VIRGINIA RFC U14s ‘A’ Team Continue Great Run in Qualifying League
Virginia U14s ‘A’ side travelled to Belfast on Saturday morning for game 7 in the Ulster Qualifying League. They took on Instonians on a warm sunny morning, and like the weather they started brightly.
The visitors dominated the early exchanges, in particular at the set piece with Jaco Englebrecht and Killian Collins dominating proceedings at the scrum, and Michael McKeon-Boyle very much in charge of the line out. Despite all this early pressure it was the hosts who scored first, when they picked up a loose ball inside their own 22, and a couple of missed tackles allowed them to run the length of the pitch and touch down under the posts. The subsequent conversion meant Virginia trailed 7-0.
This was a bit of a wake up call for the visitors, and they were soon deep inside their opponents territory again. The forwards also turned the screw at the breakdown, Jake Sullivan was superb throughout the game, and ably supported by Robert Lochaden and James Smith they edged towards the try line. Scores were soon level when Michael powered over under the posts, and Niall Carolan slotted the conversion.
After the kick off Virginia again edged their way forward. Quick hands at the back of the scrum by Jason Henderson almost set the backs free but a combination of poor handling, and great defence by the Instonians backline meant the sides went in at half time level at 7-7.
The second half brought much of the same. Virginias forwards really putting on a strong show, and if the hosts did get possession any threat was soon snuffed out by an on fire Niall Branagan, Jamie Osbourne, and Thomas McGearty. The threat Instonians posed on the wings was also dealt with in a much better manner with great tackling from Conor Hetherton, Adam Sherriff, Cian Doughty and Cormac Brown.
The hosts however with some fierce tackling of their own were still keeping Virginia at bay. In the end a clever grubber kick from Adam Charters was chased into the corner, with Jake O’Brien just beating his opponent to the ball to touchdown, 12-7 to Virginia.
Instonians were still in the match though, but Virginia continued to pressure. The handling was much better in the second half, and it eventually paid off as Mark McSharry ran a great line to beat the defence out wide, and Nialls second conversion made the final score 19-7 to Virginia.
They have now won six out of seven games games so far, and have a rest next week before facing Armagh ‘A’ on Saturday 6th December.
Our Premier League side had no game this weekend as Rainey Old Boys conceded the fixture. They remain unbeaten with six wins, and sit four points clear at the top of the Ulster U14s League. They travel to Banbridge on Saturday 29th November for their next fixture.
Virginia RFC U12s take part in Ulster Branch Maxol Blitz in Monaghan
Virginia RFC U12s traveled to Monaghan RFC today to take part in the Maxol sponsored blitz in strong number. 21 players turned up which meant we could field 2 teams for 2 games each .
Things started badly when Donal Maguire took an accidental knock which meant he couldn’t take part in the games, knowing Donal determination he’ll bounce back soon.
First game was v OmaghRFC. Virginia played with great intent dominating territory and going through the phases, with great work at the breakdown from Mark Gibney, Kieran Duffy and Patrick Sheridan, but good defence from Omagh just stopped near tries from Nathan Tobin and Ciaran Levi Valensi in the first half. The second half was just as intense with good line breaks from Luke Doyle and Cormac Monaghan, and try saving tackles from Jake Duffy, Ben Curran and Cormac Lynch . it was looking like it may be a scoreless draw when Ciaran stormed over for a try in the corner with the last play . Final score 1-0 win for Virginia.
In the second game Virginia played a strong Banbridge side, and although our lads put in a good effort, and despite the best efforts of Malachy Walker and the rest of the lads, some excellent back line work was just too good for our defence. This game ended 7-0 to Banbridge.
After a break for lunch the side that lost to Banbridge regrouped and with a few tweaks to structure and a lot of lessons learned from their first game , they took on Omagh. This time good work from our forwards Darren Kavanagh, Eli Caffrey and Cathal O’Reilly, and some strong ball carrying from Luke Morris and Cormac O’Reilly, allowed our back line some space, and led by Conor Nulty, Oscar Erikson and Calum McCabe were able to stop anyone coming down the wings. Cejay Reilly was excellent at scrumhalf, and with trys from him, Luke, Conor, and Nathan Tobin Virginia won the game 4-2.
In the last game of the day we took on Armagh. This was a physical game with the Virginia lads showing their metal. It was end to end with hits and plenty of strong rucking. Kieran Duffy ran in 2 tries, with Jake Duffy adding a 3rd to give them a 3-1 victory.
A big thanks to Monaghan RFC , Ulster Rugby and Maxol for running a great event . And thanks to our players, and of course the parents who came along to show support. The lads travel to Creggs in Roscommon next Saturday for their final game pre Christmas.
Under 18 Girls Opening League Match results in a win for Virginia
Following on from the girl’s successful visit to the Ballymoney blitz the previous weekend which seen them win both their games against Maone and Ballymoney with a scoreline of 2-1 and 6-0 respectively, the girls kicked off their first league match of the season on Sunday afternoon at home in Deerpark. The game started at an intense pace with both sides fighting hard for possession in what proved to be an evenly matched event. The first score of the day came from Laura Keogan who then converted her try, leaving the score 7-0 at half time. Enniskillen girls responded in the second half with two tries of their own, successfully converting the second. In the last ten minutes of the game the Virginia girls upted their pace and came from behind when Leah Gregory scored their second try, again converted from the trusty boot of Laura Keogan. The final seconds of the match seen the Enniskillen girls on the Virginia try line fighting hard for possession, but the Virginia girls denied them access to the try line, with the final whistle confirming the score 14 -12 in the home teams’s favour. Well done girls.
Under 15 Girls beat Enniskillen 33-0 in League
The under 15 girls kicked off their second league match of the season with a win at home against Enniskillen. The match was played at a fast and furious pace, and Virginia dominated from the start. First try of the game came from Lisa Mullen who successfully converted same. Ciara Byers added a second which remained unconverted and Eimear McEnroe then added a further two with Lisa Mullen scoring the fifth of the match. Lisa was in excellent kicking form converting all of the last three tries also. The match ended in a very comprehensive win for the home team with the final scoreline 33-0.
Thanks to all those who came along to support the girls.
Training next weekend for both the girls teams in preparation for next league match.
Europa Takeaway sponsors the Under 18 Girls Jerseys
Many thanks to our sponsor Europa Takeaway who sponsored our Under 18 Girls’ new jerseys. Before the match kicked off on Sunday afternoon we had a visit from our sponsors who presented the jerseys to the girl’s captain Amy Whitley.
