Shannon Notes weekending December 13th 2008

It's not often that we report on the unwanted statistic of all our adult sides losing in competitive action, but that's what unfortunately occurred last weekend. For our seniors it was a case of close but no cigar, as Clontarf snatched a late winner in Thomond Park. The visitors now hold a commanding position at the top of the table with a seemingly unassailable lead. For ourselves we still maintain a place in the top four, but only by a narrow point's difference margin but what we have we'll hope to hold and improve when St Mary's come to Coonagh this Sunday. Last Saturday's game began rather sluggishly, but the pace improved considerably in the second half. Two early missed penalty attempts by Tadhg was an unusual occurrence given his potency with the boot thus far this season and one or two try scoring chances were snuffed out in the first half . We limited Clontarf to only a few chances themselves, none transferred to scores though, and at half time our stand in MC, Frank Mc Namara, had no scores to announce.

An early try in the second half from Clontarf spurred our lads into action and they rallied with great commitment which should have yielded a little more than the two penalties we were awarded. They showed tremendous character and came close to crossing the line on numerous occasions only to be either blown up by the referee or committing errors.

Once Tadhg put us ahead in was Clontarf's turn to push for a score and the crucial moment came when it appeared that we had wrestled the ball from an attack in front of the posts, but unfortunately our tactic didn't correspond with the referee's interpretation and a simple penalty was awarded.

For their second half efforts alone, the lads deserved more from this game other than the losing bonus point but one thing is for sure they can hold their heads high and look forward to going that extra bit this Sunday. Kickoff in Coonagh is at 2.30.

The seconds started well against UCC and took the lead, but as the game wore on it was the students took the initiative. It's been a difficult few weeks for the seconds. With our senior panel depleted due to injuries the knock on effect for the seconds is severely hampering their progress this season. The junior cup is three weeks away and I've no doubt that we'll be in good shape for that.

The thirds suffered a rare defeat in the Gleeson league while the U/20's came close against Corinthians, but the home side just edged it by 12-8.

Underage games scheduled for last weekend were cancelled due to pitch conditions but hopefully this weekend will see some action.

The U/18's play Young Munster in Coonagh at 10.45 whiles the U/13's play Richmond in the Canal bank at 10.30. The U/12's host a blitz in Coonagh beginning at 10.30.

There was some great news this week for two members of our U/18 squad. Both Aaron O'Brien and Ben Sargeant have been selected on the Irish Schools panel that travel to Italy next week. Both players come from serious Shannon stock and have been playing with the club since knee high to a grasshopper. We wish them all the very best.

Our Ladies side are in action on Sunday when they play Clanwilliam in LIT at 2.30.

Our Club Shop in Coonagh is very well stocked with some ideal gifts for Christmas and opens every Sunday morning from 10.30 to 12.30.

Finally, we are looking for any members interested in becoming active in our reformed House Committee. We are hoping that this committee will be in full flow soon organising events revolving mainly around our clubhouse such as pre match AIL functions and social events. If you are interested contact either myself on 087 2717163 /amcnamara@eircom.net or Tadhg Crowe.

Andrew McNamara

PRO