Table topping Cashel RFC came to Hamilton Park with an unbeaten record and showed their class with an 18 point to 6 victory over a hardworking Sligo on Saturday. Cashel’s superior physicality proved too strong for a brave Sligo side who carried the battle to their visitors right to the final whistle.

With heavy morning rain causing difficult underfoot conditions it was the visitors who kicked off and immediately put their hosts under pressure. The early pressure was rewarded three minutes in with a well struck penalty from centre Colin Morrissey.

The Cashel number 12 repeated the dose after 13 minutes when his side were rewarded with another penalty for a ruck infringement. Sligo’s Shane Mc Guinness was shown the yellow card and was sent from play for 10 minutes.

The munster men upped the intensity and tried to use their numerical advantage to full effect. A sweeping move from right to left looked  set to reap the full reward but a massive Cathal Finneran tackle forced the turnover and the danger was averted.

Sligo’s line was finally breached after 30 mins when following a line out catch and drive inside the Sligo 22 prop forward Horward Stanley touched down. To move his teams total to 11. Morrissey added the extras.

5 minutes from half time Cashel went further ahead when Ed Leamy, brother of Irish international Dennis, crashed over in the corner following some fine off-loading play by the visitors.

Sligo started the second half in determined fashion and began to take the game to their hosts. James Wilson and Peter Mullan were successfully competing from touch, Jamie Bowes was carrying powerfully and Rory Kerins and Aidan Mc Nulty were making inroads at the breakdown. Matele Fifita’s powerful running was causing concern for Cashel and Hugo Lafitte’s pace was always a threat.

A Daniel Hawkins penalty after 50 minutes put Sligo on the scoreboard and this was added to by a monster drop goal from David Gerrity 10 minutes later.
Both sides created chances in the final quarter, but defences were on top and when the final whistle was blown the score read 6-18 in favour of the visitors.

Next up Sligo Tavel north to second placed Banbridge. The match takes place on Saturday 18th of February and Sligo will be hoping to gather a big travelling support for the day.

Sligo:
David Gerrity, Cathal Finneran, Mataele Fifita, Gavin Foley, Hugo Lafitte, Daniel Hawkins, Billy Leahy, Adrian Mc Hale, Gary Conneely, Shane Mc Guinness, Jamie Bowes, Peter Mullan, Paddy Conlon (capt), Rory Kerins, Aidan Mc Nulty. Reps Ross Mannion, Brian Keane, James Wilson, David Heath, Gary O Hehir

Cashel:
Rory O Connor, Kevin Leamy, Jack Ryan, Colin Morrissey, Pat O Connor, Brian Silke, Ollie Mc Glinchey, Mike Kelly, Dave Mc Cormack, Howard Stanley, Llyod Foot, Sean Walsh, Brendan O Connor (capt), Ed Leamy, John Ed O Connor. Reps Barry Moloney, Danny Lambe, Albie Devitt, Michael Hickey, Alan O Donnell.

Referee Brian Montayne LBIRFU.

Photos by Rory Raftery – See the full match gallery on Facebook

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. 

Sligo continued to press, the front row of Shane Mc Guinness, Ross Mannion and Adrian Mc Hale had the edge at scrum time and Mannion was linking well with Peter Mullan and Paddy Conlon at lineout time. However,  despite Sligo’s edge up front, Connemara’s defence was resolute and they continued to soak up the Sligo pressure.

Connemara’s patience was rewarded on the half hour with a Sean Joyce penalty from 35 metres when Sligo were adjudged to have encroached the offside line. Both sides tried to add to their tally but the score remained at 3 all going into the break.

Sligo started the second half brightly and an early Pearson  break was halted inside the Connemara 22. The attacking team was awarded a scrum and Paddy Conlon picked and drove into the defence forcing another indiscretion from  Connemara. Hawkins stepped up and doubled his teams tally with another well struck kick.

The defining score arrived 10 minutes into the second half. The excellent Mark Butler fielded a long Connemara clearance and immediately opted to counterattack. The full back linked up with Thomas Ferrari who fed Hawkins. The winger broke the defensive line and carried into the 22 before transferring to Matele Fifita who used his trademark handoff to good effect before crashing over to the right of the posts. Hawkins added the extras with another assured kick.

Sligo looked to further add to their dominance but their cause was not helped by the loss of Pearson and Butler in quick succession with head and shoulder injuries respectively.

The visitors upped the tempo and began to move the ball wide at every opportunity. The high velocity rugby began to yield rewards and two Joyce penalties put Connemara to within a score of their hosts with 10 minutes remaining on the clock.  Sligo however were not going to be denied a valuable win and determined defending ensured that the line remained intact and when the full time whistle blew it was the local team who celebrated.

Next week sees Sligo return to Ulster Bank League duty when they travel north to lock horns with Armagh at the Palace grounds. Like Sligo, Armagh were promoted last season as winners of the Ulster qualifying league and will be looking to avenge the defeat inflicted on them by Sligo in the All Ireland Junior cup last season. Coach Simon Galvan will be going into the game happy that his charges have found winning form, and will be looking forward to earning some precious league points.

Sligo Mark Butler, Daniel Hawkins, Gavin Foley, Matele Fifita, Robbie Keegan, Paddy Pearson, Gary O’Hehir, Shane Mc Guinness, Ross Mannion, Adrian Mc Hale, Jamie Bowes, Peter Mullan, Cathal Culhane, Rory Kerins, Paddy Conlon. Reps Thomas Ferrari, Gary Conneely, David Heath, Billy Leahy, Andrew Williams.
Ref Dave Connolly

Photographs by Rory Raftery – see full gallery – here

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.

ligo’s dominance was not rewarded and it was the visitors who opened the scoring. A rare excursion into Sligo territory yielded a penalty award just outside the Sligo 22 and Fogarty made no mistake with a well struck kick. With half an hour gone on the clock Sligo were temporarily reduced to 14 men when Foley was sent to the sin-bin for what the referee deemed to be an illegal tackle. Fogarty  doubled his teams tally with the resulting penalty. Sligo’s cause received a further blow 5 minutes later when winger Hawkins was also shown the yellow card for dangerously jumping into a tackle. Although reduced to 13 the Sligo defensive line remained intact and another Pearson break, with full back Mark Butler also involved, almost succeeded but the Neagh defence scrambled and snuffed out the danger.

Nenagh started the second half brightly and their endeavour was rewarded with another Fogarty penalty to move the scoreline to nine points to nil.
Sligo continued to take the battle to their guests with Paddy Conlon and  Jamie Bowes prominent.

Sligo finally opened their account midway through the second half when a Bowes drive in the Nenagh 22 was moved left to Pearson who stepped outside the defence before linking up with speedy winger Hawkins who made no mistake in finishing in the corner.

Sligo continued to hunt for the winning score and a fine move right a the death looked to have unlocked the Nenagh defence but Nenagh winger Shane Quinlan just managed to get a touch on the ball and the danger was averted, the ball was cleared and the referee blew the final whistle.

Sligo continue to look for that elusive win, but on this form they have shown that they are a match for anyone in the division and coach Simon Galvan can be sure that his team will soon be back to winning ways.

Next Saturday sees a break from Ulster Bank League football when Sligo take on the Connemara All Blacks in the first round of the Connacht Senior Cup. Kick off will be at 2.30.

Sligo: Mark Butler, Daniel Hawkins, Gavin Foley, Matele Fifita, Robbie Keegan, Paddy Pearson (capt), Billy Leahy, David Roe, Ross Mannion, Adrian Mc Hale, Jamie Bowes, Peter Mullan, Cathal Culhane, Rory Kerins, Paddy Conlon. reps Shane Mc Guiness, Gary Conneely, David Heath, Gary O’Hehir, Michael Mc Morrow.

Photographs by Rory Raftery – see full photo gallery on www.facebook.com/sligorfc – here

The season has come around again and kicks off this weekend with a home encounter against AIL Div 1 side Galwegians in the Connacht Senior League. Simon Galvan’s men have been in pre-season now for nearly six weeks in preparation for the busy season ahead. The AIL fixtures have been set, with 7 home and 8 away games. The first AIL game sees Sligo at home to fellow newcomers to the AIL Boyne RFC. Boyne are strong outfit having come through as the Leinster Junior league champions last season.

This weekend sees Galwegians back to Strandhill. It is some years since Galwegians senior side have visited Sligo, when Sligo were last a senior club in 1998. Sligo RFC President John Kane would like to extend a very warm welcome to the Galwegians team, management and supporters coming to Sligo on Saturday.

The game is listed for Saturday with a 3pm kick off at Hamilton Park, Strandhill. Please be aware that the Warriors Run is also on in Strandhill on Saturday so parking in and around Strandhill will be limited. The Club car park is reserved for persons attending the match.

After the fantastic success of last season, Sligo welcome the re-appointment of Simon Galvan as senior coach. Simon was recently appointed as Director of Senior Rugby at the Club and the President and Club committee wish him well in the new position. The appointment of Dominic Storey as Senior Team Manager is a huge addition to the managment team. Also in the management team are the backline coach Paddy Pearson and Rodger Burrows.

On the field, Sligo welcome back former Sligo players Rory Kerins, Michael McMorrow, James Fox and Thomas Stenson – all rejoing the club.

While the Club strives to enhance the ties with Sligo IT a very special welcome goes out to French student Hugo Laffitte. Hugo is a former French U18 player and will be a welcome addition to the squad for the season ahead as he furthers his studies at Sligo IT.

Also coming in this season is Daniel Hawkins (pictured below) from New Zealand, arriving in Sligo next week. Daniel has been playing his rugby in Marlborough, New Zealand and earlier this month received the Marlborough Red Devils Player of the Year award. His CV reads well and is an exciting prospect at outhalf.

Photo courtesy of The Marlborough Express – see full article here.

Also new to the squad and the Club this year  are front row players Shane McGuinness (Carrick-on-shannon) and Charlie Langley (Nenagh Ormond) – again both are very welcome to the Club.

In addition to the players transferring back and joining the Club, we have a number of former Club Youth players making the leap into senior rugby. In planning for the season ahead and indeed further into the future, Simon Galvan has identified the need to get the player conveyor belt back on track to ensure that the Club retains players produced by our Youth section. To that end, Simon invited a number of the Club’s U19′s to join the senior squad for pre-season training – Robbie Keegan, Gerard Keaney, Gary O’Hehir and Shaun Donnolly. Also in the squad are former Sligo Grammar School players John Healy, Thomas Ferrari and David Heath. A number of the U19 and former Grammar School players have earned a spot in the starring line-up in the senior side on Saturday against Galwegians – Gary O’Hehir at scrum-half and John Healy in the centre.

Special thanks goes out to those players from neighbouring clubs that joined the Sligo squad for pre-season training and we look forward to seeing some of those players appear for the Club under the dual status regulations in both the Connacht Senior League and the All Ireland League.

See you all Saturday – 3pm – come along and support the Club!

The 6.30 games kicked off on time with Socrate Healthcare playing against Tagtastic, with a small panel the socates healthcare managed to stay afloat for the 40 mins. Beginners to the game, they showed the Tagtastic team their skills and tried their best to outdo them. Unfortunately they didnt succeed in winning the game, with Tagtastic taking the win 16 to 6. The second round of games at 7.15 showed a full panel of teams. The LA boozers were up against the Supermodels team, both teams played last year and this showed on the field with an even game for the most of the 40 mins. The Supermodels took the win with 19 points to 11. Another of the 7.15 games showed great skill with two new teams playing tag this year, those being Cartron Cowboys and Mullens Madness. The Cartron Cowboys had fun on the pitch and showed great skill against the Mullens Madness team. The win was good for Cartron Cowboys with a 21 point win to 7 Mullen Madness. The 8.45 games kicked off just in time, and one game that took place at this time was The Glasshouseotel versus Thunderstruckers. Although the Thunderstruckers team playd last year, still also have some new players to their panel. The game was taken by the Thunderstruckers team with a great win of 16 to 3 points.

After all the games had all finished all tag teams made their way into the clubhouse to take place in the annual tag Table Quiz. With 28 teams packing out the hall in the clubhouse it was a great night of entertainment. Following 9 rounds of questions, including a round in Irish, the winners of the table quiz were representing the Cartron Cowboys. The prizes for the table quiz were generously sponsored by Jako and The Record Room. Next week sees the return of the very popular Sports day games. This will include games such as the egg & Spoon race, the sack race and the 3 legged race, it is promised to be a very entertaining night for both the participants and viewers

Please note:
Sligo Tag Rugby is an Over 18s Event.
Players are not permitted to wear any jewellery (including glasses)during the games.
All players must wear Tag Shorts.

Reminder of some RULES:
4.4 The marker must stand directly in front of the ruck ball.  The marker and the defensive line can only move forward when the ball is touched/played by the scrum half. Sanction: penalty

5.8 An attacker may receive a pass behind their own try line or may run behind their own  try line when in possession of the ball. If an attacker is tagged behind their own tryline, the attacking team shall restart play with a Drop-Kick from the centre of their tryline.

5.9 The srumhalf can pass or kick the ball with only one tag on as long as they do so immediately (one step) .

5.16 If the scrum half is not in position within 3 seconds of the ball being played at a ruck ball, a changeover will be awarded to the defending team.  The Referee will determine the time period.

5.17 if the ball carrier executes a voluntary tag by deliberately playing a Ruck Ball with both tags intact, the defending team are award a penalty.

6 In open play the ball may only be kicked from hand and while it is on the ground or while it is in the air having hit the ground. Sanction :penalty

6.13 The Attacking team may kick the ball at any time while in possession.  The ball must not go higher than the referees shoulders for a grubber kick.

6.19 if the ball is kicked and bounces in the field of play and crosses the receiving teams tryline they will receive a Changeover ten meters out from the tryline the centre of the field.

6.24 If a Grubber kick travels higher than 1.5 metre, a penalty will be awarded to the defending team at the place where the ball was kicked.

6.25 If the ball is kicked and it goes out of the field of play in the full, the receiving team will receive a changeover at the poing where the kick was taken.

The contact details for Sligo Tag: sligotag@gmail.com or join us on facebook/sligotag.

The competition certainly kicked of with a blast with the Strandvestites taking on a new team from Ballina called the Rat Pack, this was to be a much anticipated game as the Strandvestites are one of the strongest teams in the league with many players having played tag for several years.  With 6 female trys from the standvestites to 1 female try from the Rat pack it was an exciting game, but the Strandvestites took the win at 17 points to 5.

We saw a strong crowd take over the rugby club at 7.15pm as the next round of games kicked off.  The regulars of Fairly Lively were up against last years runners up Guten Tag.  This was also a very exciting game, with Fairly Lively having no subs they put up a strong game for 40mins.  However Guten Tag took the lead with a win of 18 points to 14, having secured 4 female trys.

The 8.00pm games had a number of new teams entering the Tag field for the first time competing in the beginners league.  The Socialites were up against the Stiefel Scrummers; with no subs for the Stiefel Scrummers it was always going to be a tough game.  The Socialites took full advantage of their full panel and at half time took a good lead.  As both teams are new to Tag Rugby the help of ref Gavin Foley explaining the laws quite clearly was much appreciated by each side.  Although it was a tough game for both, the Socialites took a good win of 19 points to 10.

The final set of games began at 8.45pm; the new fifth pitch was certainly used to its full potential.  Trickys Try Hards were up against Indecisive Tagstards.  Trickys Try Hards pulled out all the tactics that they had learned and developed from last year and took a great win by 21 points to 5.  At the same time another game was taking place between the Generals and Tagtastic.   As both teams had played in previous seasons it was a very exhilarating game for both of the sides.  But the Generals showed their strength by taking the win 11 points to 9.

Thankfully the sun stayed out just in time for the final whistle to be blown on the last of the evenings games.  Crepes were available last night by Chez Phillipe, who is based in his cafe in the court yard on Teeling Street.    There was also a selection of food on offer from the catering van of Percision Catering.   Both Chez Phillipe and Percision Catering will be serving food to all the hunger taggers throughout the eleven weeks.   Lee Munn on guitar supplied the entertainment in the clubhouse, this was generously sponsored by JAKO.

Please note:
Sligo Tag Rugby is an Over 18s Event.
Players are not permitted to wear any jewellery (including glasses)during the games.
All players must wear Tag Shorts.

Reminder of some RULES:
4.4 The marker must stand directly in front of the ruck ball.  The marker and the defensive line can only move forward when the ball is touched/played by the scrum half. Sanction: penalty

5.8 An attacker may receive a pass behind their own try line or may run behind their own  try line when in possession of the ball. If an attacker is tagged behind their own tryline, the attacking team shall restart play with a Drop-Kick from the centre of their tryline.

5.9 The srumhalf can pass or kick the ball with only one tag on as long as they do so immediately (one step) .

5.16 If the scrum half is not in position within 3 seconds of the ball being played at a ruck ball, a changeover will be awarded to the defending team.  The Referee will determine the time period.

5.17 if the ball carrier executes a voluntary tag by deliberately playing a Ruck Ball with both tags intact, the defending team are award a penalty.

6 In open play the ball may only be kicked from hand and while it is on the ground or while it is in the air having hit the ground. Sanction :penalty

6.13 The Attacking team may kick the ball at any time while in possession.  The ball must not go higher than the referees shoulders for a grubber kick.

6.19 if the ball is kicked and bounces in the field of play and crosses the receiving teams tryline they will receive a Changeover ten meters out from the tryline the centre of the field.

6.24 If a Grubber kick travels higher than 1.5 metre, a penalty will be awarded to the defending team at the place where the ball was kicked.

6.25 If the ball is kicked and it goes out of the field of play in the full, the receiving team will receive a changeover at the poing where the kick was taken.

The contact details for Sligo Tag: sligotag@gmail.com or join us on facebook/sligotag.

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 U13′s attended the Pat Lawler Tournament hosted by UL Bohs recently. They had a super weekend. There were 21 teams competeing from all four provinces. Sligo played and defeated Instonians, Ennis and Castle Island and were narrowly defeated by the host club UL Bohs. Having qualified for the Plate Semi Final, Sligo were beaten by Garyowen in the last seconds of extra time. Garyowen went on to comfortably win the Plate Final.

The full Sligo squad all played and can be very proud of what they achieved. Competing at a national level showed that under age rugby is alive and well up here in the North West. Congratulations to the coaching team of Mike McGrath, Niall Gray, Fergal Hickey and Mark Impey and all involved with the squad.

This coming weekend Sligo are hosting an U13 fun coaching blitz. Players from Dunmore, Claremorris, Ballina and Sligo will play in a mixed format commencing at 11am this coming Saturday April 30th.

See more photos from the Pat Lawler Tournament on Sligo RFC Facebook page – here.

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’s U15s wrestled back the provincial bragging rights when they avenged  last weekends one point Connacht cup final defeat by Corinthians after they superbly overcame the Galway outfit in an excellently fought league final encounter at Glenina on Sunday. Sligo scored two converted tries to nullify a Corinthian try and penalty in a game which was in the balance right to the final whistle.

Sligo kicked off into the strong breeze and immediately put pressure on their Galway opponents. Strong driving by the pack with Daire Byrne and Ryan Bright to the fore went unrewarded and it was the Galway outfit who were first to score. A series of rucks in the Sligo half culminated in a sweeping backline move which was rounded off with the concession of an unconverted try.

Sligo regrouped and immediately attacked the tribesmen. Outhalf Stephen Kerins took control and positioned his team in the attacking half. Pressure by the pack was rewarded with a penalty 15 metres from the Corinthian try line. Sligo decided to run the penalty and following a well set up ruck, powerhouse prop Conan O Donnell, burst through the cover and dotted down left of the uprights. Evan Mc Grath struck an excellent conversion to nudge his team ahead at the break.

Corinthians started the second half at a high tempo and their perseverance was rewarded with a well struck penalty 10 minutes into the half to regain a one point advantage.

Sligo were up to the task and their pressure game was starting to tell. Scrum half Ryan Feehily was giving his opposite number a torrid time at the scrums, centres Matthew Cosgrove and Mc Grath were winning the midfield battle and Full Back James Hampson was capably dealing with everthing thrown at him.

With ten minutes remaining on the clock Sligo struck the killer blow. A powerful Byrne drive was halted 7 metres from the Corinthian line before O Donnell picked, burst through the cover and crashed over for his, and his teams, second of the day. Mc Grath again converted to move his side 6 points clear.

Corinthians responded but excellent Sligo defence ensured the scoreline remained in Sligo’s favour when the referee blew the final whistle.

Sligo; James Hampson, Jack Tillion, Evan Mc Grath, Matthew Cosgrove, Jackson Smith, Stephen Kerins, Ryan Feehily, Thomas Moran, Francis Walsh, Conan O Donnell, Sean Hurley, Jake Sexton, Ryan Bright, Daire Byrne, Joe Conway. Reps Cian Cassidy, Ben Rooney, Luke Morrison, Jason Greer, Ronan Elliot, Diarmuid Mulligan, Darran Harte.