Omagh Under 9’s – P5 versus City of Derry
Omagh RFC Under 9’s travelled to Judges Rd, City of Derry’s ground on Saturday with a panel of 21 boys to play City of Derry finest
Omagh RFC Under 9’s travelled to Judges Rd, City of Derry’s ground on Saturday with a panel of 21 boys to play City of Derry finest.
The game was played in perfect conditions and the boys did themselves really proud. The boys played two games and won the first game comfortably 6 tries to 2, and were narrowly beaten 3 tries to 1 in the second.
In the first game Omagh kicked off and took the game by the scruff of the neck and showed that the work on the practice field last weekend were the boys concentrated on ball retention and winning the ball at the tackle phase of the game is crucial even in kids rugby. From the off the boys competed for every ball and it was as a result of great work by Jamie Wood, who was outstanding all day, that Omagh won a loose ball which was recycled by Jack Beattie and Alex Clements, the ball was then fed to Scott Isherwood who used his pace to carve through the opposition and touch down for an early try. The boys continued to compete for the ball really well and it was a result of good work this time by Colm Eccles and David Braden that enabled and nice pass from Enda McCaffrey to feed Joseph Duff who bulldozed his way over for a well worked score.
A little over confidence crept in to the Omagh boys who then had a lapse in concentration and allowed Derry in for a score of their own which left the game very close at half time.
In the second half and with the wind at their backs the Omagh boys cut loose and scored three unanswered tries, the first coming from a great team effort with the ball being worked through all the boys hands and Colm Eccles was squeezed into touch in the corner a foot short of the line, from the resulting lineout which Omagh regained possession, the ball was recycled to Joel Smyth who made no mistake with a barrelling run and finished scoring a fine try in the corner. Two tries in quick succession then followed by Joseph Duff, who finished off fine work by Luke Hamill, and Tom McMorrow, although credit must go to all the boys for showing real appetite to win the game and get on the score sheet themselves.
Derry then replied with a score of their own to bring the boys back down to earth but not to be outdone, when the boys were informed by the ref it was the last play of the game they worked hard to get up the field and again Jamie Wood made a huge tackle and won the ball to supply Joe Duff to round off a fine performance with another try to finish the game.
In Omagh’s second game the boys who had not played in the first game got their chance to show their stuff, but started slowly by failing to concentrate and allowed Derry to score two tries without reply in the first couple of plays of the game. It was only this which shook the boys into action and they then showed that they too could play good competitive rugby, super work by Philip Hegarty, Jason Henderson, and Jack McMaster ensured the boys stayed in touch with the opposition and the boys fought really competitively for every ball. Daniel McGarvey showed good pace but needs to straighten his runs and take the ball straight to the opposition. Alex Hamilton worked hard to gain possession at every breakdown and David Henderson linked well to keep the ball alive and moving forward.
Derry scored another try after breaking away and running the length of the pitch to score in the corner, although this only spurred the boys into action and they took the game to the opposition and moved the ball to get within a few metres of the try line and after some great work by all the boys the ever present James Hawkes was allowing no one to stop him and he scored a superb try finishing off a fine team effort.
From the coaches point of view it was great to see the boys playing with smiles on their faces, really enjoying playing a great level of rugby for their age and experience, and also showing that the work on the practice field actually pays off.
Omagh U 10s vs City of Derry U 10 s
The Omagh U10s travelled to play City of Derry last Saturday morning
Omagh won by 5 tries to 4 however it took a very good second half performance as they were trailing by 3 scores to 1 at half time.
Harry Stephenson scored twice ,one in each half . Jack Moore and Sam Alderdice each scored in the second half comeback running in excellent tries after good work by the Omagh forwards .
Oran Johnston allegedy on a bonus per score contract showed quick reactions to get the touchdown from a ruck close to to the Derry scoreline.
This game was Omagh’s best performance of the season and it was needed and very timely to
beat a very good City of Derry Side who had their own chances to win the game.
Omagh excelled in the rucks and mauls recycling ball out to the backline. Defence
was sound and the driving play by the forwards constantly made ground to set up a good platform for the backline.
It would be unfair to single out any player in this performance
as everyone of the Omagh squad had “player of match” performances .
Omagh can look forward to the upcoming 6 team blitz tournament on the 31st March with some confidence for a high placing
Omagh team on Saturday was
Alex Dillon, Jordan Smith, Daniel Bell, Harry Stephenson, Jack Moore,
Jack Henry, Oran Johnston, Sam Alderdice, Thomas Boyd, Mark Havlon, Matthew Kerr,
Niall Alexander, Mathew Huey, Jamie Moreland
OMAGH UNDER 12s v CITY OF DERRY
The Omagh boys travelled to City of Derry RFC where playing conditions were ideal for running rugby
The Omagh boys travelled to City of Derry RFC where playing conditions were ideal for running rugby As usual, Omagh were represented by an over abundance of players which meant Omagh picking two teams to play the Derry boys.
During the 4 sessions (1 HR) play there was some outstanding contributions from Omagh scrum half Michael Marechaux who scored two tries, Andrew Creane, Matthew Bell and Matthew Murnaghan, the latter’s contribution setting up a try opportunity for Antoni Doherty. Antoni’s try and Bailey Irvine’s score saw the Omagh side win by 20 points to 15.
Although they deserved the victory there are many areas of play , tackling and passing especially, which need perfecting. With two Saturdays of training coming before the Blitz at the end of March the coaches are hopeful of a marked improvement because they will be playing teams of a much higher standard.
Monaghan 64 vs 0 Omagh
Omagh second best to a fine Monaghan side
Omagh U13 came off second best on Saturday against a well drilled and direct Monaghan side.
Monaghan made clever use of the ball and their pacey outside backs to register 10 unanswered tries.
In what was near perfect conditions the young Accies started well driving deep into the Monaghan half. Unfortunately, in what was to become the pattern in the first half, the ball was turned over and Monaghan were able to run almost the entire length of the field to score.
The Omagh boys need to take great credit for the way they stuck at their task and put in the tackles. Jason Adams led the way on the wing making a number of excellent tackles. Too often though, the Monaghan playres were in support to take the pass and keep the attack moving.
Skipper, Phillip Ewing, was his usual aggressive self but found it difficult to get into the game as the ball was moved away quickly from the contact zone. Matthew O’Neill made a great break for the the young Accies but the support was not there to lead to the score. Ryan McNamee showed his appetite for direct running and Luke Murnaghan did well behind the scrum.
Omagh will learn a lot from the experience, not least the importance of teamwork in defence as well as attack. In particular, the backs have to cut down the space available to the opposition to stop the attacks early.
On Saturday Omagh face a Lisburn team that were on the receiving end of a similar defeat to Monaghan the previous week.
There is plenty to work on in training on Wednesday night. Thankfully Brian Furey and Ryan McKittrick are making good recoveries from the injuries suffered during the game and hopefully both will be back om the pitch before long.
INTOUCH REQUEST – CHECK THIS OUT – THUNDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ireland Ladies Rugby I XV Are playing England this weekend and need as much support as they can get – please watch the clip below and feel free to share it, they are on the verge of a great VICTORY & with Ulster representation!
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