J2 XV · Season archive
J2 XV — Seasons 2000/01 to 2005/06
Two league titles, three cup finals and six seasons for which the detailed records are still being gathered.
After four O'Connell Cups in a row to 1998, the J2s stayed among the leading sides in Leinster through the first half of the 2000s: league winners twice, league runners-up twice and beaten O'Connell Cup finalists three years running. No results lists, league tables or match reports have been found for these seasons, and the Leinster Rugby online archive only begins in 2006/07, so they are gathered here on one page.
What follows comes from the club's season records, the club membership books and papers in the club archive. If you played in any of these seasons, your memories, photographs and programmes would fill a real gap: archives@smcrfc.com.
| Season | J2 League | O'Connell Cup | Captain | Club President |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000/01 | Runners-up to Terenure | Runners-up: lost the final to Blackrock College | Not recorded | Paul Dean |
| 2001/02 | Winners, ahead of Blackrock College | Runners-up: lost the final to Old Wesley | Not recorded | Declan Coleman |
| 2002/03 | Runners-up | Runners-up: lost the final to Old Belvedere | Gavin Kelly | Dermot O'Brien |
| 2003/04 | Winners | Quarter-finalists | Alexander Mullin | Ossie Fogarty |
| 2004/05 | Semi-finalists | Quarter-finalists | Carl Egan | John Carvill |
| 2005/06 | Semi-finalists | Semi-finalists | Alexander Mullin | Brian Fanning |
Still needed for 2000/01: captain, coach, squad, results and the cup final score. One of the membership books lists 2001 among the cup wins, but the club's season records and the competition roll of honour both show Blackrock as winners.
Still needed for 2001/02: captain, coach, squad, results and the cup final score.
The Leinster Branch calendar for the season shows the J2 League starting on 28 September 2002, with quarter-finals on 25 January, semi-finals on 1 February and the final on 7 February 2003.
Still needed for 2002/03: coach, squad, results, and the scores of the league and cup finals.
The season is remembered in the club for Alex Mullin senior, the captain's father, who was Hon. Treasurer from 2001/02 and bagman to his son's J2 side. He died suddenly on 17 May 2004, shortly after the season ended. Dermot O'Brien's tribute in the club archive recalls that he "became, probably the most sedentary bagman in the club's history".
Still needed for 2003/04: coach, squad and results.
A pre-season planning note also names Noel O'Dea as a possible coach alongside Rory O'Connor.
From the club's fixture list for the season. L = league, F = friendly. Results are not recorded.
| Date | Opponent | Type | H/A |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Sep 2004 | Seapoint | F | H |
| 18 Sep 2004 | Suttonians | L | H |
| 25 Sep 2004 | Old Belvedere | L | A |
| 2 Oct 2004 | Monkstown | L | H |
| 9 Oct 2004 | Bective Rangers | L | H |
| 16 Oct 2004 | UCD | L | A |
| 30 Oct 2004 | Terenure | L | A |
| 6 Nov 2004 | Blackrock College | L | A |
| 20 Nov 2004 | Old Wesley | L | A |
| 27 Nov 2004 | Garda | L | A |
| 4 Dec 2004 | Railway Union | L | H |
| 8 Jan 2005 | Ardee | F | H |
| 15 Jan 2005 | Seapoint | L | H |
| 22 Jan 2005 | Co. Carlow | F | H |
| 29 Jan 2005 | Greystones | L | H |
| 5 Feb 2005 | DLSP | L | H |
| 12 Feb 2005 | Coolmine | L | A |
| 19 Feb 2005 | Clontarf | L | A |
| 26 Feb 2005 | Malahide | L | H |
| 5 Mar 2005 | Lansdowne | L | A |
| 12 Mar 2005 | Old Wesley | A | |
| 20 Mar 2005 | Guinness | L | H |
The 31 players registered with the J2 squad on the club's 2004/05 team-selection list, with their listed positions.
Several of these players were still in the squad for the doubles of 2008/09 to 2013/14: see the squad register on the J2 XV Hub.
Still needed for 2005/06: squad, results and the two semi-final opponents and scores.