It wasn't really the way we wanted to start our defence of the AIB league.
Granted, we had the floodlights, we had the crowd ,we even had the dramatic
80th minute try from David Quinlan to edge us in front, but I don't
think many sides do drama any better than Shannon and Garryowen
over the 19 years of the league. One would have thought we had it sealed, and
even as the clock ticked into the 4th minute of injury time, it still seemed
likely that the home side would suffer another last minute defeat as we
recycled with confidence. Quite possibly two, or at the most three, more phases
would have secured a precious win, but a mistake afforded Garryowen
a scrum. However, from just inside their own half we
still had confidence. What transpired in the subsequent 3 minutes or so was
text book stuff. Garryowen's patience was probably
born out of desperation, but patience gave them the glimmer and Willie
Staunton's mammoth drop goal from almost 45 meters out gave them victory.
Crushing may well be too strong a word to describe the defeat; frustration is
probably more apt. There were several areas of frustration, some beyond our
control, but some of our own doing. I think few would have argued against the
result if we held out. We dominated possession, but failed to capitalise on
several scoring opportunities with the boot and out of hand. A spilt pass, a
wrong option or inaccuracy all contributed to our downfall and it should never
really have taken until the dying minutes of normal time for us to take the
lead. These are the harsh lessons of rugby and I know one thing for sure, those
lessons will be heeded and improved upon. It's of little consolation, but
memories of last season's first round defeat to Blackrock
and the subsequent season we had have been mentioned by supporters
, but we all know the quality of the league has changed dramatically and
we can't rely on golden memories to pull us through. What is of consolation
though is the fact that we get a second crack at Garryowen
later in the season. We had two league debutants for the club on Friday night,
and both filled their jerseys well. Batt
Duggan had a solid game at hooker while Felix Jones showed glimpses
of why he is the rising star of Irish rugby. Saturday's game against St Marys takes on added significance with the Dubliners on a
high after their bonus point win over Clontarf.
Saturday also sees us return to
Dooradoyle provided further disappointment on Saturday as
the seconds were also defeated by Garryowen in
the league. In similar circumstances to the senior game, especially in the
first half, we had plenty of possession but failed to breech the whitewash. For
whatever reason the second half didn't produce the same intensity from our lads
and Garryowen took full advantage. Paddy
O'Sullivan's two penalties were scarcely enough and the home side secured
victory by 13-6. There's no doubt the seconds will become more settled as the
season progresses and consequently will improve and hopefully that improvement
will begin on Sunday when they travel to Derryknockane
to play Young Munster with a 2.30 start.
The thirds played a friendly against UL/Bohs
and despite a good performance, they couldn't secure a win. They are still in
preparation mode for the Gleeson league and continue this Saturday with another
friendly against
This Sunday the U/21's begin their assault on the south-western
conference with a very difficult away game to Buccaneers. This season we have
augmented our already talented squad with some outstanding players from schools
and have invested heavily in a development programme. With George Murray
and James Hickey at the helm expectations are reasonably high with our U/21's.
We certainly know the talent is there in abundance which we hope will translate
into results. We wish all the lads the best for their campaign.
On the back of an opening defeat in the league against Youghal
the ladies senior side travel to Clanwilliam on
Sunday looking to make amends.
It would seem that all of Garryowen's sides gleaned
confidence from their seniors as their U/17's also took the scalp of our
lads in LIT and unfortunately our U/19s game had to be abandoned due to
a serious injury to an Ennis player who has since recovered.
Tadgh Crowe has asked to mention that
tickets for
Finally we mention the passing of a great