Shannon Notes Week ending February 7th 2009

It's hard to imagine many other 1st division clubs that would see a president , a chairman ,a Secretary, Senior Coach and several others working frantically for hours prior to an AIL game in order to get their pitch to a playable standard. Such was the case last Saturday in Coonagh as the terrible weather conditions threatened to put a halt to our game against Dungannon and thus consign the Northern Club to another expansive trip to Limerick. Conscious of that expenditure and after being in a similar position in Cork a few weeks ago, we gathered the troops and from 9 am Saturday morning the pitch was forked and sanded to an acceptable level for referee David Wilkinson. It was an effort that certainly paid dividends; not only was the match played but we garnered four hard earned points. Many might have expected a simple bonus point win over Dungannon after the shipped 49 points the previous week, but they are a proud team and certainly redeemed their pride as they pushed us to the limit. It took a much improved second half to see of the stern resistance and even when we did go ahead, nothing was quite guaranteed until Kevin Griffin burst over for his second try of the league and our third try. The obvious heavy underfoot conditions didn't suit our style of play and although far from an excuse for our pedantic first half performance was rooted in our inability to play pacey rugby. With the wind at our backs in the second half, we most definitely upped our performance, and despite going further behind to a messy try, the proverbial sleeves were rolled up and Ritchie Mullane's fifth try of the campaign and third in successive games paved the way for victory. Marcus O'Driscoll's try soon after was a superb effort which demonstrated our new found confidence. Three players were instrumental, with Niall Ronan turning over a Dungannon attack in our '22, Tadgh Bennett spotting the space and of course Marcus tearing up the left and going under the posts from the half way line. When Kevin crossed for his try, the almost unimaginable bonus point was on the tips of people's tongues, but as time ran out I can safely say we were happy and relieved enough with the regular win. One move up the consistently tight table sees us occupy third spot, but unfortunately any momentum gained with our last two victories will be diminished somewhat we line out again in two weeks time against Young Munster.

After the disappointment of having our game against Cork Con postponed a few weeks ago due to pitch conditions, further disappointment came on Tuesday when we were informed that the powers that be in the IRFU postponed the officially rearranged fixture for this Saturday on the basis of a Cork Constitution objection. We would all liked to have travelled to watch Irelands opener against France, but such is the structure of the league, dates are hard to come by that suit everyone for rearranged fixtures and this Saturday was factored into our player training schedule.

Coincidently, Munster A are due to play on Friday night in Belfast with many of regular AIL players involved. Anyway, it's not the first time we have been at the wrong end of a decision pertaining to other clubs so we'll just get on with the fact and adjust accordingly. So instead of travelling to Cork the seniors will play a challenge against UL/Bohs at 1pm on Saturday week.

Both the thirds and the U/20's were postponed due to pitch conditions elsewhere, but thankfully the seconds did get to play a game in Cork against Highfield. Again the pitch conditions weren't conducive to flowing rugby with the game punctuated by many handling errors on both sides. Fortunately from our perspective we overcame the difficulties with more success than the home side and won the game by 20 points to 5. As mentioned it wasn't the best game of rugby, but at least it was a game in these frustrating times for players. We started well and quickly gained superiority through a strong effort from the pack. Emmet Mc Loughlin was in good fettle and crossed for a try, while Frankie Mc Namara and Frankie Daly also scored tries.

This Saturday the thirds play their rearranged Gleeson league playoff against Old Crescent in Rosbrien at 2pm and the U/20's host Galwegians in Coonagh at 2.30.

On Sunday the Ladies are away to Nenagh.

Only One underage fixture got the go ahead last weekend with the U/16's recording and excellent win over Richmond.

Hopefully more games can go ahead this Sunday as the U/16's are due to play St Mary's in Corbally and the U/14's away to Garryowen.

The supporters overnight trip to Ballymena is proving to be a successful venture and Ger Mc Closkey needs to finalise numbers early next week, so anyone interested in travelling should contact Ger on 087 2745926.

Finally a date for your calendar is the Presidents night on the 3rd of April in the Corporate Marquee beside the clubhouse. It's a while away yet, but there's no harm in marking the date and we'll be reminding people for the next couple of months.