MRFC u17 v Malone u17
MN travelled to Malone last Sat with 13 players and took on a strong Malone 15. MN found themselves in the unusual position of having to play against two extra players. MN coaches asked Malone coaches to even up the teams but they declined. The MN pack played their best game so far and with less than 10mins from time the score was MN 17 – Mal 19. Malone went on to score a converted try at the end. Final score MN 17 – 26 Mal. MN 3 try’s came from the captain and no. 8 D.McGregor. 1 conv. J.Graham. Great credit must be given to this team for their superb commitment throughout the whole game. Unfortunately we have players that don’t bother to turn up to train or let coaches know if their available or not for matches and their only letting their team and friends down. Team: A.Connolly, A.McGorman, J.McEntee, C.Boyd, M.McDonnell, A.McKenna, D.McGregor, S.Duffy, J.Graham, D.McConkey, S.Mooney, R.Metcalfe, R.Jennings. Next game away to Athlone Mon 30th Dec, be at club for bus at 9.15am, bring €5. If unavailable let coaches know, Davy 0876294200
Malone RFC U-15’s 10 v MonaghanRFC U-15’s 22
Saturday last, the 21st of December, saw Monaghan travel to Belfast to play Malone in the return game in the league. Monaghan had won well in the home game a number of weeks ago and wanted to repeat the feat this time around. The lads were warned against complacency, pointing out the results in the recent rounds in the Heineken Cup as examples of score line turn arounds using Leinsters hammering of Northampton one week, and Northampton upsetting the odds to win the next week.
It was clear form the off set that this was a bigger Malone side than the last time, clearly missing key personnel from the first game defeat. These newly reintroduced players were making hard yards in the Monaghan back line and putting us under pressure. A number of first up tackles were being missed and we were relying on last ditch tackles from Karl Mc Kenna, James Mallon, Dean Brennan and Dean Mc Guigan to keep Malone at bay.
Monaghan were working well in their rucking and support and it all paid off in the 8th minute when we opened the scoring. Ethan Murphy has been very dangerous around the fringes of the breakdowns and so it proved again. Picking going, Murphy left the defenders for dead and touched down. With Stuart Allen out injured with a hand injury, kicking duties fell to numerous different people with no major benefits. Michael Savage missing this conversion.
Malone continued to attack the Monaghan line, and yet the tackles were still being made but these runners were very dangerous and keeping them out all game was going to be very difficult. The home side were going forward in the 18th minute and were making in roads in the Monaghan defense, but they were left isolated. Michael Savage forced a turnover, picked from the base of the ruck, ran from his own 10 meter line and with the Malone defense unorganized, he cantered in to touch down. Jack Lynch added the extra two, leaving the score 12-0 and that’s how it stayed until half time.
Malone started the second half by kicking into the Monaghan pack and immediately put pressure on the home side and it only took six minutes to make the pressure count as the ball was recycled very well and good fast ball was made available to the backs. We were stopped short five meters from the try line and Dean Brennan picked and with the help of his pack, was bundled over to touch down. James Mallon missed the conversion.
Stefan Mc Quaid was getting his first start of the year and was doing well in the second row, Kieran Mc Quaid, Darragh Todd and Oisin Murphy was keeping the scrums strong and steady, while Ciaran Winsryg was being a menace in the loose. Ryan Mooney looked dangerous when he got the ball in hand, making good ground.
Monaghan suffered a blow early on in the second half as Jack Lynch was forced to retire early with a head knock and subsequently brought to a hospital in Belfast. This meant a reshuffle in the backs for Monaghan with Jamie Sherlock going into scrum half and Ethan Murphy switching to out half.
Malone continued to persevere and run hard looking for a break through but were not having much luck. Oisin Campbell was solid at full back, covering all kicks and loose ball, forcing Malone to work hard for anything but a missed tackle finally let the home side in for a soft easy try and the conversion was missed but the score was still reduced to 17-5.
Every time Monaghan went forward they looked very dangerous, capable of scoring at will but the final pass and decision was what cost Monaghan tries on the day. Malone were pinged for an infringement at the breakdown and Monaghan were awarded a 5 meter scrum, James Briney picked from 8 and was brought to ground, again the Monaghan pack recycled, and Briney found himself at the receiving end of a pass from Jamie Sherlock to crash over. Karl Mc Kenna missed the extras.
Monaghan introduced the last of the subs, with Josh Hughes replacing Stefan Mc Quaid and John Mallon coming on for Dean Brennan.
It was Malone who ended the scoring in the game. Monaghan sensed that the match was over and let the foot off the pedal a bit, which allowed Malone to cross for another soft try and miss the conversion. That action sounded the final whistle with the final score reading Malone 10-22 Monaghan.
This was a satisfying outing for the coaches, with a lot of elements very well executed, rucking for example. However some of the final decisions and passes left a lot to be desired, costing us points on numerous occasions. Normally we are much more clinical in attack. Discipline was an issue during the game, the first time all year that it has been brought into question. We hope this will not be an on going trend and stops here.
Finally we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and happy New Year.
MonaghanRFC U-15’s 24 v DonegalRFC U-15’s 0
Saturday the 14th of December saw Monaghan U15s host Donegal U15s in another home match, the last of the 2013 calendar year.
Given the reputation that Donegal have had over the last number of years in both youth and senior rugby, this game was due to be one of the most competitive of the season for the home side. To come away with a win, Monaghan needed a vastly improved performance from last week.
The conditions for rugby were horrible, a piercing wind, which actually caused the rain to hurt the skin made things miserable for all in attendance, luckily the rugby was something to cheer us up.
The game started with Monaghan kicking into the Donegal pack for them to launch the first attack of the game. Right from the off it was clear to see that Monaghan were up for this challenge and were meeting tackles, hitting rucks and running with much more purpose than last week. This aggression allowed Monaghan to keep on the front foot and put a lot of early pressure on the Donegal boys. Strong running from, Ryan Kenny, Shane Gilbane, Michael Savage and Ethan Murphy forced the opposition defense to be awake and on their toes and when Donegal got some forward momentum, tackles from Darragh Todd, Karl Mc Kenna, Stuart Allen and Ryan Mooney kepy them at bay. One of our Spanish students, Xavi Saki got his first start of the year and was quite impressive in attack and defense.
The Donegal rear guard was doing well to keep out the waves of Monaghan assaults on their line but it was only a matter of time before the hosts crossed over. Eight minutes into the game Monaghan opened the scoring. The ball was recycled well from good ruck clearing by the forwards, the hands were tidy and Michael Savage found himself a little room. With a shimmy, sidestep and drop of the shoulder, he bypassed the tackle attempt to touch down for an unconverted try, much to the enjoyment of everyone.
The pendulum had well and truly swung in the favor of Monaghan now, as they kept the pressure on, and with Oisin Campbell pulling the playmaker strings from full back, Monaghan always looked dangerous but had to wait a further 14 minutes to make the next break through. Jack Lynch was being influential at out half and was feeding the runners to make significant impacts in the visitors back line. These impacts were the cause of the second try for Monaghan as Shane Gilbane crashed over from close range to double the advantage and for Stuart Allen to add two more.
That concluded the scoring for the half to leave Monaghan leading 12-0.
The interval team talk was a much more pleasant area this time round as the coaches urged the players to continue doing what they doing and not give Donegal a chance to get back into the game.
Second half started much as the first, both teams going tit for tat, sussing out weaknesses and again testing each other’s defense, but in the exact same minute as the first half, Monaghan again touched down. A five meter penalty was awarded to Monaghan for a Donegal infringement at the breakdown and James Briney tapped and went, and there was no stopping him from there as he added five more points to the score board. Conversion missed.
The wet and cold conditions called for substitutions to be made as players struggled with the elements and legs grew heavy and weary. Stefan Mc Quaid came on for Xavi Saki, James Cleary replaced Ryan Kenny and Oisin Murphy was replaced my Keiran Mc Quaid. Soon after that, Ryan Mooney was forced to be subbed after some handbags between him and a Donegal player. It was an unnecessary action and Dean Mc Guigan, making his return, went on to the wing as his replacement.
Dean Brennan and James Mallon were having a very sturdy game in the back row which was why Monaghan could assert their dominance and get quick, clean ball from the rucks. The winning of the breakdown was the telling factor in the fourth and final try. With the ruck cleared, Ethan Murphy found a chance to snipe the fringes and make good yards and offload to the supporting Shane Gilbane to slide in for his second of the game. Stuart Allen added the conversion.
Further changes were made as Jaime Sherlock came on for Ethan Murphy and Migual Fernandez(?) (Not actual surname!) was a substitution for Karl Mc Kenna.
Due to the conditions and a request from the visitors, the final whistle came 10 minutes early not allowing our final two subs much time on the pitch unfortunately. Final score Monaghan 24 Donegal 0.
This was a much-improved performance from last week and the standards were back to their old best. Well done to everyone involved.
