Shannon RFC

A word from League (beaten in quarters) and Conference team (who won the Shield).

The league side began their Pat Lawlor campaign against recent winners Wexford Wanderers and after a very tight affair were beaten by a try in the last play of the game.
Realising they needed to score heavily in their remaining games to qualify for the quarter finals they upped their performance considerably thereafter.
Bonus points victories against Bruff and Presenation followed and secured a quarter final against Sligo.
They put up a battling display against a far bigger and well drilled opposition but were defeated in the end. This was no disgrace as Sligo went on to win the tournament unbeaten in their 6 games.
 
The Conference Team opened with a great game against a very strong Highfield team who were unbeaten in all their opening pool games. The game was tough but played in great spirit and remained scoreless until the very last play when Highfield snuck into the corner just as the final whistle blew. No time for even a restart!
Game two was against Terenure who had travelled to the tournament with two teams including the now famous lad from the Late Late show and the You tube video sensation "Hey All Blacks, Check this out!" as part of their team. Terenure showed great passing skills early on but the Shannon boys came through this one with another fine display and a win by 2 tries to one. The final pool game was against a Kilrush outfit who were much bigger and stronger than our boys but we put in a very solid performance in a close loss.
In the afternoon we qualified for the Plate quarter final and were drawn against another bigger and stronger local team, Presentation. This time our boys showed up ready to play and beat the Presentation boys out wide 3 times in a sometimes fiery match to win a place in the semis against Terenure yet again. Always a challenge to beat the same team twice in one day but once again Shannon stepped up to the plate and won a hard fought, fairly even match by 2 tries to one. This win set the scene for a final showdown with our hosts UL Bohs. While the Shannon senior team were busy putting the final nail in the relegation coffin of UL Bohs seniors in Coonagh our U13's were stepping on to the field against a rather fancied home side. Many players who didn't feature in the semi final came on to make a difference in this game in fact all players in the panel made a contribution throughout the day. UL Bohs started very well and had most of the early possession and opened the scoring on the back of a half blocked clearance kick while Shannon were under pressure. As half time approached Shannon seemed to be getting back into the game but were still trailing. The second half opened with a well worked try in the corner and with minutes to go we got a second one to finish off a very exciting final which thrilled the large crowd that stayed around for the final.
This win was a first trophy for most of these boys and it showed as there was great excitement during and after the presentation ceremony. After a long day of rugby the lads went home very happy and it was a great way to finish our season. Well done to all who participated on saturday, you really represented your club well. We are all looking forward to seeing what you can achieve next season!. (Article Micheal McInerney)