Creggs beginning to hit their stride ahead of cup showdown
THOU SHALT NOT PASS: Chris Duignan, Ciarán Purcell, Brian Diffley, Mark Dowd and James Brandon put in the hard yards against Ballina during Creggs’ recent J1A League semi-final triumph. Picture: Steve Fahey
For everyone associated with Creggs, March looks set to be a defining month.
With Kolo Kiripati’s side fighting on two fronts, the aim is to add another league and cup double to the club’s proud history. The Galway/Roscommon border outfit have already booked their place in the league final against Dunmore RFC on March 15th, but there is still work to do in the Connacht Junior Cup.
Creggs host Corinthians’ Seconds in today (Sunday's) semi-final at 2.30 p.m., entering as favourites against a team competing in the J1B League. However, in a campaign where Creggs have struggled to match last season’s consistency, nothing can be taken for granted.
Their dramatic 15-14 win over Ballina, sealed by a last second try from Dean O’Reilly and a superb touchline conversion from Ronan Dowd, secured a trip to the Dexcom Stadium for the league final. Kiripati hopes that the nature of that victory will stand to his side ahead of another crucial semi-final outing.
“It was a bit of a high blood pressure type of game. It was great. It was a game of two halves — we started well, but took our foot off the pedal. Ballina came back with two converted tries, and we were a bit worried as we were camped in our own half.
“But our boys hung in, dug deep, and got a try in the corner from Dean O’Reilly. Our best moment of the season was Ronan Dowd getting the kick over to win the game. It was a good way to win, especially in Ballina,” he said.
It has been a whirlwind season for Creggs. A memorable run to the Energia All-Ireland Men’s Junior Cup semi-final showcased their quality, though losing their Cawley Cup title and finishing fourth in the regular league season highlighted how hard they have been pushed in pursuit of a “double double”.
Kiripati has admitted throughout the year that his side have struggled to find their “A-plus” game across a full 80 minutes. But he believes their recent league semi-final win and progress to the last four of the Connacht Junior Cup have brought them closer to the levels they expect.
“We are slowly getting there — just a bit of belief in ourselves and trust in the system we have, and trust in each other. Once we have that, the combination of players we have will come together. We’re getting there, and I know how our boys play and what they can bring. It’s just a bit of belief and trust in each other. Hopefully we’ll get that right against Corinthians,” he concluded.
