11.04.2014 J2 XV v Bective (H)
| 11/04/2014 | 7:30pm – FINAL | O’Connell Cup | St. Marys J2 XV | 34 – 10 | Bective Rangers | Home |
Albert O’Connell Cup Final
St Mary’s College RFC J2 – 34 Bective Rangers J1 – 10
The J2s repeated last season’s league and cup double with a great win over Bective Rangers’ second team in Templeville Road on Friday night. The strength of our squad was tested in full due to injuries to several key men in the semi-final. Under 20 hooker Lucas Moran came in and played very well, regularly taking on and beating larger and more experienced opponents. Alan Shirley and Kieran Lewis returned from their coaching roles to shore up the midfield and Hugh McGovern came in for Ronan Doherty. Not bad men to be able to bring in.
The first score came off a great scrum by the pack, with a pre-planned move seeing Dave O’Halloran come in off his blind wing to take an inside pass from Joey to scorch in under the posts. O’Halloran was electric all night, scoring a second try in the last play of the game. He just edged out his mate Gilsenan for man of the match who as usual played with sublime skill and creativity, best displayed when he nonchalantly stepped up to take a straightforward penalty kick but then tapped the ball and ran with it before passing to McGovern who did very well to score in the corner with three men on top of him. Gilso also got one himself later on going under the posts.
The whole squad including the subs contributed very strongly in a great team performance. Led by Captain Graeme McInerney the pack were everywhere , carrying and rucking and getting fast ball to the backs. The backs are a potent mix of ageless Mary’s legends Mucker, Joey, Shirley and Lewis with the new pace and skill of the aforementioned young guns.
A great end to a great season. All the players and management would like to thank the club for the support this season. The Rugby Council led by Kevin Conboy, President Steve Hennessy, Michael Fanagan, Terry Tierney, John Carvil, Marie Hammond, Frank Doyle and Tony McGuinness have been brilliant all year and we sincerely thank them all.
Stephen Shirley
15. Conor Gilsenan 14. Dave O’Halloran 13. Kieran Lewis 12. Alan Shirley 11. Hugh McGovern 10. Joey Connolly 9. Eoin McCormack 8. Niall Brew 7. Colm Barry 6. Brendan Short 5. Gavin Thornberry 4. Graeme McInerney (Captain) 3. Kenny McInerney 2. Lucas Moran 1. Gareth Hennessy
Subs: Cormac Treacy, Simon O’Donnell, Robert Timmons, Brian Flaherty, Mikey Houlihan