Under 16s conquer Cork.
On Friday 13th February 30 under 16 players from Armagh travelled to Cork to play a couple of games against Munster opposition. Stopping of along the way the boys had little time to unpack as there were booked in to a local sports’ arena to play 5 a side football and stretch the legs. As could be seen by the performances there were no budding David Beckhams around and some of the most talented footballers were the coaches. Following this there was a meal provided for the boys in the hotel and the hotel also laid on pool and leisure facilities.
The following day after breakfast the boys went to Presentation College in Cork where they were due to play their under 16s/second xv. As the school were to play a vital semi-final next weekend they decided not to risk some of their better players and as a result Armagh ended up very easy winners by 57 points to nil. They played some lovely rugby and scored some great tries from their own half. Presentation College have a fine reputation for developing some excellent internationals but on this performance they were very disappointing. As coach Antoine Finn said after the game you can only beat what you have before you.
The boys were allowed some free time in the village of Carrickganine in the afternoon before they were able to watch the Ireland v France game in their separate quarters. They then had the pool facilities again and their meal and settled down for the night to prepare for their next match. It being valentine’s night a number were obviously missing their girlfriends, but the band in the hotel paid them a lovely compliment by playing 2 songs in their honour Simply the best and The boys from the County Armagh. Again there were early to bed and eager for the next morning.
Sunday morning they travelled to Kinsale to play their 16 s. For some reason Kinsale struggled to field a team and had to rely on Armagh boys to bolster their numbers. However a good game ensued and although Armagh won there were good performances from all Armagh players. In fact Steafan Mackey was nominated player of the match a nice award for such a young player. After a meal in the clubhouse the boys were on the move again and had some free time in Kinsale. Kinsale would be a beautiful place in the summer but Armagh got it on a cold wet February day. As a result they didn’t spend long there as they had to go to their next appointment Bubble football at a local club.
The pitch was booked for 2 hours but it did take a lot out of the boys and 30 tired individuals went back to the hotel wet and exhausted. The best performance of the football was Harry Doyle who was unable to correct himself when ‘bubbled’ by his opponents. After a quick shower change of clothing and meal they all went to the local cinema which was packed with thousands of ladies attending Fifty Shades of Grey. The Armagh boys had more sense and attended a film due for an Oscar, American Sniper a true story about a US marine in Syria. You could have heard a pin drop in the cinema such was the drama and action
Back to the hotel the boys stayed up a while and eventually went to sleep. An early start saw them travelling back home on Monday were 30 tired young men and even more tired coaches , mentors and parents arrived safely home.
Great credit should be given to all the boys for their behaviour over the weekend. While the rugby from the opposition wasn’t what we expected, the tour had a unexpected spin off in that all boys got meaningful game time. There was a lot of gelling among the boys and it was nice to see so many boys from 9 different schools getting on so well. Credit should be given to the organisers coaches mentors who made this trip possible. Credit should also be given to the many parents and siblings who supported the boys both on and of the pitch. Special mention should be made of Justin from Jerome’s Coach Hire who affably took the boys everywhere they needed to go. The hotel staff were brilliant in affording the boys their own separate facilities and they treated everyone really well.
It is not easy to take so many boys away from home with all the responsibility this entails a lot of hard work was needed by the organisers but it would not have been possible except for the local 97 businesses and 77 families and individuals who sponsored this trip. In the tour brochure.
This should set the boys up for an exciting end to the season for a team that has already won the league gone through the season unbeaten and who hope to do well in the cups.
WELL DONE EVERYONE INVOLVED.
UNDER 16S WIN PREMIER LEAGUE
Armagh’s under 16s have won the premier league section for the second time in succession when they travelled to Virginia in County Cavan last Saturday and narrowly beat a strong Virginia side 32 points to 22. Played in ideal conditions Armagh started of slowly and went behind fairly early on through 2 well taken tries. They bounced back through a well worked try in the corner by Tiernan O’Neil which was not converted .Both teams were playing very attractive rugby at a great pace and it was no surprise when Virginia extended their lead with a n opportunist try by their talented scrum half. Again the kicker could not convert this try but being 15-5 down Armagh knew that they ere in for their hardest game of the season so far. They continued to play their expansive game and were rewarded with another O’Neil try which was converted by Cormac Fox.
The second half started off in the same vein with the big Virginia pack giving the Armagh eight plenty of problems. The scrums were fine but the lineout failed to function on occasion and as a result Nathan Rogers was getting a poor service. Strong words from coach Antoine Finn stung the Armagh boys into more commitment in the second half and this added to the fact that the Virginia coach emptied his bench meant that Armagh were able to raise their game and score 3 more tries through Paul Mullan, Shea O ‘Brien and Niall McKee. Fox converted one and was able to relieve the pressure with some great tactical kicking. Virginia were not yet finished and were able to score a converted try of their own to leave the final score 32 -22 in Armagh’s favour.
This was a really testing match for Armagh who if ruth be told have had it too easy this year so far. Virginia are however an excellent side with 3 or 4 Ulster representatives in their side .They have a very powerful pack with their prop an outstanding player and their scrum half will keep any back row on their toes . Their centre is a strong runner and was able to break through the Armagh mid field to set up dangerous attacks. Armagh had to dig in deep to maintain their unbeaten record and we know that we were in a game last week. All credit to Virginia and their coaches because they have to make long journeys to play the game and it might even easier for them to play in Leinster given the travelling they have to do.
This Armagh side are proud of their achievements and now go into to play offs. If they can maintain this consistency they should win the league and then they can look forward to a good cup run.
