Creggs women's team maintain good league form
The Creggs senior women's rugby team that defeated OLBC/Corinthians in their league game in Creggs on Sunday last. Picture: Steve Fahey
Creggs women continued their recent good league form with a victory over OLBC/Corinthians in the fourth round of the Senior Women’s League in Creggs on Sunday.
The game began with the visitors on the attack. The Creggs defence had to withstand some early pressure from a maul near the line and some hard carries. However, they stood tall and cleared their lines on a couple of occasions before they settled.
Their first score came, ironically, when they were reduced to 14 players after a yellow card. A loose pass in midfield was intercepted by Seren Griffiths, who ran 50 metres to score under the posts in the 14th minute. Eabha Dowd converted for a 7-0 lead.
The Creggs forwards were now starting to carry and get some shape. After some good carries, Seren Griffiths received the ball out wide and touched down. Once again, Eabha Dowd converted for a 14-0 lead.
Creggs were unlucky after 22 minutes when Jennifer Morris made a weaving run to beat the defence but a tap tackle five metres from the line halted her run. She offloaded possession but the pass went to ground with the line beckoning.
After 27 minutes, Creggs broke the defence and, once again, it was Seren Griffiths who touched down in the corner to leave the half time score 19-0.
Creggs had the better of the territory in the second half. Their first score came from captain Susan O’Reilly, who dived in from close range after excellent carries from Kelley Haugh and Sabina Egan. Eabha Dowd converted to stretch the lead to 26-0.
A good move by the backs after 20 minutes saw Shannon Haugh break through. However, an excellent cover tackle meant that she was held up over the line and the visitors survived that attack.
Creggs continued to attack and Eabha Dowd got in for a try with 15 minutes remaining, which she expertly converted to stretch the lead further to 33-0, which was the final scoreline.
Congratulations to Kate Coyle who made an impressive debut for the team.
Creggs RFC were defeated by old rivals Ballina RFC in the Cawley Cup final at Galwegians’ home ground, Glenina, on Saturday afternoon. Ballina had already defeated Creggs in a league fixture earlier in the season, so another close encounter was anticipated.
The Mayo side made a great start with a try by hooker Billy McVann after just 60 seconds, which was converted by out-half Cian Anderson.
Stunned by this early setback, Creggs responded with a well-worked try by out-half Shane Dowd following a period of sustained pressure after 12 minutes. Mark Purcell converted to level the match.
The lively McVann scored a second try for Ballina in the 19th minute following a lineout near the Creggs line, which was brilliantly converted from close to the touchline by Conor Connolly A penalty from halfway by the sure-footed Connolly extended Ballina's lead to ten points by the 60th minute before Mark Purcell landed a penalty for Creggs to reduce the deficit to 17-10.
Another converted try by Ballina left Creggs with a mountain to climb but winger Mikey Dunne demonstrated his pace to score a fine try to give his team a lifeline. Mark Purcell’s conversion left seven points between the teams with just four minutes remaining.
But Ballina defended with determination to ensure that the Cawley Cup would be heading to Mayo for the next 12 months. The cup was presented to Ballina captain Luke Sweeney to rapturous applause from their large travelling support.
Creggs will have little time for reflection as they prepare for another difficult fixture away to St. Mary’s RFC in Limerick in the All-Ireland Junior Cup quarter-final next Saturday.
CREGGS: Dean O'Reilly, Mikey Dunne, Mark Purcell, Cathal Feely, Chris Duignan, Shane Dowd, Cormac Dolan, Tom Farrell, Ethan Glennon, Tommy O’Brien, Ciarán Purcell, Luke Divilly, Lee Kilcoyne, James Brandon, Brian Diffley, Eoghan Cahill, Eoin Kelly, Thomas Tiernan, Brian Cleary, Gerry Comer.
Creggs were beaten by Westport, 45-0, in the J1B League in perfect conditions at Westport RFC grounds, Carrowholly, on Sunday.
Despite missing a number of key players, Creggs performed admirably to test Westport to the hilt for over 50 minutes, by which stage the home side led by a mere 5-0.
ln a closely-contested opening half, Westport hit the front after 22 minutes with a try following a series of strong drives by the home side’s pack. Cormac Lyons added a second try in the 53rd minute. Out-half Stephen Loftus took full advantage of a favourable bounce for Westport's third try moments later before another forward move yielded a bonus point try for the Bulls.
Loftus converted from the touchline before running in from halfway for an intercept try as an understrength Creggs team tired visibly. Westport went on to add a few tries in the closing stages.
Despite the final scoreline, Creggs played with great spirit until being overrun by a powerful Westport team in the final 20 minutes. The introduction of veteran Kevin Corcoran played a key role in the home side’s storming finish.
CREGGS: Gerry Comer, Michael Farrell, Eoghan Coyle, Jamie Ryan, DJ Hession, Brian Cleary, Tommy Curley, Tomás Tiernan, Eoghan Cahill, Jordan Kennedy, Paddy Fitzmaurice, Aodan Kelly, Michael Feeley, Peter Lohan, Fiachra Temple, Shane Maloney, Jonathan Whyte.
The Creggs U-18.5 team travelled to Corinthians on Sunday for what turned out to be a thrilling and hard-fought encounter in perfect rugby conditions.
Creggs got off to the dream start when Kaylum Curran spotted a gap in the Corinthians defence and executed a clever grubber kick. It was perfectly collected by Cian Fitzmaurice, who raced over the line for the opening try. Curran added the extras, putting Creggs 7–0 up within the first four minutes.
Corinthians responded quickly with an unconverted try, setting the tone for a tight, end-to-end contest.
Both teams traded scores throughout, showcasing some great attacking rugby and determined defence. Tries from Cian Fitzmaurice (2), Luke Kilcommons, and Cian Trimble kept Creggs in contention, with Kaylum Curran slotting three conversions.
Unfortunately, in the closing ten minutes, Corinthians capitalised on two turnovers deep in their own ‘22, breaking away to grab the decisive scores. Despite a strong effort to the final whistle, Creggs were narrowly defeated, 34-26.
A tough loss, but there were plenty of positives to take from the performance, teamwork, and determination on display.
