Sligo travelled to the Palace grounds in Armagh on Saturday hoping to secure their first Ulster Bank league win but were left with the consolation of a losing bonus point when they failed to overcome the home outfit in a superbly contested encounter.
Sligo were left rueing some early defensive lapses which gifted the home team 2 early try’s, making the task of chasing the game an unenviable prospect. To their credit, Sligo battled their way back into the game and matched their opposition with two try’s of their own but a couple of Armagh penalty scores proved the difference between the sides.
Despite heavy rain on the morning of the match, the weather conditions were ideal at kick off and Sligo kicked off and immediately tried to impose their game on their hosts.
The early forward exchanges were typical Ulster Bank league fare, neither side yielded an inch but Armagh took the initiative with the opening score. A Sligo kick into the Armagh half was countered by full back Jonny Steenson. The powerful 15 evaded a number of Sligo tacklers before off loading to winger Andrew Willis. Willis sprinted towards the Sligo 22 before chipping the ball behind the Sligo defence. Sligo failed to react and the Armagh wingers determination was enough to beat the dormant Sligo defence to the touchdown. Out half Richard Reaney converted for a commanding start for the home team.
Sligo’s woes were immediately further compounded. Following the restart, Armagh collected and immediately attacked. Reaney collected on the Sligo 10 metre line and burst through some indifferent Sligo tackling before touching down right of the posts. The out half added the extras to push his team 14 points ahead.
Armagh continued to push and 2 further Reaney penalties put the locals 20 points to nil front at half time.
In many matches a 20 point half time deficit results in a cricket score for the team on the receiving end but Sligo had other ideas! Coach Simon Galvan galvanised his troops and Sligo emerged in the second half determined to demonstrate their undoubted ability.
Adrian Mc Hale, Ross Mannion and the excellent Thomas Ferrari started to win to the front row battle,line out exponents James Wilson and Peter Mullan were lording the line outs and outhalf Paddy Pearson’s tactical nous was creating trouble in the home sides defence.
Sligo’s belligerence finally paid off with 20 minutes left on the clock. An excellently worked move saw full back Daniel Hawkins receiving in midfield before switching with centre Matele Fifita who made no mistake in touching down near the posts. Hawkins added the extras.
Fifita’s try raised the morale in the Sligo side and fine driving by No.8 Paddy Conlon and great work by winger Robbie Keegan put Sligo in position to add to their tally .
A well won line out in the home teams 22 was moved quickly to Pearson and the out half characteristically manufactured a gap in the home teams defence to touch down and move his team within 8 points of the opposition. Hawkins again added the extras to push his team into bonus point range.
20-14 with 5 minutes left on the clock and the game was at a knife edge! Sligo were pressing, and Armagh were hanging on. Unfortunately for the visitors a match winning scoring opportunity never realised and Sligo had to make do with the consolation of another losing bonus point.
A glance at the Ulster Bank League table shows that despite Sligo’s lack of wins, the team are a match for anyone in their league and the exclusive win is not too far away.
Next week see’s Sligo host Highfield RFC to battle for Ulster Bank League points. if Sligo can continue where they left off in the second half in Armagh, winning points are well within their scope. Kick off next Saturday is at 2.30
Sligo team. : D Hawkins, R Keegan, M Fifita, G Foley, B Leahy, P Pearson, G O’Hehir, S Mc Guiness, R Mannion, A Mc Hale, J Wilson, P Mullan, C Culhane, R Kerins, P Conlon. Reps T Ferrari, G Conneely, D Heath, H laffite, A Mc Nulty
Monthly Archive for October, 2011
Sligo’s J1C team continued their excellent progress with a well worked 3 try to 1 victory over a physical Portumna side at Strandhill on Sunday.
Having been promoted into J1C for the 2011/12 season, coach Steve Alley has embraced the challenge and has prepared his charges accordingly.
Playing with the aid of the strong breeze, Sligo started well and soon established field position on the Visitors 22. The front row of Aaron Tansey,Nick Ryan, and Brian Kane were on top at scrum time ably supported by the engine room of Kieran Meehan and Dermot Kiely. Sligo’s backrow of Andrew Williams, David Cawley and Leigh Fenton were on top at the breakdown and Williams’ superb line out play was reaping huge rewards for the home outfit.
Sligo opened their account after 20 minutes. Good retention play in the Portuma 22 eventually allowed centre Clive Morris the chance to burst through the cover and dot down to the left of the posts. Out half Steven Butler added the extras with a well judged kick.
Sligo continued to press and doubled the total prior to the half time whistle. A line out 5 yards from the Portumna line was secured and the resulting driving maul was touched down by number 8 Fenton. Butler converted to put Sligo 14 points ahead going into the break.
Following the break the visitors rallied and began to use the strong wind to their advantage, Sligo, however were not to be outdone and full back David O’Connor soaked up everything that was put his way and countered with relish, constantly keeping his team on the front foot.
To their credit Portumna continued to press and were reward with a superb individual try from their scrum half after 50 minutes.
Sligo regrouped and battled conditions and the opposition to work their way into the visitors 22. A number of attacking phases resulted in a ruck just short of the Portumna line and fom the breakdown the excellent Butler timed his pass to allow the equally superb Williams dot down for the final score.
Portumna gamely tried to respond but Sligo’s resolve was not going to be broken and when the referee blew the long blast it was the home team who celebrated.
Next Sunday sees Sligo commence their much anticipated U19 Connacht League campaign.
A mouth watering opening game away to Monivea should prove a great opener for a Sligo side brimming with class and potential. With the quality available to coach Dave O’Daly and manager John Keegan, Sligo are looking forward to a potentially huge successful campaign from a group of highly talented players. Players are asked to meet at the Retail Park at 10am.
The core of the Sligo team are made up from last seasons extremely successful under 17 side coached by Michael O Hehir and Peter Bannard and managed by Joe Davey. A last gasp Connacht final defeat, to eventual All Ireland winners Galwegians,unfortunately prevented this group of players from reaching their full potential, and this new challenge should prove enough motivation to focus the team to attain their full potential.
Up front Sligo have an embarrassment of riches to choose from. Fabian Zawada always gives his opposite number a torrid time. Matthew Davey continues to grow as an all round hooker and the powerful Jamie Mc Govern never fails to to impose his undoubted ability on the opposition. Add the unquestioned talents of Wayne o’Hara-Carty, Kieran Melly, Aaron Donnelan and Patrick Saba and on any given day Sligo’s front row can match any challenge.
Sligo 13 :: Connemara 9
Sligo’s much awaited return to winning ways arrived in the form of a well worked Connacht Senior Cup win against fellow Ulster Bank League division 2 side, Connemara, at Strandhill on Saturday. The teams met earlier in the season in the Connacht Senior League with Connemara taking the spoils on that occasion but a much improved Sligo proved a sterner test for the Galway outfit and Sligo proved the stronger of the teams on this occasion.
Despite a week of torrential rain, the pitch, although greasy, proved playable and thankfully the weather cleared prior to kick off. There was little or no breeze evident as Sligo’s Mark Butler kicked the match off with his team playing away from the road end. Immediately from the kick off Sligo put pressure on their opponents and quickly established a foothold in the Connemara half. The early exchanges were forward orientated with Sligo using their driving maul to good effect. With 4 minutes gone on the clock the Sligo pack were rewarded for their hard work. A scrum ball taken against the head on the halfway line was moved quickly past the ten metre line and Connemara were forced to concede the penalty from the ensuing ruck. Daniel Hawkins stepped up and a well struck kick put Sligo into an early lead. Continue reading ‘Sligo secure win over Connemara in Senior Cup’
Sligo RFC’s alcohol free halloween disco will take place on Friday 28th of October at the clubhouse. Fancy dress is optional but patrons should note that there will be prizes on the night for the best costume. As always there will be a large number of stewards in attendance and tickets will be on sale from the usual sellers.
Sligo RFC 5 :: Nenagh Ormond 9
Sligo suffered their third defeat on the trot in the Ulster Bank League when they were defeated by Tipperary outfit Nenagh Ormond at Strandhill on Saturday.
Three Dan Fogarty penalties were enough to keep the visitors ahead at the final whistle despite Sligo’s Daniel Hawkins scoring the only try of the game.
Sligo had to start without lineout specialist James Wilson who picked up an injury in the previous match, but were boosted by the return to action of Peter Mullan who had previously been unavailable.
With little or no breeze to contend with Sligo kicked off and early pressure yielded a sustained foothold in the Nenagh half. An early break by Matele Fifita was continued by Gavin Foley but the centres work was undone when Nenagh won the breakdown and were allowed to clear their lines. Sligo continued to press and were almost rewarded after 13 minutes when a fine Paddy Pearson line break was stopped just short of the visitors line.
Match Program – download here - Sligo RFC V Nenagh Ormond RFC – AIL Div 2b – Oct 2011
See earlier post for full details – here
Sligo RFC have recently been contacted by the Connacht Branch as follows;
We are writing to you with details on the Connacht Rugby Club offer for Heineken Cup tickets for the 2011/2012 season.
Each senior club is entitled to purchase 50 tickets at a cost of €30 per ticket. The TOULOUSE ticket offer is available until Friday 28th October by which time if you have not taken up or paid for the tickets they will automatically be re-allocated.
Payment must be received by Friday 28th October 2011 following which the tickets will be sent directly to the club secretary.
Please reply to me asap to let me know if you will be taking your club allocation.
Any Club member looking for tickets for any of the home Heineken Cup games – please contact Rory Raftery – rory@rafteryandco.com asap. Please note that orders can only be placed with the branch when payment is made to the Club upfront.
Follow the link for Connacht’s fixture list – here
Connacht are due to play Toulouse at home in their first home Heineken Cup fixture on Sat Nov 19th at 6pm in The Sportsground, Galway. Please note that Sligo RFC have no AIL fixture that weekend.
Sligo RFC 10
Ballyhaunis 8
Sligo 2nd team notched up another big win against Ballyhaunis last sunday at Strandhill. With now two wins from three games this season, this was a massive victory.
Sligo’s pack from the start give notice of their intent early on with some huge drives and good rucking. Thanks to this pressure, Sligo were rewarded a penalty which Gary O’Hehir converted, giving Sligo a three point lead within the first five minutes of the opening half. However Sligo had most of the possession in the first half, and could not make the final pass to finish with a try. This gave Sligo more pressure as they were unable to put points on the board, and having been beating by this same team in a friendly few weeks ago, Sligo knew Ballyhaunis where going to come back at them, which they did. The Ballyhaunis prop used his size and barged his way under the Sligo post to help his team go 7 points to Sligo 3 at half time.
The second half was very tight with both teams breaking the line and having some scoring opportunities but could not make the final pass. The referee saw an off the ball incident with both the Sligo number 6 David Cawley and the Ballyhaunis hooker, the referee had no other option but to send both players to sin bin for 10mins half way in to the second half.
Sligo received a penalty and went for a kick to the corner, but the kick did not go fully out and with a good Sligo chase, the Ballyhaunis winger tried to clear his line and was blocked. Thankfully Stewart O’Brien who was just brought on,was first to react and grounded the ball close to the post to score Sligo’s first try. Gary O’Hehir then converted bringing score 10 points to Ballyhauinis’ 8 with six minutes to go. With excellent defense and discipline Sligo held out till final whistle.
Even though Sligo left it late, overall they were the better side. Every player played there part on the day, even the subs that came on, but the man of the match was Clive Morris, his strong running, defense and passing were excellent. The Sligo set piece play will need a bit of fine tuning and if the forwards can produce more quality ball then the backs certainly have the ability to score against any opposition. Overall this was a great team win and we can look forward to the next big game.
Sligo: S. McGuinness, N. Ryan, M. Feeney, A. Williams, C. Stafford, D. Cawley, A. Loftus, S. Glackon, G. O’Hehir,
S. Butler, B. Hynes, C. Morris, M. McMorrow, H. Lafitte, D. O’Connor, A. Tansey, L. Fenton, S. O’Brien, S. Dorrin, S. Bagnan.
If you would like to order any Sligo RFC branded gear please complete this form – SLIGO RFC KIT ORDER FORM 2011 and return to Ross Mannion at The Record Room by Oct 16th. Please note that Oct 16th is the last day that orders can be placed for kit to arrive before Christmas.
Follow this link for a replay of the Ocean FM radio commentary of the Sligo RFC V Boyne RFC match which was the first AIL game of the season - http://soundcloud.com/oceanfm/sligo-v-boyne-ail-october-1
