Archive for the 'Match Reports' Category

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.

Continue reading ‘Sligo fall to Nenagh Ormond!’

Junior Interprovincial Rugby

Connacht   36  Ulster 12

Video highlights here – Junior Inter-Pro Connacht V’s Ulster

Full match photo gallery here – Sporting Occasions

Connacht got their Interpro campaign off to a flying start with a comfortable win over Ulster in Tuam on Saturday.

Playing against a strong wind in the first half Connacht set out their stall early by dominating the set piece, especially the scrum, where the home side’s front row of Wesley Maxwell, Martin Lee and Tom Toolan had their Ulster opponents in all sorts of trouble.
Connacht outhalf Ger O’Connor opened the scoring after 15 minutes when he converted a penalty from 35 meters. A period of territorial dominance followed for Connacht but it was not until the 35th minute that they added to their total. A series of scrum collapses near the Ulster line led to a warning for Ulster loosehead Matt Wilson. Connacht elected to for a further scrum from the ensuing penalty and when it collapsed once more referee Will O’Connor had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try. O’Connor converted to leave the score 10-0 in Connacht’s favour.
Connacht lost prop Wesley Maxwell with a shoulder injury shortly before half time and he was replaced by Doran McHugh. The score stayed at 10 -0 at the half time whistle.
Coach Seamus King introduced Paddy Pearson at outhalf at the start of the second half and he immediately put Ulster under pressure with some excellent tactical kicking. Five minutes into the second half Ulster had made their way into the Connacht half but a wayward pass from Ulster centre Colin Atkinson was intercepted by Connacht winger and he ran over 70 metres to touch down for an excellent try in the corner. Paddy Pearson kicked an incredible conversion from the sideline to leave the score at 17 -0. An injury to second row Dave Hansberry led to his replacement by Jamie Bowes and two minutes later he was involved in a series of rucks and mauls which eventually led to scrum half Mickey Murphy putting Aaron Spring through a gap in the centre enabling the winger to power through two tackles to touch down in the corner. Paddy Pearson again converted brilliantly and this sealed the game for Connacht who were now 24-0 ahead with just 20 minutes left.

Connacht weren’t finished however and on 63 minutes Paddy Pearson put Dave Prior away with a lovely skip pass and Prior beat two men to score Connacht’s all important bonus point fourth try. Pearson was unlucky to miss the tricky conversion and with a lead of 29-0 Connacht began to empty the bench.
With 12 minutes left to go Flanker Eoin Rooney made a break which ended with Rory O’Connor taking the pass to run in for his second try. Paddy Pearson certainly had his kicking boots on as he sent over his third touchline conversion to put Connacht 36 -0 up.
The last ten minutes saw Ulster restore some pride with tries from Gary Hall and David Sharkey, one of which was converted by Ulster outhalf Adam Parke. Indeed Parke’s conversion was the last kick of the game.
This was a tremendous start for Connacht and they now travel to Donnybrook to play Leinster next Saturday at 2.30pm. Indeed this could be the deciding match of the championship as Leinster also had a bonus point win over Munster on Friday night on a 30-24 score line.
There has only been a single score between the sides in the last two years so another close tussle is forecast but with Connacht perhaps coming out in front this year.

Connacht:  Kevin Higgins (Monivea) (Capt.), Rory O’Connor (Monivea), Dave Prior (Monivea), Mata Fafita (Sligo), Aaron Spring (Sligo), Ger O’Connor (Monivea), Mickey Murphy (Ballina), Wesley Maxwell (Sligo), Martin Lee (Corrib), Tom Toolan (Ballina), Dave Hansberry (OLBC), Wille Parker (Monivea), Eoin Rooney (Monivea), Mike Ward (Tuam)
Subs Doran McHugh (OLBC), Ronan Coughlan (Monivea), Brian Murphy (Monivea), Jamie Bowes (Sligo), Paddy Pearson (Sligo), Tom Ellard (Westport), John Culkin (Monivea)

Sligo RFC 19 :: Ballina RFC 10

Sligo’s total dominance of Connacht Junior rugby for the 2010/11 season was cemented at the sporstground in Galway when they defeated north west rivals Ballina in a superbly contested encounter on Sunday.

Sligo’s stellar season looked to have come to a halt with a defeat to Ballina in the Cawley cup last Sunday but the Yeats county outfit bounced back and brushed aside their neighbours with an all action powerful display to complete the Connacht Junior league and cup double.

Ballina kicked off with the aid of the slight breeze but it was Sligo who layed down their intention first. Fine drives from Jamie Bowes and Paddy Conlon coupled with good tactical play from half backs Mark Butler and Paddy Pearson gave Sligo territorial advantage in the opening minutes. Sligo,s pressure was rewarded with penalties after 12 and 15 minutes but Mark Butlers attempts drifted wide on both occasions.

Despite Sligo’s continued pressure it was the Mayo outfit who struck the first blow. Following some loose defence Ballina Outhalf Cory Brown floated an excellent pass for Judd Ruane and the second row burst through the cover to dot down left of the posts. Brown added the extras to move the score 7-0 in favour of the moysiders.

Sligo immediately responded and fine work by Matele Fifita and Aaron Spring resulted in a penalty award and Butler made no mistake in opening his teams account. Sligo continued to press and doubled their account 5 minutes before the break. Superb pressure at the breakdown resulted in a penalty on the opposition 22 and the sin binning of Ballina flanker Phiilip Timoney. Butler slotted the kick to put the narrowest margin between the teams.

Sligo kicked off the second half and immediately put pressure on the Mayo outfit. It was Ballina however who were first to score and another Brown penalty moved the score to 10 points to 6 in favour of the Mayo men.

Sligo were not to be outdone and continued to impose their superior physicality on the game. A fine break by Paddy Conlon resulted in another another Sligo penalty and Butlers well struck kick narrowed the gap to a single point.

With 15 minutes left on the clock Sligo struck the killer blow. A scrum on the Ballina 10m line was moved to the right by Conlon and Pearson. Fifita carried and perfectly timed his pass to Spring on the 22. The powerhouse winger collected and drove through three tackles before dotting down to the right of the posts. Butlers conversion pushed Sligo into a 6 point lead.

Sligo were now on top in all facets of play. Wesley Maxwell, Ross Mannion and Adrian Mc Hale were dominating the scrums, James Wilson and Peter Mullan were in control of the lineout and Jamie Bowes’ trademark runs were causing havoc in the Ballina defence. Cathal Culhane and Paddy Conlon were winning the battle at the breakdown and centres Gavin Foley and Fifita expertly closed down the space in midfield.

With 8 minutes left on the clock Sligo moved the all important 2 scores ahead with another Butler penalty. Ballina gamely tried to respond but Sligo were not to be outdone and the scoreline remained 9 points in Sligo’s favour when referee Joe Doyne blew the final whistle.

Jubilant scenes followed and team captain Pearson lifted the cup much to the delight of the large travelling support to cap one of Sligo’s most successful ever seasons.

Sligo: David Gerrity, Aaron Spring, Gavin foley, Matele Fifita, Billy Leahy, Mark Butler, Paddy Pearson, Wesley Maxwell, Ross Mannion, Adrian Mc Hale, James Wilson, Jamie Bowes, Cathal Culhane, Simon Coulter, Paddy Conlon. Reps Martin Feeney, Gary Conneely, Peter Mullan, Brian Hynes, Frankie Feeney.

Photos by Rory Raftery – see full match gallery here

Sligo RFC 12 – Corinthians RFC 6

Last Sunday Sligo continued their unbeaten run in all competitions in Connacht by beating Corinthians by four penalties to two.

Conditions were always going to have a big influence on proceedings with a strong northerly bitter cold wind and a very wet and sticky pitch. This was a game of two halves for the competing teams and Sligo elected to play into the strong wind in the first half.

Corinthians are not the force that they were last season when they defeated Sligo in the league and also in the Junior Cup final. In the meantime Sligo have won the Junior league and are in the Cawley Cup final and are a side transformed in twelve months.

With this backdrop Sligo went into this match as strong favourites but Cup football is always different in that its knockout and every game is a separate battle.

In the first half Sligo got down to work and their pack were marginally on top in most areas. At times Sligo had to dig deep and they did well on several occasions breaking free and threatened the opposition try line. One such break by the excellent No. 8 Paddy Conlon who broke from the back of the scrum deep in their own half and fed the flying Aaron Spring almost led to a try with Spring being hauled down five meters out.

Corinthians drew first blood with a fine penalty kick only for Mark Butler to level the scores 3 all after nine minutes. For most of the first half Sligo were defending in their own territory and they did a splendid job both in hard work by the pack and good play by the half backs Billy Leahy and Mark Butler. Their discipline was exemplary giving away few kickable penalties and they got to the break 3 all. This was a decent return considering the conditions.

In the second half it was all about Sligo piling on the pressure in terms of possession and territory. Mark Butler had three more fine penalty kicks to put a bit of daylight between the sides. To their credit Corinthians never gave up and got within 3 points with ten minutes remaining. However Sligo were in no mood to capitulate and with the scrum advantage growing as the game wore on Corinthians simply could not get any momentum. The game ended with another fine Sligo win and they are into the semi finals which will be drawn on Monday night.

This was a real tough Cup match and both sides have to be commended for serving up such competitive football in very difficult conditions.

On the day in the pack Sligo were the dominant force. Ross Mannion who started at hooker and finished the game at loose head prop had an outstanding game with his scrummaging a revelation. Paddy Conlon once again had a superb outing and his ball carrying and speed from the base was of the highest order.  Simon Coulter was very busy and put in a fine days work.

In the back line scrum half Billy Leahy had a good outing with his passing of the greasy ball excellent. His defence work around the fringes and carrying was also very good before he moved to the wing where he finished strongly. Mark Butler at 10 also did well and yet again his place kicking was vital as he has been doing all season. Mata Fifita was also to the fore with his high work rate and he was unlucky to be sent to the bin for 10 minutes for an illegal tackle.  Aaron Spring who started on the wing and finished on the flank always looked to be Sligo’s most dangerous attacker and he was only denied a try in the first half by some excellent defence having beaten several players up the middle.

Sligo will be delighted to have got the win here against a useful Corinthian side considering they started without captain Paddy Pearson, Jamie Bowes and prop Wesley Maxwell. If you want to win trophies you sometimes have to be prepared to win ugly and this is exactly what Sligo did on the day.

Sligo team: David Gerrity, Brian Hynes, Gavin Foley, Aaron Spring, Mark Butler, Billy Leahy, Martin Feeney, Ross Mannion,  Adrian McHale, James Wilson, Peter Mullan, Cathal Culhane, Simon Coulter, Paddy Conlon.
Subs: Gary Conneely, Daragh Cox, Frankie Feeney, Clive Morris, Roger Burrows.

Photographs by Rory Raftery – see more on Sligo RFC facebook page here

With the Sligo first team on a free weekend before their vital final league game of the season the Sligo second team had the opportunity to lay a claim for a place in the first squad when the faced Ballina in their Connacht Junior League division 11A encounter at Strandhill on Sunday.

The Sligo men scored a magnificent seven trys without response as the put their mayo counterparts to the sword in every facet of play.

Sligo kicked off with the aid of the fresh breeze and immediately put the visitors under pressure. Some fine tactical kicking from outhalf Niall O Hara gave the Sligo pack the chance to set up camp in the Ballina 22.

The opening score arrived after five minutes when following some good driving play by second row Dermot Kiely a ruck was formed short of the line. The ball was quickly recycled and scrum half Finn Considine fed O’Hara who stepped inside the cover and touched down under the posts. The outhalf added the extras to put his team seven points to the good.

Fifteen minutes in and Sligo added their second try. Following a Ballina lineout Flanker David Cawley blocked an attempted clearance allowing the Sligo pack the opportunity to pour forward and turn over possession. The ball was quickly moved wide and winger Brian Mullan raced through to score out wide on the left. Continue reading ‘Seven up for seconds!’