Creggs dreaming big ahead of AIL Junior Cup last four showdown 

Creggs will play host to Ulster outfit Dromore in an eagerly anticipated AIL Junior Cup semi-final this Saturday (kick-off is at 2.30 p.m.).

Creggs come into the game on the back of some strong form in this competition, as they put their quarter-final stage hoodoo of seasons past behind them with a strong performance in a 61-20 victory against St. Mary’s of Limerick last time out.

Contrary to the last few seasons, Creggs’ league form has taken a dip with three wins and three losses so far, but Saturday’s 25-12 victory over Connemara will bolster morale heading into this weekend.

Creggs Head Coach Kolo Kiripati pointed out the importance of getting a league victory in the bank following his side’s game against Connemara.

“Every game from now on for us is a do-or-die. We needed to win this to stay in the top four in the league and then next week we have the All-Ireland semi-final,” Kiripati stated.

Players like backrower Brian Diffley and full-back Shane Dowd put in some excellent individual performances against Connemara and look to be hitting form at the right time.

Throw in Dean Reilly who scored four tries against St. Mary’s, and the ever-consistent pair of Ronan Dowd and Mark Purcell, and Dromore will have a number of players they need to keep tabs on.

Kiripati also has weapons such as Ronan Cahill, who made his impact felt when summoned off the bench against Connemara, with Creggs’ depth appearing to grow week on week.

One of the most pleasing aspects of the weekend’s victory for the Creggs head coach was being able to select players in their natural positions.

“I think what we had out there (against Connemara) were lads playing in their positions so hopefully going forward we can get the cohesion right with the guys, that connection right and then we will be fine going forward.

“We have had different players on different days. We haven’t quite had them in the exact positions we would want them at times. We have had to shift guys around and in fairness they have all responded really well,” he stated.

Having had continued success within Connacht, evident in their treble-winning campaign last season, Kiripati admitted that Creggs have set new targets.

“We are trying to add a different view to the season. We won all the trophies last year, so we made a new goal this year. It was just to try and focus on the All-Ireland as well and try to add that into the trophy cabinet. We also wanted to make it into the top four in the league and try to make the play-offs,” Kiripati added.

With all those pre-season goals still intact, Dromore are the next outfit looking to take Creggs down. They recorded a convincing 23-0 victory over Enniskillen in the previous round.

Their standout player in that game was second-row Richard Dickson while inside centre Dean Dillon, who crossed for a pair of first-half tries, will also be on Creggs’ radar.

However, Kiripati said the focus will be on “ourselves first,” adding, “at the moment the cohesion is not quite there yet so if we can sort that, we can start playing the rugby that we normally see in Creggs.” 

He feels that Dromore will provide a stiff challenge this Saturday.

“We know we are playing against a top team from Ulster. We need to bring every aspect of our game which is our attacking side, our defensive side and our physicality.

“We need to sort out our scrums and continue on from what we did today (against Connemara) so if we do those things right, we will be fine,” he stated.

One bonus for Creggs is having home advantage, as Dromore will face into a round trip of just under 600km. Kiripati said home advantage is “massive” for his charges and he paid tribute to the support who showed up at the weekend.

“We need the crowd to come out, and we need them to get behind us. We needed it today and they stuck with us, and they supported us for the whole 80 minutes.

“It is nice for our lads, especially when they are feeling tired and they are hearing the crowd cheering for them. It lifts them as well,” he concluded.