J4 XV · Season archive
J4 XV — Season 2022/23
Fourth in Division 8 after promotion, and a second O'Connor Cup final in a row, lost 6–21 to De La Salle Palmerston.
Fourth in Division 8 after promotion, and a second O'Connor Cup final in a row, lost 6–21 to De La Salle Palmerston.
No team photo from 2022/23 has been identified yet. If you have one, please send it to archives@smcrfc.com.
St. Mary's score shown first. H = home, A = away, N = neutral venue.
| Date | Competition | Opponent | H/A | Score | Result | Venue and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30/09/2022 | Metro Division 8 | De La Salle Palmerston | H | 0–14 | L | Templeville Road |
| 07/10/2022 | Metro Division 8 | Bective Rangers | A | 22–20 | W | Energia Park |
| 14/10/2022 | Metro Division 8 | Navan | H | 27–15 | W | Templeville Road |
| 22/10/2022 | Metro Division 8 | Coolmine | A | 50–0 | W | Asbrook |
| 07/11/2022 | Metro Division 8 | Railway Union | H | 15–17 | L | Templeville Road |
| 11/11/2022 | Metro Division 8 | Skerries | A | 13–19 | L | Holmpatrick |
| 25/11/2022 | Metro Division 8 | Emerald Warriors | H | 28–7 | W | Templeville Road |
| 05/12/2022 | Metro Division 8 | De La Salle Palmerston | A | 8–19 | L | Kirwan Park |
| 13/01/2023 | Metro Division 8 | Bective Rangers | H | 10–12 | L | Templeville Road |
| 20/01/2023 | Metro Division 8 | Navan | A | 12–26 | L | Balreask Old |
| 27/01/2023 | Metro Division 8 | Coolmine | H | 41–19 | W | Templeville Road |
| 18/02/2023 | Metro Division 8 | Railway Union | A | 13–15 | L | Park Avenue |
| 03/03/2023 | Metro Division 8 | Skerries | H | 35–17 | W | Templeville Road |
| 11/03/2023 | Metro Division 8 | Emerald Warriors | A | 28–10 | W | The High School |
| 31/03/2023 | O'Connor Cup, 2nd round | Bective Rangers | A | 20–18 | W | Energia Park |
| 14/04/2023 | O'Connor Cup, semi-final | Lansdowne | H | 25–21 | W | Templeville Road |
| 22/04/2023 | O'Connor Cup, final | De La Salle Palmerston | A | 6–21 | L | Kirwan Park. Drawn at home; Templeville Road pitch declared unplayable after a downpour and the final moved to DLSP (Kilternan), 3pm kick-off (match report) |
| 06/05/2023 | DP Smyth Blitz, pool round 1 | Terenure | H | 7–17 | L | Templeville Road. End-of-season blitz (shortened games) |
| 06/05/2023 | DP Smyth Blitz, pool round 2 | Lansdowne | H | 14–0 | W | Templeville Road |
| 06/05/2023 | DP Smyth Blitz, pool round 3 | Silverbacks | H | 0–12 | L | Templeville Road |
| 06/05/2023 | DP Smyth Blitz, Plate final | Silverbacks | H | 7–0 | W | Templeville Road |
Results come from the club's statistics workbook (17), the season round-up printed in the club's membership book for the following season (4). Where the Leinster record has a game, its score and date are used.
07/10/2022 v Bective Rangers: venue Energia Park in the club stats workbook, College Park in the 2023/24 membership book
14/10/2022 v Navan: venue Templeville Road in the club stats workbook, Castle Ave in the 2023/24 membership book
22/10/2022 v Coolmine: venue Asbrook in the club stats workbook, Castle Ave in the 2023/24 membership book
07/11/2022 v Railway Union: club stats workbook marks the result 'W' although its own score is 15-17 (membership book: J4 XV 15-17 Railway); recorded as a loss
Club stats workbook dates the Railway game 18/02/2022 (typo); the 2023/24 membership book has 18/02/2023
Club stats workbook dates the Emerald Warriors game 11/03/2022 (typo); the 2023/24 membership book has 11/03/2023
Skerries away game: 11/11/2022 in the club stats workbook, 12/11/22 in the 2023/24 membership book
The 2023/24 membership book prints some away scores home-team first and others not: e.g. 'Skerries 13-19 J4 XV' (12/11/2022) where the club stats workbook (13 scored, 19 conceded, L) and the book's own table (St. Mary's PF 302 PA 210, W7 L7) show St. Mary's lost 13–19
The 2023/24 membership book prints the O'Connor Cup semi-final as 'J4 XV 21-25 Lansdowne'; the club stats workbook has 25–21 (W) and the match report confirms St. Mary's won (25–14 up before a late Lansdowne try) and went on to the final
The 2023-24 membership book's Division 8 table prints Skerries on 2 points and several wrong points-difference figures; Leinster's table is used (Skerries 24 points)
J4 played in Metro League Division 8 after winning Division 9 in 2021/22 (membership book; Mick Flats review).
Pre-season: a mixed J2/J3/J4 squad toured Glasgow, losing 64–0 to Cartha Queens Park on 19/08/2022 and then playing Glasgow Academicals (no score given); Conor Quinn's first game as captain was against the French touring side The All Pinks (no score given) – Mick Flats review.
The club stats workbook lists 22/10/2022 v Coolmine at 'Asbrook'.
DP Smyth Blitz results (06/05/2023) come from the 2023/24 membership book; the honours line records the J4 as Plate winners, while the Flats review credits the Plate win v Silverbacks to a side including J3 captain Richard Fagan.
The O’Connor Cup final report calls the side 'our Fifth XV'.
The final was at Kirwan Park, De La Salle Palmerston's ground in Kilternan.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Ded | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Railway Union | 14 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 368 | 218 | +150 | 0 | 49 |
| 2 | Navan | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 442 | 181 | +261 | 0 | 42 |
| 3 | De La Salle Palmerston | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 363 | 173 | +190 | 0 | 41 |
| 4 | St. Mary's College | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 302 | 210 | +92 | 0 | 32 |
| 5 | Skerries | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 373 | 324 | +49 | -4 | 24 |
| 6 | Bective Rangers | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 307 | 203 | +104 | -8 | 22 |
| 7 | Coolmine | 13 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 199 | 585 | −386 | 0 | 12 |
| 8 | Emerald Warriors | 14 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 204 | 664 | −460 | 0 | 5 |
Table from the Leinster Rugby results archive.
Bective Rangers were deducted 8 points for conceding walkovers to Skerries and De La Salle Palmerston; Skerries 4 points for conceding to Railway Union.
Division 8 final, 8 April 2023 at Park Avenue: Railway Union 10, Navan 14.
67 names. All players named in the J4 XV team selections (starters and replacements) of the club stats workbook 'Statistics & Score details Season 2022-2023' for the 17 league and cup games.
2 reports from the season, as written at the time. Click any match to open the report.
14 Apr 2023 St. Mary's 25 Lansdowne 21 Won O'Connor Cup, semi-final
J4 v Lansdowne (H) – O’Connor Cup semi-final
On Friday 14th of April, our J4s played Lansdowne in the semi-final of the O’Connor Cup. A cup we last won in 2012 under the captaincy of Gar Lloyd, after the 100 minute game. If you have not heard the story ask Mossy, he is reluctant to tell it but after a pint he might let you know all.
Our youthful team under the captaincy of Conor Quinn a truly inspirational captain who has grown the team morale throughout the season. Players may say no Flats. I'm not available to play this weekend because I have sprained my eyebrow or fallen over my dog, but once Quinny calls them they are ready to play.
He has been the catalyst for this team, by keeping them tuned in, and scoring important tries himself throughout our cup campaign.
Tonight was no different, after taking an early blow to the head , he would not come off and wanted to finish the job as captain. His proud parents Eoin and Cathy were watching from the stands seeing their son perform week in and week out and maturing as a captain and as a man.
The scene was set. The first pitch was in pristine condition even after all the heavy rain that fell earlier in the week, great kudos to Peter O’Kelly and Julian Beatty for all their good work. (We won’t even mention the first team trained on it the night before)
Thanks also to President Gareth Roche for reaching out and organising Vincent Murray to do the scoreboard. To Paul Pender for opening the dressing rooms on short notice. All this behind the scene stuff is really appreciated by the players.
Now to the game, this was our first time we played Lansdowne all season, they had beaten our league leaders Railway Union comprehensively in the previous round so we knew we were in for a tough game and it proved to be.
They started the better but as a team we kept them out. When we did get into their half we came away with a converted try from Niall Kelly and Thady McKeever, we then had a scrum in their 22, Christian MCAlinden exploded from the base of the scrum and bounced off 2 would be tackles to score beside the posts. Thady obliged with the conversion. We now led 14-0. We weren’t finished yet as Thady then slots a penalty over from the 10 yard line.
17-0 after 30 minutes and we were looking good. This is cup rugby and Lansdowne who were a little shell shocked, started to make ground finishing the half with a converted try to go in 17-7 at half time.
The second half began with Thady again slotting over a magnificent penalty to make it 20-7 to us.
Lansdowne upped the tempo and scored to make it 20-14. Lansdowne were throwing everything at us, but our defence was immense, with Andrew Gibbons, Marius, Mathew Kennedy, Jack Cosgrove and Christian outstanding in the pack and Rian Cassidy, Dan McGill putting their bodies on the line in defence literally.
We knew we needed one more score as Lansdowne could easily break through us again.
We did just that, Thady gave an almighty long pass to Matt Couglan who sprinted in at the corner. 25-14 missed conversion. Lansdowne regroup and pound us to score again under the posts. The ref tells us there will be 10 minutes of injury time. Squishy bum time again.
We hold out, dug deep and win.
Our Monday night crew fitness paid off.
We now look forward to a final next weekend against the winners of Terenure and DLSP who play later today.
We are now in a final now and go and win it.
Big thanks to a previous O’Connor Cup winner David Gardner, our backs coach Caglar Tuc, forwards motivator Richard Fagan, touch judge Simon Finnegan and all round good guy Chris O’Connor.
A big thanks also to all the support, from the officers, first team, Rugby council, family and friends.
See you all next weekend for the final.
Christian is given the Frank Keane man of the match , but so many more could have won it .
Mick Flats
22 Apr 2023 De La Salle Palmerston 21 St. Mary's 6 Lost O'Connor Cup, final
St Mary’s College RFC J4s 6-21 DLSP – O’Connor Cup Final, Saturday 22nd April 2023
On Saturday 22nd of April our Fifth XV were to play DLSP in the final of the O’Connor Cup in Templeville.
Last won in 2012 by the club, as everyone knows, it is a difficult thing to win a cup. Your team has to have a balance of youth and experience, they need to know how to overcome all different types of obstacles, and how to play in different environments against different types of attack & defence.
It is a coach’s job to get a team to a final, it is then up to the players to go and win it.
On Saturday the scene was set. All week we had planned to play an expansive game and to run the bigger DLSP pack around the park, and we had won the toss to be given a home advantage.
Everything was going to plan until the weather changed, with a torrential downpour of rain before kick off in Templeville.
Paul Pender was busy with his fork trying to get the pools of water to drain away. The Leinster Branch touch judge then came out to inspect the pitch, initially saying it looked playable to him, but the decision would be left to the referee. He duly arrived and deemed it unplayable, and it was suggested that the game would be moved to DLSP. Phone calls were made and the fixture would now indeed go ahead in Kilternan with a 3pm kick off.
Captain Conor Quinn got the players back into the dressing room, telling them that this is junior rugby, and to expect adversity. We loaded up the cars and headed for Kilternan.
The rain did not stop all day.
The heavier and more mature DLSP pack delivered, relying on their strong ball-carrying game to maul over a try after 10 minutes. They dominated the game and went in at half time leading 14-3.
The toll of the bigger pack was starting to mount. We recorded injuries with Marius suffering a head and knee injury, Cian McBrien with a leg injury, Alex Gunning did his knee, and Niall Kelly injured his shoulder.
We still did not give up and pressed hard on the DLSP line. We were unlucky not to come away with a try, but did manage a penalty to make it 14-6.
DLSP then scored a breakaway try to make it 21-6 with 10 minutes to go. We never gave up after that but could not break the DLSP defence.
Game over.
It must be said that DLSP deserved their victory, playing to their strengths and the more mature team celebrated their success. A lot of them have played together for years and it showed. Their captain graciously came into our changing room after the game to say that they always loved playing us because the games were so close and that we had the makings of a great team if we stayed playing together going forward.
That is the decision our players have to make. Will they get back on the horse and go again next season to get rid of the losing feeling, and go one step further and win the O’Connor Cup for the third time trying.
Big thanks to Captain Conor Quinn and Vice Captain Andrew Gibbons for getting the team motivated for today's final, and all games throughout the season. We are so close.
Thanks to Dave Gardner, Caglar Tuc, Chris O’Connor, Seamie Thompson and Simon Finnegan for all their help throughout the season. Thanks to John and Deirdre Stapleton for their support, and the sandwiches!
To the players, we wish you speedy recovery after yesterday's game. The bruises will heal, the pain will ease, but remember the losing feeling so you don’t ever want to feel that again.
Onwards and upwards - we have youth on our side and we can go again.
Captains’ dinner to come on May 6th, as well as the DP Smyth blitz the same day.
Everyone in the club is proud of your achievement in getting to a final. You were the only adult team to do so and your day will come. Believe.
Over and out,
Flats.
Mick Flats (signed 'Flats')
17 line-ups, 16 with scorers. The source is given under each one. Click any match to open it.
30 Sep 2022 St. Mary's 0 De La Salle Palmerston 14 Lost Metro Division 8
St. Mary's: 1 Andrew Gibbons, 2 Aaron Doherty, 3 Henry Tracey, 4 Liam Kennelly, 5 David Dixon, 6 Kyle Corrigan Dromgoole, 7 Alex Gunning, 8 Max Grace, 9 Conor Quinn, 10 Ciarán Murphy, 11 Chris O'Connor, 12 Daniel McGill, 13 Matt Coughlan, 14 Tom O'Neill, 15 Eric Dunne.
Replacements: 16 Caglar Tuc, 17 James Hynes, 18 Cian McBrien, 19 Harry Ebbs, 20 David Kennedy, 21 Jack O'Kelly.
From the club stats workbook.
7 Oct 2022 Bective Rangers 20 St. Mary's 22 Won Metro Division 8
St. Mary's: 1 Andre Christie, 2 Aaron Doherty, 3 Henry Tracey, 4 David Dixon, 5 Barry Holmes, 6 Andrew Gibbons, 7 Kyle Corrigan Dromgoole, 8 James Casey, 9 Conor Quinn, 10 Ciarán Murphy, 11 Eric Dunne, 12 Tom O'Neill, 13 Daniel McGill, 14 Matt Coughlan, 15 Dara Lynch.
Replacements: 16 Harry Ebbs, 17 Jack O'Kelly, 18 David McGill, 19 David Kennedy, 20 Chris O'Connor, 21 Cian McBrien, 22 Caglar Tuc.
Scorers. Tries: David McGill, Ciarán Murphy, Cian McBrien. Conversions: Ciarán Murphy (2). Penalties: Ciarán Murphy.
From the club stats workbook.
14 Oct 2022 St. Mary's 27 Navan 15 Won Metro Division 8
St. Mary's: 1 Andrew Gibbons, 2 Aaron Doherty, 3 George O'Shea, 4 Max Grace, 5 Jack O'Kelly, 6 Alex Gunning, 7 Cody Dwyer, 8 James Casey, 9 Conor Quinn, 10 Ciarán Murphy, 11 Chris O'Connor, 12 Daniel McGill, 13 Harry Ebbs, 14 Eric Dunne, 15 Rian Cassidy.
Replacements: 16 Jack Cosgrave, 17 Caglar Tuc, 18 Louis Lovett, 19 Kevin Jude Shihabira, 20 Matt Coughlan, 21 Dan McManus, 22 Patrick McCormack.
Scorers. Tries: Matt Coughlan (3), Cody Dwyer. Conversions: Ciarán Murphy (2). Penalties: Ciarán Murphy.
From the club stats workbook.
22 Oct 2022 Coolmine 0 St. Mary's 50 Won Metro Division 8
St. Mary's: 1 Andrew Gibbons, 2 Aaron Doherty, 3 Henry Tracey, 4 Jack Cosgrave, 5 James Casey, 6 Cody Dwyer, 7 Eric Dunne, 8 Alex Gunning, 9 Conor Quinn, 10 Patrick McCormack, 11 Matt Coughlan, 12 Tom O'Neill, 13 Daniel McGill, 14 Cian McBrien, 15 Rian Cassidy.
Replacements: 16 Chris O'Connor, 17 Louis Lovett, 18 Caglar Tuc, 19 James Collery.
Scorers. Tries: Matt Coughlan (3), Rian Cassidy, Daniel McGill, Conor Quinn, Cian McBrien. Conversions: Patrick McCormack (6). Penalties: Patrick McCormack.
From the club stats workbook.
7 Nov 2022 St. Mary's 15 Railway Union 17 Lost Metro Division 8
St. Mary's: 1 Andrew Gibbons, 2 Aaron Doherty, 3 Henry Tracey, 4 James Casey, 5 Jack O'Kelly, 6 Max Grace, 7 Nils Ludriks, 8 Christian McAlinden, 9 Conor Quinn, 10 Ryann Reilly, 11 Eric Dunne, 12 Daniel McGill, 13 Tom O'Neill, 14 Matt Coughlan, 15 Dara Lynch.
Replacements: 16 Jonathan Stevenson, 17 Chris O'Connor, 18 Max Cojocari, 19 Alan McPhillips, 20 Dominic Coyle, 21 Matthew Kennedy, 22 Colm Byrne.
Scorers. Tries: Dara Lynch, Conor Quinn, Colm Byrne.
From the club stats workbook.
11 Nov 2022 Skerries 19 St. Mary's 13 Lost Metro Division 8
St. Mary's: 1 David McGill, 2 Aaron Doherty, 3 Fionan Magee, 4 Darragh Stapleton, 5 Max Grace, 6 Tom O'Neill, 7 Jack Cosgrave, 8 Christian McAlinden, 9 Conor Quinn, 10 Dara Lynch, 11 Matt Coughlan, 12 Daniel McGill, 13 Rian Cassidy, 14 Cian McBrien, 15 Eric Dunne.
Replacements: 16 Cody Dwyer, 17 Chris O'Connor, 18 Ciarán Murphy, 19 Barry Holmes, 20 Jack O'Kelly, 21 Matthew Kennedy, 22 Elliot Daly.
Scorers. Tries: Ciarán Murphy (2). Penalties: Ciarán Murphy.
From the club stats workbook.
25 Nov 2022 St. Mary's 28 Emerald Warriors 7 Won Metro Division 8
St. Mary's: 1 Luke Mullen, 2 Aaron Doherty, 3 Henry Tracey, 4 James Casey, 5 Jack O'Neill, 6 Darragh Stapleton, 7 Max Grace, 8 Alex Gunning, 9 Conor Quinn, 10 Dara Lynch, 11 Matt Coughlan, 12 Tom O'Neill, 13 Daniel McGill, 14 Cian McBrien, 15 Rian Cassidy.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Gibbons, 17 David Kennedy, 18 Barry Norman, 19 Harry Ebbs, 20 Max Ebbs, 21 Cody Dwyer, 22 Caglar Tuc.
Scorers. Tries: Rian Cassidy (2), Matt Coughlan. Conversions: Dara Lynch (2). Penalties: Conor Quinn, Dara Lynch (2).
From the club stats workbook.
5 Dec 2022 De La Salle Palmerston 19 St. Mary's 8 Lost Metro Division 8
St. Mary's: 1 Andrew Gibbons, 2 Aaron Doherty, 3 Luke Keenan, 4 Darragh Stapleton, 5 Liam Kennelly, 6 Cody Dwyer, 7 Tom O'Neill, 8 Max Grace, 9 Conor Quinn, 10 Ciarán Murphy, 11 Matt Coughlan, 12 Patrick McCormack, 13 Daniel McGill, 14 James Nolan, 15 Rian Cassidy.
Replacements: 16 Andre Christie, 17 Harry Ebbs, 18 Barry Holmes, 19 Shane Dempsey, 20 Cian O'Brien, 21 Jack Cosgrave.
Scorers. Tries: Conor Quinn. Penalties: Ciarán Murphy.
From the club stats workbook.
13 Jan 2023 St. Mary's 10 Bective Rangers 12 Lost Metro Division 8
St. Mary's: 1 Gary Masterson, 2 Andrew Gibbons, 3 Callan Carey, 4 Darragh Stapleton, 5 Jack Cosgrave, 6 Tom O'Neill, 7 James Collery, 8 Max Grace, 9 Conor Quinn, 10 Dara Lynch, 11 Matt Coughlan, 12 Patrick McCormack, 13 Daniel McGill, 14 Cian McBrien, 15 Rian Cassidy.
Replacements: 16 George O'Shea, 17 Andre Christie, 18 James Nolan, 19 Eric Dunne, 20 David Dixon, 21 Louis Lovett.
Scorers. Tries: James Collery. Conversions: Dara Lynch. Penalties: Dara Lynch.
From the club stats workbook.
20 Jan 2023 Navan 26 St. Mary's 12 Lost Metro Division 8
St. Mary's: 1 Gary Masterson, 2 Marius Nikrou, 3 Aaron Doherty, 4 James Casey, 5 Darragh Stapleton, 6 Jack Cosgrave, 7 Max Grace, 8 Christian McAlinden, 9 Conor Quinn, 10 Dara Lynch, 11 Cian McBrien, 12 Gary Lynch, 13 Daniel McGill, 14 James Nolan, 15 Matt Coughlan.
Replacements: 16 George O'Shea, 17 Luke Keenan, 18 Jack O'Kelly, 19 David Dixon, 20 Louis Lovett, 21 Cian O'Brien.
Scorers. Tries: Conor Quinn (2). Conversions: Dara Lynch.
From the club stats workbook.
27 Jan 2023 St. Mary's 41 Coolmine 19 Won Metro Division 8
St. Mary's: 1 Gary Masterson, 2 Aaron Doherty, 3 Luke Keenan, 4 James Casey, 5 Max Grace, 6 Alex Gunning, 7 Tom O'Neill, 8 Christian McAlinden, 9 Conor Quinn, 10 Dara Lynch, 11 Cian McBrien, 12 Daniel McGill, 13 Gary Lynch, 14 Matt Coughlan, 15 Rian Cassidy.
Replacements: 16 David Kennedy, 17 David Dixon, 18 Max Ebbs, 19 Cody Dwyer, 20 Jack O'Kelly, 21 Eric Dunne, 22 Cian O'Brien.
Scorers. Tries: Cian McBrien (2), Matt Coughlan, David Kennedy, Conor Quinn, Daniel McGill. Conversions: Dara Lynch (4). Penalties: Dara Lynch.
From the club stats workbook.
18 Feb 2023 Railway Union 15 St. Mary's 13 Lost Metro Division 8
St. Mary's: 1 Aaron Doherty, 2 Kyle Corrigan Dromgoole, 3 Eoin Keating, 4 Max Grace, 5 James Casey, 6 Alex Gunning, 7 Tom O'Neill, 8 Christian McAlinden, 9 Conor Quinn, 10 Dara Lynch, 11 Conor Sheridan, 12 Gary Lynch, 13 Daniel McGill, 14 Chris O'Connor, 15 Rian Cassidy.
Replacements: 16 Luke Keenan, 17 David Kennedy, 18 David Dixon, 19 Cian O'Brien, 20 Colm Byrne, 21 Michael O'Malley, 22 Marius Nikrou.
Scorers. Tries: Conor Sheridan, Christian McAlinden. Penalties: Dara Lynch.
From the club stats workbook.
3 Mar 2023 St. Mary's 35 Skerries 17 Won Metro Division 8
St. Mary's: 1 Conner Gunn, 2 Marius Nikrou, 3 Andrew Gibbons, 4 Darragh Stapleton, 5 Jack O'Kelly, 6 Niall Kelly, 7 Kyle Corrigan Dromgoole, 8 Christian McAlinden, 9 Conor Quinn, 10 Dara Lynch, 11 Cian McBrien, 12 Rian Cassidy, 13 Daniel McGill, 14 Matt Coughlan, 15 Thady McKeever.
Replacements: 16 Eoin Keating, 17 Colm Byrne, 18 Dominic Coyle, 19 David Dixon, 20 James Nolan, 21 Jack Cosgrave, 22 Chris O'Connor.
Scorers. Tries: Rian Cassidy, Andrew Gibbons, Conor Quinn (2), Matt Coughlan. Conversions: Dara Lynch (5).
From the club stats workbook.
11 Mar 2023 Emerald Warriors 10 St. Mary's 28 Won Metro Division 8
St. Mary's: 1 Eoin Keating, 2 Marius Nikrou, 3 David Browne, 4 Darragh Stapleton, 5 Jack Cosgrave, 6 Max Grace, 7 Alex Gunning, 8 Christian McAlinden, 9 Conor Quinn, 10 Dara Lynch, 11 Gary Lynch, 12 Daniel McGill, 13 Tom O'Neill, 14 Shane Dempsey, 15 Rian Cassidy.
Replacements: 16 Luke Keenan, 17 David Dixon, 18 Jack O'Kelly, 19 Niall Kelly, 20 James Casey, 21 Chris O'Connor, 22 Kyle Corrigan Dromgoole.
Scorers. Tries: Conor Quinn (3), Rian Cassidy, Marius Nikrou. Penalties: Dara Lynch.
From the club stats workbook.
31 Mar 2023 Bective Rangers 18 St. Mary's 20 Won O'Connor Cup, 2nd round
St. Mary's: 1 Andrew Gibbons, 2 Marius Nikrou, 3 Aaron Doherty, 4 Jack Cosgrave, 5 Darragh Stapleton, 6 Alex Gunning, 7 Matthew Kennedy, 8 Christian McAlinden, 9 Conor Quinn, 10 Dara Lynch, 11 Gary Lynch, 12 Daniel McGill, 13 Thady McKeever, 14 Matt Coughlan, 15 Rian Cassidy.
Replacements: 16 Luke Keenan, 17 Conner Gunn, 18 Chris O'Connor, 19 Jack O'Kelly, 20 Cian McBrien.
Scorers. Tries: Christian McAlinden, Conor Quinn. Conversions: Dara Lynch (2). Penalties: Dara Lynch (2).
From the club stats workbook.
14 Apr 2023 St. Mary's 25 Lansdowne 21 Won O'Connor Cup, semi-final
St. Mary's: 1 Andrew Gibbons, 2 Marius Nikrou, 3 Aaron Doherty, 4 Jack Cosgrave, 5 Darragh Stapleton, 6 Niall Kelly, 7 Matthew Kennedy, 8 Christian McAlinden, 9 Conor Quinn, 10 Thady McKeever, 11 Cian McBrien, 12 Daniel McGill, 13 Tom O'Neill, 14 Matt Coughlan, 15 Rian Cassidy.
Replacements: 16 George O'Shea, 17 Chris O'Connor, 18 Max Grace, 19 Cian O'Brien, 20 Cody Dwyer.
Scorers. Tries: Niall Kelly, Christian McAlinden, Matt Coughlan. Conversions: Thady McKeever (2). Penalties: Thady McKeever (2).
From the club stats workbook.
22 Apr 2023 De La Salle Palmerston 21 St. Mary's 6 Lost O'Connor Cup, final
St. Mary's: 1 Eoin Keating, 2 Marius Nikrou, 3 Andrew Gibbons, 4 Jack Cosgrave, 5 Darragh Stapleton, 6 Niall Kelly, 7 Matthew Kennedy, 8 Christian McAlinden, 9 Conor Quinn, 10 Dara Lynch, 11 Cian McBrien, 12 Daniel McGill, 13 Thady McKeever, 14 Matt Coughlan, 15 Rian Cassidy.
Replacements: 16 Eoghán Pender, 17 Max Grace, 18 Alex Gunning, 19 Tom O'Neill, 20 Cian O'Brien.
Scorers. Penalties: Dara Lynch (2).
From the club stats workbook.
Reviews, previews, programme messages and other pieces from the season, as written at the time.
2022/23 J3/4 Season Review Season 2022-2023 (J3/J4 season review by Mick Flats)
Source: J3-J4 Review of the season.
After the AGM we had selected Richard Fagan as the J3 Captain and Conor Quinn as the J4 Captain for the season ahead. Conor’s first game as captain was against a touring team from France called The All Pinks. They played a fast-running game and our lads gelled well to give them a competitive game and we also gave them a great reception in the clubhouse afterwards.
Our J4s had won the Metro Division 9 League and were now promoted to Division 8. Our J3s had held a mid-table position and played again in Division 6.
A pre-season tour was organised to Scotland. These tours are very important for players to get to know each other on and off the pitch aswell as testing yourself against foreign opponents.
Our Director of Junior Rugby Maurice Davin, captains and managers arranged a super tour to Glasgow. 40 members travelled.
Our first game was against Cartha Queens Park on Friday the 19th of August.
They assumed it was our 1st XV and had their biggest crowd attendance all season.
The teams were paraded out escorted by Kilt wearing bagpipers.
We had a mix of J2 /J3 and J4 players.
To our amazement we stood up in the first half to go in 16-0 down.
A lot of our players had been up since 4am and the toll of the early start kicked in the second half as we lost 64-0.
We cannot thank our hosts enough for their hospitality. Great food and drinks.
Garry Manning spoke well as our tour President. We may have lost the game, but we won their hearts.
The next morning, we prepared to play Glasgow Academicals. They were more our level. A much closer game, in glorious sunshine. Our incoming President Bobby O’Connor travelled over to present the Glasgow Academicals with a St Mary’s College RFC Plaque.
We said goodbye to Alan Blake who was moving to Greystones and played his last game with us. A great giant of a gentleman and an excellent tourist, he will not be forgotten.
Bobby mentioned to the lads that when he was checking out of the hotel, the receptionist said that we were an excellent group. Courteous, good-humoured group and that there were no problems with any of us. Bobby jokingly told us of his disappointment to hear such comments and said it was a rugby tour.
Again, respect was shown by our players who were representing our club.
In the leagues our J4s did very well finishing in the top 4, with Navan winning that league. Our J4 s got to the O’Connor Cup final. We had drawn a home final but unfortunately a downpour before kick-off saw our first pitch unplayable.
The game was moved to DLSP where the mature DLSP team won.
Our J3s were going well until our captain Richard Fagan had a motor accident and broke a bone in his arm which ruled him out for the season. Michael O’Malley duly stood in and got the team to the O’Connor Cup semi-final to only loose by a point to Trinity who went on to win the cup and league.
Richard Fagan did recover in time to play in the DP Smyth Blitz and won the Plate against the Silverbacks.
We would like to thank Colm Kavanagh who stood down as assistant manager this season for all his help with Junior Rugby over the last few years. We welcomed Chris O’Connor who came in as his replacement. Big thanks also to our coaches Michael O’Flaherty, David Gardner, Caglar Tuc and Max Daddabbo. We look forward to the new season with Jamie Thompson and Ciaran Murphy coming on board.
Mick Flats