle and turning the ball over in the final minute of the match. The entire team has to be given credit for the effort they put in for the full 80 minutes. Nenagh had Bohs pinned on their own line close to the end of the match but just didn’t have the legs to make it over the whitewash. Paula Ryan was named player of the game, in particular for her strong scrummaging and work around the pitch.

The Nenagh ladies now face Tralee next Sunday at home, 1pm and have a score to settle after narrowly losing to them in the league before Christmas.

Team: Breda Doheny, Laura Nugent, Genevieve Rowland, Niamh Hogan, Anne O’Reilly, Kyla Maxwell, Colleen McCullough, Sam Zubrzycki, Gillian Ryan, Bob Ryan, Paula Ryan, Orlagh Shanahan, Eithne Darcy, Jennifer Carter and Maeve Darcy. Subs: Sandra Farrell.

Training for underage girls, u/13, u/15, u/17 and u/19 has now started up and continues every Friday night from 6:30-7:30 in the rugby club. Everyone is encouraged to come along and give rugby a try. These are fun sessions aimed at giving girls an introduction to the game of rugby, teaching skills and building teamwork.

In response to the great interest in rugby locally, Nenagh Ormond has started up rugby for underage girls. In the 125th Anniversary season of the club, this is another step forward in the development of the game with-in the community. Girls rugby is played at u/13, u/15, u/17 and u/19 age grades.

Two of the ladies team players who are current members of the Munster ladies squad are coaching the girls, which began two weeks ago. There has been a great response to the first two sessions with good turn-outs and enjoyable nights. Rugby is a great team sport for girls or ladies of any age to get involved in. It keeps you fit and active, particularly over the winter months and it is a way to make great friends for life.

The club has a senior ladies team for several seasons, having started as a development squad and progressing through division three to earn promotion to division two. Now in their 4th season in division two, the girls will be hoping to make the All Ireland League playoffs this year having reached the All-Ireland semi-finals last season.

Training for underage girls, u/13, u/15, u/17 and u/19 continues every Friday night from 6:30-7:30 in the rugby club. Everyone is encouraged to come along and give rugby a try. These are fun sessions aimed at giving girls an introduction to the game of rugby, teaching skills and building teamwork. Whether girls have ever held a rugby ball or not, or for girls who have played team sports or just don’t think they are the sporty type… there is a place for everyone in the game of rugby.

No game last weekend. Training continues as normal this week, this week’s fixture to be notified at training.

Match postponed again last weekend due to frozen pitch. Training continues as normal this week, fixture to be notified at training.

U9 & U11 were to travel to Cashel RFC to play in a Blitz but this was called off at 9am on Sunday morning due to the heavy frost.

As some parents travelled directly to Cashel,this was unfortunate,as the Blitz was called off at very short notice.

Parents, if weather conditions are poor, please contact coaches by text or phone call prior to setting off directly to away matches as we will be in contact with away venue with regard to pitch conditions etc.

Nenagh Ormond Juvenile Section U9 & U11 are away to Birr on Sunday next 7th February 2010

Nenagh played Thurles in the East Munster Dev league on Sunday last. Nenagh were in control from the off but found Thurles in very stubborn form. A breakdown from a kick ahead and good chase lead to a good opportunistic try from D Walsh. Nenagh continued to press and with A Commane, J Hayes P Ryan and C Lucey to the fore a charge by C Comerford was stopped just short, quick ball at half back and a good line by C Gleeson got the score board moving again D Walsh converted . Thurles replied with a penalty to leave the score 12 – 3 at half time

In the second half K Maher claimed the ball from the off and Nenagh pressed again but did not get any reward for their pressure, instead Thurles pressed and the defence of, E OBrien, G McNamera with clearance kicks going the length of the field, R Oalkley, E Fogarty, N Flood. Nenagh then settled and following good work by K Keogh and a break by J Donovan, D Cotton picked up a loose pass and scored by the posts D walsh converted to leave the final score 17- 6

A good display with further tests ahead. Training continues on Tuesday as normal.

Squad: E Fogarty, K Maher , N Flood, D Cottom C Comerford, C Lucey, J Donovan, E O Brien , P Ryan, D Walsh, A Commane, K Keogh, J Hayes , C Gleeson,G McNamera, R Oakley

Fixture: Home to Fethard in U17 Dev league on Friday night 8pm (to be confirmed at training)

N.O.R.F.C. will be taking a bus to the Ireland v Italy International match in Croke Park on Saturday 6th February. Anybody interested please contact Fergal Healy on 086 8577507 for details. Cost - €15 return.

No AIL action last weekend due to International fixtures. Nenagh Ormond Senior XV are back on the road this weekend when we will travel to Carlow this Saturday to play the match which was postponed due to heavy frost earlier this year. Kick-off 2.30pm – all support greatly appreciated.

Nenagh second fifteen enjoyed a lively and worthwhile run out against Young Munster on Sunday last and came out eventual winners 22pts to 19pts. Young Munster started the game the livelier and were first to score. Nenagh came back and scored a try when Paudie Breen finished off a good move to touch down in the corner. Munster’s again took the upper hard and regained the lead when their bigger pack eventually wore down the Nenagh lads to score their second try. Nenagh responded when the impressive Steven Harvey used his speed to beat two defenders and make the score 12 pts to 10 pts at half time.

The second half was as entertaining as the first and further tries from John Flynn and Rrdhari O’Brien gave Nenagh an eventual winner’s result of 22pts to 19pts. This performance, a week before the next round of the Munster Junior Cup Plate which is against our neighbors Newport and due to be played in Nenagh next Sunday at 2.30 has shown that this side is capable of progressing in this competition and hopefully the training numbers will continue to be big this week and with everyone available the job of team selection will not be easy. At times the quality of rugby played by the pack was pleasing to see and the confidence of the back line which was looking to move the ball at every opportunity made this game a very open match and would say that the younger and fitter team which played the better rugby came out the eventual winners.

Best for Nenagh was John Flynn, Rory O’Brien and David Cleary in the pack which overall got the better of a bigger Young Munster front eight and in the backs Steven Harvey and Paudie Breen ran some great lines and Sean White was rock solid in midfield. John Long played the captains role and was unlucky not to get on the score sheet.

Team J Flynn, C Ryan, P O’Connor, J Quigley, A Kelly, D Cleary, M Fogarty, R O’Brien, D Corcoran, D Fogarty, J Long (Capt), S White, P Breen, T Connors and S Harvey. Subs all used P Fogarty, E Kelly and M Bud

Nenagh faced Tralee on Sunday last in the second round of the Munster Cup. Nenagh had a point to prove after narrowly losing to Tralee in the league before Christmas. The Nenagh girls have been training and playing very well since the New Year so they were determined to continue their good run of form.

Tralee played with the wind in the first half and used it to their advantage to gain territory. On one of just a few visits to the Nenagh 22 in the first half, Tralee won a scrum close to the Nenagh line and after several rucks keeping it tight, managed to drive over the line to touch down. A good conversion by their out-half gave Tralee a 7-0 lead. Nenagh dominated possession but couldn’t threaten the Tralee try line for the first 40 minutes.

The second half was a different story with Nenagh camped in the Tralee half for almost the remainder of the match. Nenagh clawed back a try early in the second half from a 5 meter scrum. Maeve D’Arcy picked at number 8 and ran up the blind side, drawing in the Tralee back-row as well as the defending winger and managed to pass out to Laura Nugent close to try line for her to touch down in the corner. Trailing 7-5, Nenagh kept the pressure up but with conditions mucky, the ball just wouldn’t go to hand. Time after time, Nenagh were their own worst enemy with chances missed due to handling errors.

With only minutes remaining, Nenagh got a penalty and chose to run it quickly instead of kicking at goal. Paula Ryan tapped and passed the ball out wide to centre Genevieve Rowland who made a charging run at pace to burst through several covering defenders and touch down. An excellent conversion from outhalf Kyla Maxwell put Nenagh into a 12-7 lead. From the restart, Nenagh retained the ball well in the closing minutes and never gave Tralee a chance to strike back. Bob Ryan was named player of the match for her excellent work around the pitch and impressive ball carrying.

The girls are free next weekend and are planning a team night out before a long run in to the end of the season. They have a packed schedule for the next two months to make up for all the weather cancellations earlier in the season.

Training continues Wednesday and Friday nights in the rugby club at 7:30pm. New players are always welcome whether you have played before or are a total beginner. Contact Jen on 087 2201596 or come along to training.

Our under 19s were due to play Castleisland in the Munster league last Sunday but were awarded a walkover when the opposition didn’t show up. Training continues as normal this week, this week’s fixture to be notified at training.

Nenagh Ormone Under 17s played Fethard in a friendly fixture on Friday night under lights in Lisatunny. Nenagh were in command from the start and were able to raise their game throughout to finish with a clear cut victory.

Squad: E Fogarty, K Maher , N Flood, D Cottom, C Comerford, C Lucey, J Donovan, E O Brien , P Ryan, D Walsh, A Commane, K Keogh, J Hayes , C Gleeson, G McNamera, R Oakley, E Maher, J OFlaherty, K OFlaherty, J Domah, C Leo, J Nolan

Training continues on Tuesday and Friday, weekend fixture will be made known at training

The U15's had a busy week this week with two league matches. On Thursday night we played Roscrea under floodlights in Lisatunny. This was a tough game with both sides getting stuck in from the start. Nenagh ran in 2 tries before half time scored by Eathon Moloney and Peter Ryan and one conversion by Bill O'Flaherty. Roscrea responded with a try of their own before the break. Half time score 12 – 5 to Nenagh. The second half saw the Nenagh lads come out and take it again to Roscrea and another two tries resulted from this good spell of play. Tries scored again by Eathon Moloney and Killian Glessson, Killian converting one himself. In the last five minutes Roscrea were on the attack and Nenagh had to defend their lines. The Nenagh players kept Roscrea out and ended up with a deserved victory. Final Score NORFC 24 - 10 Roscrea

In our second game of the week Nenagh had to travel to Cashel. This proved to be another tough game. Cashel got on to the score board first with a try. The Nenagh team responded and were awarded with a great try by Killian Glesson. In an evenly matched game both sides continued attacking. Nenagh were awarded before half time with another try scored by Eathon Moloney. This left the score at 10 - 5 in favour of Nenagh at half time. In the second half Nenagh came out attacking and were awarded with another try scored by Graham White. After this Cashel ran in another try and converted it to leave only 3 points in the difference. Nenagh withstood numerous attacks by Cashel in the last five minutes to hold on and claim another well deserved victory. Worthy of mention is Niall O'Gorman who played a great game for Nenagh on the day.

Final Score NORFC 15 - 12 Cashel

Team: Conor McAdams, Ger O'Gorman, Gavin Hayes, Peter Ryan, Jamie Maxwell. Bill O'Flaherty, John O'Flaherty, Eathon Moloney (C), Darragh Hassey, Graham White, David Fox, Philip Hickey, Andrew Coffey, Cormac Boyle, Conor Dohoney, Shane McCarthy, Hughie O'Brien, Niall O'Gorman, Jack Molamphy, Colin O'Brien

These lads also enjoyed a great day out in Croke Park on Saturday to watch their International heroes in action against Italy. Well done and thank you to all those who helped make the day a great success.

Nenagh Ormond RFC Under 8s, 9s & 11s - Travelled to Birr RFC on Sunday morning last and played in a blitz including Roscrea RFC, it was a good turn out from Nenagh Ormond, and a very enjoyable morning’s rugby.

Nenagh Ormond RFC Under 13s - played Ballina/Killaloe in a friendly game at Lisatunny on Sunday last, weather conditions were ideal. Nenagh were beaten by the visitors in a very entertaining game.

Nenagh Ormond RFC Fixtures Under 7s, 9s & 11s - Play away to Kilfeacle RFC on Sunday next in a Blitz, all please meet at Tyone training grounds at 9am for a 10.30am KO at Kilfeacle

Nenagh Ormond RFC Fixtures U13 - Play away to Fethard RFC on Sunday next in a Blitz, all please meet at Tyone training grounds at 9am for a 10.30am kick-off at Fethard/

The club will be running a Race Night on February 26th in the Hibernian Inn. Horses and Rece Sponsorships are still available from any committee member. This is a night not to be missed with some surprise visitors planning to attend. Food will be served and Tote betting available on the night. Contact any committee member for further details.

Nenagh traveled to relegation threatened Carlow on Saturday last and came away with a victory. The result itself resembled the glass half full/half empty situation where Nenagh would have been very disappointed not to have earned a bonus point, but at various stages in the game Nenagh allowed Carlow back into the game when they should have been out of sight.

Carlow showed far more urgency at the beginning of the game and it was with a bit of good fortune that David Corcoran intercepted and ran the length of the field to open the scoring for Nenagh. The effect of this was to liven Nenagh up and they started to play some of their best rugby during this spell. A very good movement involving a number of phases resulted in a great David Walsh try under the posts, to which the conversion was added. Carlow replied with a penalty of their own which was no more than they deserved at this point. The remainder of the half saw both teams swap penalties, which left Nenagh 15-6 ahead at half time. During the second half Nenagh were by far the brighter team and played mostly attacking rugby. Ten minutes into the second half Nenagh were rewarded with a John Lillis try when he barged over from close quarters. The resulting conversion was added and Nenagh moved on to 25 points. Carlow responded with a penalty of their own to leave it at 25-9. Nenagh’s performance was a little bit ragged at this stage and Carlow were rewarded with a try of their own to make it 25-16 with 12 minutes left. In fairness Nenagh upped the anty for the last 10 minutes but squandered a lot of chances to obtain the bonus point. Needless to say 4 points were in the bag, but one would have felt that the fifth one went a begging.

The results elsewhere have assisted Nenagh in put them into a clear fourth place. Table toppers Middleton only managed a draw and now Nenagh stand only 8 points behind them with four games to go. Everything is to play for and it makes the home game against Suttonians in Nenagh next Saturday all the more important.

Team: D Dunne, D Horan, F Brislane, D Gallagher, D Walsh, S O’Callaghan, M Slattery, B Williams, L Fogarty, J Lillis, T Connolly, J Kingston, G Harmse, S Carey, D Corcoran, Subs all used, K Quigley, J Flynn, A Grey, E Gardiner, S Harvey

Our second team were scheduled to play Newport in the next round of the Junior Plate on Sunday last but Newport were unable to fulfill the fixture and therefore Nenagh were awarded the points.

The girls were free last weekend before a long run in to the end of the season. They have a packed schedule for the next two months to make up for all the weather cancellations earlier in the season. Training continues Wednesday and Friday nights in the rugby club at 7:30pm. New players are always welcome whether you have played before or are a total beginner. Contact Jen on 087 2201596 or come along to training.

Nenagh Ormond RFC Under 9s and 11s travelled to Kilkeacle RFC on Sunday morning last and played against the host team. Nenagh did very well and had an excellent turn out of players. The conditions were ideal after heavy early morning frost.

Nenagh Ormond RFC Under 13s played Fethard RFC in Fethard in a league fixture on Sunday morning last. Nenagh were very much under strength as a number of experienced players were unavailable as they had conformation that day, but never the less, Nenagh put up a very spirited performance and matched Fethard in the scrums and mauls, but the more experienced Fethard players won out in the end in a very entertaining game.

Panel - Lee Howard, William Ryan,Shane Hennessy, Killian Cullagh, Anthony Walsh, David Mackey, Mervyn Hayes, Aidan O Flaherty, Harry Young, Ian McNamara, Brendan McAdams, Bob Kenny, Sean Smith, John Flannery, Fiachra Moloney, Darragh Keating, Keith Nealon

Under 8s, 10s and 11s - will play in a blitz at home on Sunday next 21st February against Ballina/Killaloe RFC and Clanwilliam RFC, all please meet in Liaatunny at 10am for a 10.30 kick-off.

Under 13s - No fixture as yet, players will be notified at training Thursday night and Club Text or Club Website.

Our Juvenile flag day is on this Saturday 20^th February. We are looking for volunteers to assist so if you have 2 hours to spare please contact John Gleeson on 086 8566210

Nenagh Ormond under 17s had a good win against an under strength Clanwilliam team on Sunday in the East Munster Development League. Nenagh lead from the start and scores from G McNamera, D Cottom and C Lucey yielded a victory. Training continues on Tuesday and Friday. Fixture against Clonmel next Sunday, to be confirmed.

Squad: E Fogarty, K Maher , D Cottom, C Comerford, C Lucey, J Donovan, P Ryan, D Walsh, A Commane, K Keogh, J Hayes , C Gleeson, G McNamera, E Maher, J OFlaherty, K OFlaherty, C Leo, C Murray

Our Under 19 team traveled to Sundays Well in Cork last weekend with a somewhat depleted squad. However, the Nenagh lads put up a brave performance but were beaten in the end by a well drilled home side. Training continues as normal and fixture will be notified at training or on our club website – www.nenaghormondrfc.com

The club will be running a Race Night in the Hibernian Inn on this Friday Night. Horses and Rece Sponsorships are still available from any committee member. This is a night not to be missed with some surprise visitors planning to attend. Food will be served and Tote betting available on the night. Contact any committee member for further details.

The club would like to extend a big Thank You to all those who helped out with our Juvenile Flag Day last Saturday and of course to all those who donated funds.

Nenagh maintained impressive recent form with a comprehensive victory over Suttonians. Many observers will feel that despite the victory, Nenagh can play better and will need to push on in the final three games if they are to make inroads into the leaders of the division and maintain their position for a playoff place at the end of the season.

Conditions were perfect for good open rugby. Nenagh started a little tentatively attempting to kick for territory and Suttonians seemed to be inspired as they were easily able to defend Nenagh’s forays and indeed counter with some of their own.

Nenagh were in front after eight minutes with a penalty and seemed comfortable at that stage. Suttonians did some pressing of their own for the next ten minutes and we were rewarded with a soft try arising from a defensive lapse. This spurned Nenagh into life. Nenagh did a lot of their pressing indeed spurning penalties in order to kick for the corner and take scrums. Eventually, it was decided to take one of those penalties and that narrowed the score to 7-6. Nenagh did all the pressing to half time but failed to get over the line. It was 7-6 at half time and there was a sense of frustration about Nenagh.

In the second half, Nenagh started much as they finished the first half and were on the front foot. It wasn’t long before they had taken the advantage and were seeking to press on. Suttonians although being brave and a big and solid team, weren’t causing Nenagh too much difficulty at any of the pieces. Some very good individual work saw David Delaney cross under the post to make the score 16-9. This was effectively the game end from a contest point of view. The game was littered with penalties conceded mostly by the away team and it was difficult to believe that only one yellow card was issued in the whole game. Nenagh huffed and puffed to get over the line in the final fifteen minutes with some staunch Suttonian defence held out.

The glass is still half full, half empty with Nenagh and they will need to up their game for the final three games which are all tough games in themselves. Although Nenagh have kept in the leaders, Sundays Well have narrowed the gap behind them to three points with difficult fixtures away, Nenagh will have to be more clinical in relation to their finish. That said, winning is a habit and Nenagh have it at the moment. The last three games are away to Ards and Wanderers and home to Rainey.

Team: D. Corcoran, G. Harmse, S. Carey, J. Kingston, G. Connolly, D. Delaney, M. Fogarty, D. Dunne, D. Horan, F. Brislane, D. Gallagher, D. Walsh, A. Grey, B. Williams, K. Quigley

Subs: C. McMahon, E. Gardiner, M. Slattery, C. Brislane, S. Harty, S. O’Callaghan

This week a mix of our Senior XV and Second XV will play the Munster Junior Team in Lisatunny under lights at 7.30pm on Wednesday night. Admission Free. Training will be on Friday night then instead of Thursday

Nenagh Second XV continued their preparation for the 3rd round of the Munster Junior Plate when they face Thomond at home on 7th March. Last Sunday they traveled to Portumna and came away with a good win. It was a lovely dry day and conditions were excellent for a good game of rugby. Nenagh played some fine attacking rugby with a speedy back line and a good platform up front to win 26 pts to 10. This was a very good performance but there is still room for improvement and we need a big effort over the next 2 weeks in training to topple Thomond. We scored 4 good tries, 2 from Ruadhrai O’ Brien and 2 from Tommy Connors. We also got the opportunity to give some of our younger players from our under 19 squad a run, Fergal Hayes came on at scrum half and Keith Purcell at prop and both did very well. Best on the day were Conor Brislane, Ruadhrai O’ Brien and Martin Fogarty up front, and Tommy Connors, Alan Jackson, Steve Harvey, Dan Fogarty and Captain on the day Sean White. Steve and Alan both went off injured and we wish them a speedy recovery, hopefully they will be back soon.

Team: Conor Brislane, Eddie Kelly, Peter O’ Connor, Andrew Kelly, Mickey Bud, Martin Fogarty, Jamie Quigley, Ruadhrai O’ Brien, Paddy Fogarty, Dan Fogarty, Sean White, Steve Harvey, Tommy Connors, Alan Jackson, David Walsh

Subs: Keith Purcell, Fergal Hayes – out injured Johnny Flynn, Cian Ryan and John Long

Nenagh Ladies game against Youghal last weekend was cancelled. They have a packed schedule for the next two months to make up for all the weather cancellations earlier in the season. Training continues Wednesday and Friday nights in the rugby club at 7:30pm. New players are always welcome whether you have played before or are a total beginner. Contact Jen on 087 2201596 or come along to training.

Nenagh Ormond RFC Under 8s, 9s & 11s were at home on Sunday morning last and played in a blitz including Ballina/Killaloe RFC and Clanwilliam RFC, and had a very enjoyable mornings rugby for all concerned especially after the hard frost. A very special thank you to all the parents who provided teas & sandwiches for our guests and to the parents who helped out in the Kitchen .

Nenagh Ormond RFC U13s - play Cashel RFC in a league game at Lisatunny on Sunday morning next 28th February 2010

Nenagh Ormond RFC Fixtures Under 7s, 9s and 11s - Away fixture currently being arranged, details later in the week

Vicenza Rangers of Italy- Vicenza Rangers once again return to Nenagh Ormond, and will be staying at the lodges at the Abbey Court Hotel for Easter week end.

They are a traveling party of 110 and are arriving on Holy Thursday the 1st April and depart on Sunday 4th April 2010.

On Easter Saturday night 3rd April, it is hoped to hold a function in the Clubhouse for Vicenza Rangers, including a buffet and traditional Irish music.

On Tuesday 2nd March we will be holding a meeting at 8pm in the Club House to arrange this function, we would ask all Juvenile Rugby parents to attend, especially the ones who have traveled over on recent tours, to Vicenza and got the taste of real Italian hospitality!!, Now its our turn, in these bleak times, its fantastic for Nenagh Ormond RFC that 110 Italians are returning to the town so please come along and help, what promises to be a great Easter Saturday night.

The U15's had another busy week this week again with two league matches. On Tuesday night we played Galbally under floodlights in Lisatunny. This was a tough game with both sides getting stuck in from the start. Nenagh were the stronger team from the off and had Galbally on the defence throughout the first half of the game.Nenagh ran in 3 tries before half time two scored by Aaron Hayes and one by Eathon Moloney. The three tries were converted by Aaron. Nenagh went in at half time with a score line of 21 - 0. The second half saw the Nenagh lads come out and take the game again to Galbally from the drop off. However with just 5 minutes of the second half gone the Galbally coach decided to throw in the towel bringing the match to a sudden end. Nenagh came away with another victory.
Final Score- NORFC 21 - 0 Galbally

In our second game of the week Nenagh again played under lights at Lisatunny. Our opposition on this occasion was Thurles. This proved to be another tough and physical game. Thurles started off the game with a number of attacks on the Nenagh line but failed to score.. The Nenagh team responded and were awarded with three great tries before half time as a result of good team work. Tries were scored by Killian Glesson, Peter Ryan and Gavin Hayes. This left the score at 15 - 0 in favour of Nenagh at half time. In the second half Nenagh came out attacking and were unfortunate not to score a couple of more tries. For the most of this half Nenagh were in the Thurles end of the pitch. This games was another great display of team work on the night with all players giving 110%.
Final Score - NORFC 15 - 0 Thurles RFC

Team: Conor McAdams, Ger O'Gorman, Gavin Hayes, Peter Ryan, Jamie Maxwell. Bill O'Flaherty, John O'Flaherty, Eathon Moloney (C), Darragh Hassey, Aaron Hayes, Kilian Gleeson, Graham White, David Fox, Philip Hickey, Andrew Coffey, Cormac Boyle, Conor Dohoney, Shane McCarthy, Hughie O'Brien, Niall O'Gorman, Jack Molamphy, Colin O'Brien, Calem McGrath.

Nenagh Ormond under 17s had no fixture last weekend. Training continues on Tuesday and Friday. This week’s fixtures to be confirmed at training or via webtext / website.

Nenagh Ormond under 19s had no fixture last weekend. Training continues as normal This week’s fixtures to be confirmed at training or via webtext / website.

We would like to thank all those who helped out and supported our Race Night. A great night was had by all in the Hi B last Friday night. Thanks again to everyone involved.

Our 2 senior squads had a break last weekend after a mixture of both teams played the Munster Junior Team in a friendly under lights in Lisatunny on Wednesday night last. The Senior Team are back in league action this weekend with an away trip to Ards. This is an important game with the retention of our top 4 placing at stake.

The Seconds are at home to Thomond in the 3^rd round of the Munster Junior Plate in Lisatunny at 2.30pm on Sunday. A win here would secure a home game against Tralee in the next round the following week.

Nenagh traveled to Young Munster last Sunday for the second time this season. Nenagh beat the home side in their last encounter so Young Munster were hungry to settle the score. An early penalty against Nenagh put the home side in front 3-0. Nenagh were quick to retaliate and quick hands by Kyla Maxwell and Niamh Hogan allowed Genevieve Rowland to side step two players and score under the posts. The strong wind across the pitch didn’t stop Kyla Maxwell converting, putting Nenagh leading 7-3 into half time.

The second half started with the Young Munster forwards putting pressure on the Nenagh front row, but they stood strong, putting their bodies on the line. Young Munster dominated the territory playing most of the game in the Nenagh half. Nenagh held strong, driving Young Munster back, spoiling any attempt they had to cross the line and put more points on the board. Kyla Maxwell denied Young Munster a try by holding up the ball, not once but twice.

Late in the second half, Young Munster were camped on the Nenagh line. The visitors held tough, even after a dubious sin binning, and still managed to turn over the ball, bringing the play into the Young Munster half. With some good solid play from the backs, Nenagh found their way up the pitch, with Rowland intercepting and putting the ball down between the posts yet again. Kyla Maxwell converted bringing the final score to 14-3.

The referee made some controversial decisions but Nenagh still managed to hold their heads high and played on regardless. This was a rock solid performance from the Nenagh side, and could be described as their best performance yet.

It was hard to single out one player for their performance but special mention needs to be given to Kyla Maxwell for her precise kicking and quick thinking, to “the Darcy’s” who managed to turn over an uncountable amount of balls and to Genevieve Rowland for her ability to cross the line, no matter how many defenders she needs to side step! Gillian Ryan was named player of the match due to her excellent line out throwing and the work she did around the pitch.

Nenagh face their old rivals Youghal at home next Sunday in a league re-fixture and will be looking to keep up their winning streak. Youghal are unbeaten so far this season so Nenagh face a tough yet achievable challenge. Kick-off 1pm.

Team: Breda Doheny, Laura Nugent, Genevieve Rowland, Niamh Hogan, Anne O’Reilly, Kyla Maxwell, Colleen McCullough, Sam Zubrzycki, Gillian Ryan, Bob Ryan, Maria Butler, Sandra Farrell, Eithne Darcy, Paula Ryan, Jennifer Carter and Maeve Darcy.

Training continues Wednesday and Friday nights in the rugby club at 7:30pm. Training for underage girls, u/13, u/15, u/17 and u/19 continues every Friday night from 6:30-7:30 in the rugby club. New players are always welcome whether you have played before or are a total beginner. Contact Jen on 087 2201596 or come along to training.

The U-19’s had no game last weekend. East Munster Cup starts on the 14th, and we will be playing the winners of Fethard Vs Cashel away. Training as usual on Friday night at 7.30. This week’s fixture to be confirmed at training.

Under 17s have an league fixture away to Roscrea on Sunday next at 11am. Training continues as normal.

The U15's had an away game last weekend under lights at Kilfeacle. This proved to be another tough and physical game. Nenagh started off the game with a number of attacks on the Kilfeacle line and this resulted in a great try with Gavin Hayes being pushed over the line by the pack. The Kilfeacle team responded and attacked the Nenagh line on a number of occasions. Nenagh defended well and Kilfeacle took the option of kicking for three points insted of another attack on Nenagh. This left the score at 7 - 3 in favour of Nenagh at half time. In the second half Nenagh came out attacking and as a result of great teamwork and passing out the ball Nenagh ran in four tries. David Fox scoring two, Eathon Moloney and Andrew Coffey getting one each. Aaron Hayes converted two of these tries. Again this was a great display of team work by the Nenagh team and resulted in another great win. Dennis Flannery made his come back after a long lay off due to injury and played a great game.
Final Score: NORFC 29 - 3 Kilfeacle RFC

Team: Conor McAdams, Dennis Flannery, Ger O'Gorman, Gavin Hayes, Peter Ryan, Jamie Maxwell. Bill O'Flaherty, John O'Flaherty, Eathon Moloney (C), Darragh Hassey, Aaron Hayes, Kilian Gleeson, Graham White, David Fox, Philip Hickey, Andrew Coffey, Cormac Boyle, Conor Dohoney, Shane McCarthy, Hughie O'Brien, Niall O'Gorman, Jack Molamphy, Colin O'Brien, Calem McGrath, Darie Murray.

This week’s fixture is at home to Cashel in the league. More details at training.

Nenagh Ormond under 13s were at home on Sunday morning last in at league fixture against Cashel RFC which turned out to be a very exciting affair.

Nenagh were put under pressure from the very start as they were up against a much bigger, more powerful and physical side, the line out formation looked like a still from a "David and Goliath" movie, however against the run of play the Nenagh forwards scored a great try under the posts converted by Anthony Walsh early in the game. Nenagh were leading at half time 7-0.

As the second half resumed, scrum half Darragh Molloy fired a quick ball to out half Shane Hennessy to score a great individual try, as he out paced the Cashel backs, to touch down to the right of the posts, to leave Anthony Walsh with a difficult conversion, which he duly converted. This try and conversion proved to be the match winner as Cashel came back and put the Neagh boys under a lot of pressure and scored two late tries, with only one converted.

This was Nenagh under 13s finest performance so far this season, as their tackling, ball handling skills, discipline and determination showed through to the final whistle.

Parents, thanks once again for the sandwiches, buns and teas provided for our guests.

Nenagh Ormond RFC under 13s play away to Waterpark RFC in a league game on Sunday morning next 7th March, meet at 9am at Tyone training grounds for a 12.30pm kick off in Waterford. Travel arrangements and details at training on Thursday night

Nenagh Ormond RFC U8s, 9s and 11s were away on Sunday morning last and played in Cashel RFC. A very enjoyable mornings rugby for all concerned especially after the frosty morning. No Fixtures this weekend.

Vicenza Rangers of Italy- Vicenza Rangers once again return to Nenagh Ormond, and will be staying in the lodges at the Abbey Court Hotel for Easter week end.

They are a travelling party of 110 and are arriving on Holy Thursday the 1st April and depart on Sunday 4th April 2010.

On Easter Saturday night 3rd April, it is hoped to hold a function in the Clubhouse for Vicenza Rangers, including a buffet and traditional Irish music, more details in coming weeks.

Nenagh suffered a rare reverse last Saturday which threatened to derail the season. Other results conspired to keep Nenagh in the play-offs but the general feeling was that this was an opportunity lost. Nenagh led 7 – nil, 10 – 3 and 16 – 10 at various times during the game but didn’t manage to see it out.

Ards had the breeze in the first half but Nenagh were quicker off the blocks and were 7 – nil ahead after 10 minutes through an excellent David Corcoran try. Ards came more into the game and the exchange of penalties left the score 10 – 3 after 15 minutes. Ards were rewarded with a try to level up the scores. Nenagh added to their tally to leave the score at 13 – 10 at half time. Nenagh had everything to look forward to at the break.

Nenagh tried to use the wind and extended their lead to 16 – 10 after 15 minutes of the second half. The Ards full back and wings defended excellently against the Nenagh kicking game and they were gaining in confidence. Ards try came from a quick tap and go and Nenagh were suddenly behind for the first time in the game. Nenagh seemed to rush things and as a result the remainder of the game was full or errors when some composure and time management could have led to a very different result. Ards merited the result and we now have a big job on our hands for the last 2 games to ensure we stay in the play-off places.

Team: D Dunne, D Horan, F Brislane, D Walsh, D Gallaghere, S O’ Callaghan, B Williams, K Quigley, M Fogarty, D Delaney, D Corcoran, T Connolly, J Kingston, G Hermse, S Carey

Nenagh seconds suffered their last competitive defeat of the season against Thomond at Lisatunny on Sunday last. The game was ultimately decided by penalties and Nenagh will be very frustrated with their performance. They dominated the opposition in all aspects of the game but were unable to convert it into scores.

Team: J Flynn, C Ryan, C Brislane, J Quigley, M Corcoran, R O’ Brien, M Slattery, D Cleary, P Fogarty, D Fogarty, A Jackson, S Harvey, S White, J Long (Capt) T Connors

Nenagh faced a highly fancied side last Sunday at home, with Youghal being top of the league and having a clear record of wins. Nenagh started off with a lot of territory in the Youghal half but unfortunately couldn’t convert this into scores. With such an excellent team as Youghal, Nenagh found it tough to break the gain line and were robbed of possession on more than one occasion.

The second half started with the scoreboard reading 0-0. Youghal came out upping the gear and applying severe pressure to the Nenagh forwards. But Nenagh held tough with some great play from the entire pack. Nenagh had few scoring chances in the second half with Youghal defending in all areas of the park. Youghal did manage to get within inches of the line however the home team forwards held them short. A penalty in front of the posts just inside the Nenagh 22 failed to be converted on the first attempt, however the referee deemed an infringement by a Nenagh player resulted in the kick being re-awarded and converted.

In the last ten minutes Nenagh came attacking into the game putting great pressure on the Youghal side. Big tackles by Breda Doheny, Jennifer Carter and Anne O’Reilly kept the Nenagh side going forward and a score was looking imminent. Unfortunately it was too late and the referee blew it up, final score being 3-0.

It must be said this was an excellent performance by the Nenagh team, considering due to injury, they were missing some of their key players. This was a quality Youghal side but the defence that Nenagh showed on Sunday was very impressive giving a performance to be very proud of. Player of the match was a joint award, given to Kyla Maxwell for her excellent kicking and Breda Doheny for a fine performance at full back.

Nenagh play Thurles away next Sunday in the IRFU Bowl Competition and will be expecting to get back to their winning ways.

Team: Breda Doheny, Laura Nugent, Jennifer Carter, Niamh Hogan, Anne O’Reilly, Kyla Maxwell, Colleen McCullough, Sam Zubrzycki, Paula Ryan, Bob Ryan, Maria Butler, Eithne Darcy, Barbara Noonan, Sandra Farrell and Maeve Darcy.

Congratulations to Cronan Gleeson, Austin Commane and Jack Donovan who have just finished up their season with the East Munster Youths. East Munster Youths have been training weekly since the start of the season and have played challenge matches against several clubs prior to the start of the Divisional League. In this league they played against North, South and West Munster and had a very successful season. The 3 Nenagh lads have represented their club to a very high standard both on and off the pitch. Many thanks to the East Munster coaches who have put in a huge effort this season, and in particular our own Pat Fitzpatrick. Hopefully this is just the start of future rugby successes for these 3 lads who have put a lot of time and effort into their game.

Photo: Austin Commane, Cronan Gleeson, Jack Donovan with coach and East Munster Manager Pat Fitzpatrick.

Nenagh Ormond under 13 team had a very long journey by bus to Waterpark RFC for a league fixture on Sunday morning last.

Conditions were ideal for rugby, but unfortunately the Nenagh boys never really got started, as they were down by a try and conversion from early in the game. Our only score in the first half came from an Anthony Walsh penalty directly in front of the posts.

In the second half Waterpark, having a lot of possession ran the ball wide and scored a number of tries. Our only try came from Shane Hennessy playing at out half, who made a fine break to score a great try, right at the corner flag, this left Anthony Walsh with a near impossible task to attempt the conversion from the touch line, but once again he split the posts, some kick for an under 13 !

This team can hold their heads high as they were up against a very strong, powerful and physical side, over half of the Nenagh side still qualifying to play under 13 again next season. We have a league fixture next weekend against Kilfeacle RFC at home, full details later in the week at training and on club website – www.nenaghormondrfc.com

Under 8s, 9s and 11s - No fixture last weekend - Blitz currently being arranged for next Sunday, full details later in the week

The U15's were out on Friday night at Lisatunny in what was a must win match to remain in contention for the league semi finals. Their opposition on the night was Cashel who were also in the same boat and also needed to win to remain the race for the playoffs. This proved to be one of the toughest games Nenagh had to play all season. Both sides got stuck in from the start and Nenagh were forced to defend their line on numerous occasions. They withstood all these attacks and counterattacked themselves throughout the first half. Cashel conceded a penalty on the stroke of half time and Aaron Hayes stepped up and duly converted it to leave the score 3 - 0 in Nenagh's favor at half time. The second half saw plenty more of attacking and defending by both sides. However Nenagh held on and came away with a valuable 3 points to ensure their place in the East Munster league semi finals. Final Score
NORFC 3 - 0 Cashel RFC

Team: Dennis Flannery, Ger O'Gorman, Gavin Hayes, Peter Ryan, Jamie Maxwell. Bill O'Flaherty, John O'Flaherty, Eathon Moloney (C),Jack MolamphyDarragh Hassey, Aaron Hayes, Kilian Gleeson, Graham White, David Fox, Philip Hickey, Andrew Coffey, Cormac Boyle, Conor Dohoney, Shane McCarthy, Hughie O'Brien, Niall O'Gorman, Colin O'Brien, Calem McGrath, Darie Murray, Conor McAdams

Our under 17s played Roscrea in the East Munster Development League and had a hard fought 36 -24 win. Nenagh had to defend for long periods against a well organised Roscrea side.

Team: E Fogarty, D Cottom, C Comerford, C Lucey, J Donovan, P Ryan, D Walsh, J Hayes , C Gleeson, G McNamera, E Maher, J OFlaherty, C Murray, J Domah.

We are in the Development League final against Thurles, date and venue over next weekend to be decided. Support for the team would be appreciated, check our website for details later in the week.

Our under 19s had no match last weekend. We have the first round of the cup next Sunday, details to be finalised and will be notified at training.

Nenagh climbed to third place in Division 3 of the AIL with what was in the end quite a comprehensive victory by 11 points to 3. However in a lot of respects Nenagh’s performance would be short of what was required as there were a huge amount of errors, particularly in handling, which could have seen Nenagh moved on to a better score line. Rainey had the aid of a strong breeze in the first half. Nenagh dominated in both possession and territory but could not make it count. Final passes were knocked on, excellent mauls were driven, but everything seemed to come up short when a try was required. To their credit Rainey Old Boys were tough opponents and did not give up the fight at any stage. The Nenagh back three defended well in countering any kicks and thus Rainey were not able to avail of the strong breeze as much as they would have liked. They were rewarded with a penalty after about 12 minutes which turned out to be the only score of the first half. The second half was a little bit brighter and Nenagh were on level terms within a few minutes. However frustration crept into Nenaghs play and Rainey seemed to capitalise on this. Territorial advantage was much more even at this time. The Nenagh try came from a break down of a Rainey attack. A ball spilled loose which Stephen Harvey grabbed and ran half the length of the field to score. The conversion was narrowly missed. Rainey came pressing again but some stout Nenagh defence kept them out. Nenagh were awarded with a further penalty to put score beyond a converted try. In fairness to Rainey they pressed right to the finish and narrowly missed with a penalty of their own to collect a bonus point. Nenagh were deserving victors, however they will have to play better if they are to have any further say or have any potential for silver wear at the end of the season. Nenagh travel to Wanderers in Dublin on Saturday week to conclude their league campaign and there will be pressure right to the end to ensure they get into the play off places.

Team: D Dunne, D Horan, F Brislane, D Galagher, M Slattery, C McMahon, K Quigley, S O’Callaghan, E Gardiner, D Delaney, T Connolly, J Kingston, G Harmse, S Carey, S Harvey. Sub: D Corcoran, C Brislane, J Quigley, J Flynn

A supporters bus to this final AIL league game of the season before the play-offs is being organised. Anyone interested in travelling on this bus please ring 067 33492 for details.

Congrats to 4 of the Nenagh U15's were were called up the East Munster cadet team who are due to play against North Munster next Monday night in Tipperary town. The four members are Eathon Moloney, Killian Glesson, Darragh Hassey and Aaron Hayes. best of luck to all four.

Last Thursday saw the Nenagh CBS 7 aside Rugby team go Crescent Comprehensive College in Limerick to play in the final stages of the Munster Junior 7 Aside Cup competition. The Nenagh team had to play 3 games in their group to progress to the semi final. Their first game was against Causeway from Kerry. The Nenagh lads laid down their mark from the start and ran in 10 tries with no try conceded. Their second game was a tougher game. Their opponents were Glenstal. Nenagh ran in two tries while Glenstal ran in one. Their last group game was against Midleton. Nenagh ran in another 6 tries in this game and again conceded none. With three wins out of three the Nenagh team progressed onto the semi finals. Their opponents in the game were Ardscoil Ris from Limerick. Nenagh took the game to Ardscoil Ris from the start and ran in another 6 tries to 1 in reply. This saw Nenagh CBS to the final of the cup competition. Their opposition in the final was Crescent Comprehensive College, the home team. Again from the start Nenagh took the game to the opposition and ran in 8 excellent tries to Crescent's one. Nenagh claimed victory and the cup.

This was a great achievement for the Nenagh CBS team. Over 60 teams took part in this competition throughout Munster, many of which are strong traditional rugby schools. Great credit is due the team who represented their school, Nenagh Ormond and the town of Nenagh so well during this competition. Great credit is also due to their coach Pat Fitzpatrick who put great effort, time and coaching into the team.

Team: Eathon Moloney, Killian Glesson. Darragh Hassey, Ger O'Gorman, Bill O'Flaherty, John O'Flaherty, Andrew Coffey, Philip Hickey, Peter Ryan, Jack Molamphy, Donnacha Quinn, Stephen Cleary.

Nenagh ladies team had no game at the weekend. Clanwilliam gave them a walkover in the last league match leaving them with a top four placing. They are in the All-Ireland Bowl semi-final at home on Sunday next to Malahide and are hoping for a good turn-out of support.

Training is changed this week due to Easter weekend. Ladies training Wednesday and Thursday nights at 7:30pm and Girls u/13, u/15, u/17 and u/19 are training on Thurday night at 6:30pm. There is no training on Good Friday.

Nenagh under 19s were given a walkover by Cashel on Sunday last and therefore had no game. They will play Waterpark at home on Sunday next at 12 noon in the semi-final of the Cup. Training continues as normal on Wednesday and Friday night

The U15's were out on Sunday at Lisatunny in the East Munster league semi final. Their opposition on the day was Dungarvan. This proved to be one of the toughest games Nenagh had to play all season. Both sides got stuck in from the start and Nenagh were forced to defend their line on numerous occasions in the first half. Dungarvan ran in two tries, converted one and also kicked a penalty to leave the score 15 - nil in their favour at half time. Nenagh turned their game around in the second half and took the game to Dungarvan. The nenagh lads ran in two great tries and were continuing to keep the pressure on Dungarvan but the clock was against them. The final whistle saw the nenagh team down by five points. Credit to the team who didn't drop their heads and kept going for the whole match. Final Score Nenagh 10 -Dungarven RFC – 15.

Team: Dennis Flannery, Niall O'Gorman, Gavin Hayes, Peter Ryan, Jamie Maxwell. Bill O'Flaherty, John O'Flaherty, Eathon Moloney (C),Jack Molamphy, Darragh Hassey, Aaron Hayes, Kilian Gleeson, Graham White, David Fox, Philip Hickey, Andrew Coffey, Conor Dohoney, Shane McCarthy, Hughie O'Brien, Conor McAdams

Nenagh Ormond RFC would like to welcome Vicenza Rangers Rugby Club of North Italy, with a travelling party of 110, who arrive in Nenagh on Holy Thursday evening, 1st April. The group will be based at the Abbey Court Hotel for the weekend.

As the official welcome party, a meal with Irish traditional music has been arranged for The Thatch in Ballycommon at 7.30pm Holy Thursday night.

On Good Friday their U9 team travel to play in the Clonmel Blitz, and their U11 team travel to UL Bohemians for a training session

They will be back in the Abbey Court Hotel later that evening for dinner and will be watching the Munster V Leinster game from Thomond Park (8pm. kick off.)

Nenagh Ormond RFC hopes to take Vicenza Rangers Club President Mr. Giovanni Ali and his club’s Juvenile Coaches to Thomond Park for the game. If any Club member wishes to donate a ticket to allow one of our visitors to attend, please contact Fergal Healy on 086 8577507.

On Saturday 3rd April 2010 the Italian group will have a walking tour of Nenagh in the morning and at 3pm. there will be a Rugby Blitz Under 8.10.12 at the Rugby Club including Vicenza Rangers of Italy, Thurles RFC, Birr RFC, Roscrea RFC & Nenagh Ormond RFC in Lisatunny.

Bouncing castles will be provided for the children after the games are finished so volunteers will be needed to supervise this. There will be a barbeque to feed the kids. The Juvenile ladies intend to prepare an Irish stew for the Italian adults only and other food hopefully will be provided by the Juvenile Parents, Those who travelled on last years trip to Vicenza will remember the fine cuisine laid out before the Nenagh Ormond party, and hopefully on Saturday evening we can, as a Club, return the same hospitality. And the highlight of the day - local Heroes Trevor Hogan and Donnacha Ryan will be in attendance in the afternoon.

The Club House will have a night of local traditional Irish music & sing song in honour of our guests, so please come along to what promises to be a great social event.

The U13 play at home on this Wednesday evening 31st March, against Estuary RFC, Co.Limerick. Please be at the Club House for 6.30pm as kick off will be at 7pm

The Nenagh Ladies had a comprehensive win last Sunday in the All-Ireland Bowl Semi-Final. They now face League rivals Tralee in the All-Ireland Final next Saturday. This will be the first time the Nenagh Ladies have ever contested the Bowl Final, having won the lower tier Shield on two occasions.

Nenagh got off to a great start putting pressure on Malahide straight away. Two lineouts five metres out saw Nenagh get over the try line only to be called as held up and a knock on. A penalty opportunity out left of the posts was narrowly missed by outhalf Kyla Maxwell and Nenagh started to worry that all their pressure was not counting on the scoreboard. The first score came after some good phases by the pack had the Malahide defence sucked in. Nenagh flashed the ball wide to centre Genevieve Rowland who side stepped two defenders and raced to the line to touch down for five points. Outhalf Kyla Maxwell added the two to put Nenagh 7-0 ahead. Nenagh kept up the pressure and, forcing Malahide into a defensive five metre scrum, the Nenagh pack turned over the ball and drove close to the line. When the ball went wide, winger Anne O’Reilly was almost in for a try but from the ruck, Rowland spotted a gap around the fringes and picked and went to score her second out wide.

Nenagh were 12-0 up and took the foot off the pedal, allowing Malahide back into the game. The Nenagh defence held strong but several infringements at the breakdown went Malahide’s way. A penalty chance in front of the posts was just wide. Nenagh knew this was a let off and got their focus back. Getting down into Malahide’s territory once more, Nenagh increased the pressure, forcing them into errors. Rowland intercepted an offload and after a quick juggling act turned on the gas to win the race to the line. Nenagh went in 17-0 ahead at half time, knowing there was still work to do as Malahide would have the wind in the second half. The Nenagh pack stepped up against the wind and set up some excellent mauls, making good ground. From one maul inside the 22, Nenagh rolled well to keep moving forward and were rewarded with an excellent team try which was touched down by Paula Ryan. Rowland wasn’t finished though and added two more tries with Nenagh displaying some good support running and interlinking between backs and forwards. For the last few minutes of the match, Malahide seemed to be awarded several consecutive penalties. They eventually drove over the line for a consolation try minutes from the end. Nenagh were happy with their overall performance and are improving with every game. However, they are determined to stay focused and up their performance again for next week.

Team: Breda Doheny, Niamh Hogan, Genevieve Rowland, Jennifer Carter, Anne O’Reilly, Kyla Maxwell, Colleen McCullough, Sam Zubrzycki, Gillian Ryan, Bob Ryan, Paula Ryan, Sandra Farrell, Eithne Darcy, Maria Butler and Maeve Darcy. Subs: Laura Nugent, Christina Dunne, Maura Hogan.

Training is Tuesday, Thursday and Friday nights this week in the rugby club at 7:30. Girls underage training is Friday 6.30-7.30pm. New players are always welcome whether you have played before or are a total beginner. Contact Jen on 087 2201596 or come along to training.

This weekend we travel to Wanderers in Dublin to play our final league game of the season. This is a very important game for us as we are currently in 3^rd place in the league and if we can hold that position we will play Midleton in the play-offs. So best of luck to our Senior squad who we hope will take encouragement from the ladies comprehensive win last weekend and give us another weekend to celebrate. Kick-off is at 2.30pm, all support very welcome and greatly appreciated.

The U15's had no game this weekend. We are due to play Kifeacle in a cup match next weekend. On Tuesday 6^th we line out against Roscrea in a friendly game at home.

Nenagh Ormond U-19’s dreams of cup success were dashed on Sunday, when they lost narrowly to their great rivals Waterpark on a scoreline of 21 points to 20. In a game of top class rugby with all of the skills of the game on show, both teams served up a classic, with the result still not decided until the last minute of the game when the Waterpark No. 10 converted a last gasp try to break Nenagh hearts. Nenagh began the game in determined mood having lost to the same team in the league earlier in the season, and Waterpark were rocked after just five minutes, when some strong rucking and mauling from the pack, brought Nenagh deep in the Waterpark half, and after a great offload from Kevin O’Gorman, the backs were let loose, and slick passing saw wing Kevin Walsh skate in out wide for the first try of the game. The conversion was missed narrowly by Dave Cleary, to leave the scores at 5 points to nil for the home team. The Nenagh pressure continued, as wave after wave of attack from the Waterford side was repelled, with Eoin Chadwick, Cathal Carey and Fergal Hayes standing strong in defence. After great work again from the pack in the tight, the ball was turned over by Thomas McNamara, and once again spread wide to a backline who were now in the ascendency. A strong break from Bruce Hayes gave Nenagh great field position, and then a strong carry from Seamus Treacy saw Sean Fogarty whip the ball to the centre where Cathal Carey showed his speed and class to chip through and gather, before evading some despairing tackles from Waterpark to score another top class try for the home team. The conversion was narrowly missed by Bruce Hayes, but he made up for it almost immediately when a sweetly struck penalty brought the scores to 13 points to nil. By this point, Waterpark were truly shell shocked, and try as they might, they could not seem to get any sort of foothold in the game, as the Nenagh backrow of Cleary, Ronan Murray and the impressive Aaron Nevin made their lives a misery and were at every breakdown to halt any Waterpark revival.

As expected, Waterpark came out for the second half with all guns blazing, and their strong running game began to tell, as tired Nenagh bodies began to miss one or two tackles. They got their just rewards after 10 minutes of the half, when their centre got over near the posts for a converted try, which brought the scores to 13 points to 7, but Nenagh were not finished yet, and they lifted their game yet again to fight their way into the Waterpark half. Great rucking again from the pack with Kiera McCann and Paudie Maxwell to the fore, saw Waterpark cough up another ball, and Fergal Hayes was on hand to get the touch down near the posts, and with Bruce Hayes on hand to convert, it looked like Nenagh were home and hosed as they now led by 20 points to 7. Waterpark fought back to score their second try to bring the scores to 20 points to 14 with about eight minutes to go, but Nenagh were still defending well, and as the game reached its dying minutes, they were camped in the Waterpark half as they sought to run the clock down and claim the victory that they so richly deserved. But heartbreak was to follow, as a long punt forward by Waterpark was not recovered by the Nenagh defence, and their winger touched down to leave the scoreline at 20 points to 19. The Waterpark 10 made the difficult conversion and the referee immediately blew for full time, as tired Nenagh bodies fell to the ground in utter disappointment.

It was a very disappointing finish to the season for obvious reasons, but it has to be said that after a performance of this class, it bodes well for the future of underage rugby in Nenagh, as this was a Waterpark team who are still in contention for All Ireland honours, and many of their team are on the Munster U-19’s squad. The management would like to take the opportunity to thank all of the players for their time and commitment over the season, and there is a chance that they could still be involved in rugby this season, as there is talk of entering an U-21 team in the Tipperay Cup.

Forwards – Kieran McCann, Thomas McNamara, Padraig Maxwell, Kevin O’Gorman, Seamus Treacy, Cathal Donovan, Aaron Nevin, Ronan Murray, Kevin Seymour & David Cleary

Backs - Sean Fogarty, Fergal Hayes, Dean Wallace, Cathal Carey, Eoin Chadwick, Michael Long, Bruce Hayes, & Kevin Walsh

Details of the U-21 competition are yet to be confirmed, but management will follow-up with the players in the coming days.

We had a very enjoyable and fun weekend with our Italian visitors, photos and more details next week.

Nenagh secured third place in Division 3 on Saturday last with what can only be described as a historic victory in Merrion Road against one of Irelands aristocratic Dublin Clubs. Indeed visible on the touchline were many former Wanderers Internationals, including Robbie McGrath, Niall Kearney, Emmett O’Rafferty and Roley Meats. There had been a feeling up to this point in a season that Nenagh would threaten with a very good performance and thankfully it arrived Saturday last. It was probably one of the most complete performances from a Nenagh team in recent years. The day was bathed in sunshine with a slight breeze and conditions were perfect for running rugby.

Wanderers were the much brighter to start and it took some eight minutes before Nenagh got on the ball. Wanderers moved the ball at every opportunity. In fairness, Nenagh defence was excellent throughout the day. However, Wanderers were rewarded with a penalty which they duly converted to give themselves a 3 Nil lead. Nenagh eventually got their hands on possession and starting working the ball through the forwards. One particular maul put Gerhard Harmse in for a great try and a conversion was duly added by David Delaney. Back came Wanderers with more pressure. They had some very strong runners that took a lot of taking down and after moving the ball wide on approximately three occasions, they were rewarded with a try out wide but the subsequent conversion was missed, 8-7 to Wanderers.

It would appear that the sensible game plan was to keep the ball in the forwards where possible. However, Nenagh mixed the adventure stuff with controlled forward play and made inroads of their own. The back three of Harvey, Harmse and Carey were outstanding and caused Wanderers all sorts of problems. Wanderers had a breeze in the first half but any ball that was kicked was run back with interest. Nenagh were rewarded with a further penalty from David Delaney to inch ahead 10 - 8, however Wanderers finished the half very strongly and were rewarded with a try of their own to make the score 15 - 10 to Wanderers at half time.

The second half was much the same. Nenagh suffered a big set back though in conceding an early penalty and were now 18 10 down. Nenagh started to pile on the pressure and a David Delaney penalty made it 18 - 13. Thereafter, some fabulous movement out right with David Delaney dictating the tempo of the game saw Trevor Connolly go in for a great try. This made it 20 points to 18 and the last twenty minutes was fabulous to watch with both sides going at it as strong as they could. Wanderers kicked a penalty to take the lead again 21-20 with some fifteen minutes left on the clock. From then on the Nenagh forwards started to get the edge and game management by David Delaney was excellent. Nenagh ran the ball at various times without error and made big inroads. Nenagh were rewarded with a penalty in front of the post which ultimately took care of the final score, 23-21. Victory was met with loud cheers from the large travelling Nenagh support and now the hope would be that the team have hit top gear and that they might bring this to Middleton next Saturday in their semi final with the hosts. What was striking about last Saturday was the standard of rugby. It was excellent and there were very few handling errors in contrast with a number of the previous matches and anybody present was well entertained.

It is thirty years now since Fergal Healy scored a try in Midleton that should have seen Nenagh through to the final of Munster Junior Cup. Nenagh and Midleton have crossed paths at various periods. We met in Munster Junior Cup semi-finals, finals and Munster Junior Challenge Cup Finals. Indeed, we met more recently in the AIL with Nenagh winning two of the games and Middleton winning the crucial game this season. Middleton are coached and led by Munster Backs coach, Jason Holland and will be anxious to show that their promotion was merited and will not like the thought of losing out on the Third Division championship to a Nenagh side who finished behind them. All roads lead to Townspark, Middleton at 2.30 next Saturday where the winners will take on the winners of Queens University and Banbridge in the All Ireland League Division 3 final.

Team: D. Dunne, D. Horan, F. Brislane, D. Gallagher, S. O’Callaghan, K. Quigley, B. Williams, D. Corcoran, D. Delaney, T. Connolly, K. Kingston, S. Harvey, S. Carey, G. Harmse

The Nenagh Ladies suffered a disappointing defeat to Tralee in the All-Ireland Bowl Final last Saturday in Dubarry Park, Athlone. Nenagh had a comprehensive win over Malahide in the semi final and having beaten Tralee 12-7 in the Munster Cup back in February, were confident going into the match.

Tralee hit the ground running and from the kick off, had Nenagh under pressure in their own half. The Nenagh pack retained the ball well but Tralee had most of the territory. When Tralee were in possession they always looked like scoring tries. After some brave tackling and holding Tralee up over the line, the Nenagh defence was eventually broken when Tralee drove over the line from a series of pick and goes.

Nenagh were 5-0 down and Tralee were not letting their foot off the gas. Nenagh soaked up further pressure from their strong pack and pacey backs and managed to spoil several more attacks. Nenagh didn’t panic and eventually worked their way into the Tralee 22 and put together several phases of good rugby. Nenagh out-half Kyla Maxwell had a shot at goal from a penalty which was bang on target but just dropped short under the bar. Nenagh continued to work through the phases and managed a few half breaks but the Tralee defence were always covering in numbers.

Only 5-0 down at half time, Nenagh felt they were far from playing their best and were still well in the game. Tralee continued to use their big runners in the pack to good effect. With the breeze behind them for the second half Tralee put boot to ball and pinned Nenagh inside their own half for most of the second 40 minutes. Tralee’s second try was scored in the corner by their pacey winger who looked suspiciously close to having a foot in touch while she avoided the covering defence.

Nenagh were 10-0 down and finding it hard to get back into the match. Tralee were strong in all aspects of the game and just seemed more determined to win. The Nenagh scrum held up well under pressure and they also displayed much more options at line-out time. However there seemed to be very few set pieces in the second half. The backline moved the ball well but just couldn’t find gaps to exploit. Tralee eventually put another try on the board after sustained pressure close to the Nenagh try line. A penalty chance in front of the posts close to the end sealed the win for Tralee at 18-0. Gillian Ryan was Nenagh’s player of the match for her brave determination and never give up attitude throughout the match.

Tralee were well deserved winners and the better team on the day. Nenagh’s competitive season is over but wish Tralee all the best as they continue next week with league play-offs for promotion to Division One and are hot favourites to complete a League and Bowl double.

Team: Breda Doheny, Niamh Hogan, Genevieve Rowland, Jennifer Carter, Anne O’Reilly, Kyla Maxwell, Colleen McCullough, Sam Zubrzycki, Gillian Ryan, Bob Ryan, Aisling O’Neill, Paula Ryan, Eithne Darcy, Maria Butler and Maeve Darcy. Subs: Laura Nugent, Christina Dunne, Orlagh Shanahan.

Training continues Wednesday and Friday night this week in the rugby club at 7:30pm. Our French visitors are arriving next Saturday and will play against the Nenagh Ladies on Sunday afternoon. Training for underage girls (u/13, u/15, u/17 and u/19) continues Friday nights from 6:30 - 7:30pm.

Nenagh Ormond U-19’s dreams of cup success were dashed on Sunday week last, when they lost narrowly to their great rivals Waterpark on a scoreline of 21 points to 20. In a game of top class rugby with all of the skills of the game on show, both teams served up a classic, with the result still not decided until the last minute of the game when the Waterpark No. 10 converted a last gasp try to break Nenagh hearts. Nenagh began the game in determined mood having lost to the same team in the league earlier in the season, and Waterpark were rocked after just five minutes, when some strong rucking and mauling from the pack, brought Nenagh deep in the Waterpark half, and after a great offload from Kevin O’Gorman, the backs were let loose, and slick passing saw wing Kevin Walsh skate in out wide for the first try of the game. The conversion was missed narrowly by Dave Cleary, to leave the scores at 5 points to nil for the home team. The Nenagh pressure continued, as wave after wave of attack from the Waterford side was repelled, with Eoin Chadwick, Cathal Carey and Fergal Hayes standing strong in defence. After great work again from the pack in the tight, the ball was turned over by Thomas McNamara, and once again spread wide to a backline who were now in the ascendency. A strong break from Bruce Hayes gave Nenagh great field position, and then a strong carry from Seamus Treacy saw Sean Fogarty whip the ball to the centre where Cathal Carey showed his speed and class to chip through and gather, before evading some despairing tackles from Waterpark to score another top class try for the home team. The conversion was narrowly missed by Bruce Hayes, but he made up for it almost immediately when a sweetly struck penalty brought the scores to 13 points to nil. By this point, Waterpark were truly shell shocked, and try as they might, they could not seem to get any sort of foothold in the game, as the Nenagh backrow of Cleary, Ronan Murray and the impressive Aaron Nevin made their lives a misery and were at every breakdown to halt any Waterpark revival.

Forwards – Kieran McCann, Thomas McNamara, Padraig Maxwell, Kevin O’Gorman, Seamus Treacy, Cathal Donovan, Aaron Nevin, Ronan Murray, Kevin Seymour & David Cleary

Backs - Sean Fogarty, Fergal Hayes, Dean Wallace, Cathal Carey, Eoin Chadwick, Michael Long, Bruce Hayes, & Kevin Walsh

Details of the U-21 competition are yet to be confirmed, but management will follow-up with the players in the coming days.

The U15's were out on Sunday morning at Lisatunny in the East Munster Cup competition. Their opposition on the day was Kilfeacle RFC. From the start Nenagh took the game to Kilfeacle and applied pressure on them throughout the first half. As a result of this pressure Nenagh ran in four tries in the first half, with one converted. In the second half Nenagh again kept the pressure on Kilfeacle and with the forwards and backs working well together another three tries were run in. On the few occasions that Nenagh were forced to defend they did their job and managed to keep a clean sheet for the game. Worthy of mention on the day was Andrew Coffey who played a great game as wing forward showing plenty of speed and potential in this postition. Overall the Nenagh lads did a good job on the day and came away with a well deserved victory.

Team: Dennis Flannery, Ger O'Gorman, Gavin Hayes, Peter Ryan, Jamie Maxwell. Bill O'Flaherty, John O'Flaherty, Eathon Moloney (Capt), Jack Molamphy, Darragh Hassey, Aaron Hayes, Kilian Gleeson, Graham White, David Fox, Philip Hickey, Andrew Coffey, Shane McCarthy, Hughie O'Brien, Conor McAdams, John Healy, Niall O'Gorman