Fixtures | Buccaneers Rugby Club Athlone

CONNACHT EAGLES 25  NEWPORT 27

CONNACHT EAGLES really let Newport off the hook when the Welsh side recovered from a 22-3 halftime deficit to win this British & Irish Cup pool match 27-25 at poorly-attended Dubarry Park, Athlone. Indeed the Eagles racked up 22 points in the opening half hour but failed to capitalise on that richly promising start. They notched two tries inside ten minutes, Steve Macauley touching down on five minutes and Darragh Leader adding the second five minutes later. Mata Fifita grabbed the third on the half-hour and, with Jack Carty converting a brace, a decent home win looked imminent.

Geraint O’Driscoll’s penalty was all the visitors could muster in the opening period but he converted all three Newport second half tries, one of which he scored himself, and landed a second penalty to snatch an unlikely victory. Dan Robinson and Owen Broad contributed Newport’s other tries. This was a disappointing outcome for the young Eagles who featured half a dozen Buccs players in their squad which was skippered by Carty, whose second half penalty was all that the westerners managed after the interval.

CONNACHT EAGLES:-  D.Leader; D.Panter, B.Woods, C.Finn, S.Macauley; J.Carty (captain), M.Walsh; F.Bealham, K.O’Byrne, P.Reilly; M.Feeley, D.Gannon; D.Kenny, M.Fifita and A.Conneely. Replacements:- D.Heffernan, J.Dever, E.Earl, P.Maxwell, C.Blade, M.Roche and R.Parata.

The season may be in it’s death throes now but Buccaneers still have some key fixtures this weekend. The Senior side travel to Bruff on Saturday for their final Ulster Bank League Division 1B match in this campaign, kick off 2.30 p.m. Bruff overcame Buccs at Killballyowen Park in the corresponding game last year to survive in Division 1B but, alas, there can be no reprieve for the hospitable Co. Limerick club on this occasion as they are doomed to relegation along with Ballymena. However, the small club can reflect on pride on their accomplishments in the recent few seasons including winning the Bateman All-Ireland Cup. Buccs will be depleted for this encounter with a handful of regulars sure to be involved with Connacht Eagles who, ironically, play in Dubarry Park on Saturday. On paper, Buccs should still have enough enterprise and potential to prevail but they will need to be more focussed and co-ordinated than they were away to Ballynahinch last weekend. Nevertheless, I am counting on Buccaneers to deliver and finish on a high.

Buccaneers Womens team have an enticing encounter on Sunday when they face Fermoy in a qualifier for the Womens All-Ireland League. This clash against the Co. Cork club takes place in Portlaoise with a 1 p.m. kick off.

This play-off was unexpected news around Dubarry Park but it presents a wonderful opportunity for this hard-working group of ladies who have put in a serious, sustained stint this season.

The Fermoy girls first got together in 2009 so may have a little more experience than the Athlone standard bearers. They qualified for this clash by winning the Munster Womens Development League, defeating Abbeyfeale 7-5 in the decider at the Co. Limerick venue. They are defensively strong and have a decent rucking game. But Buccs too had a wonderful season, doing especially well in the Leinster Cup and, of course, triumphing in the Connacht League in only their second season. If they can field close to full-strength and play with their usual verve and teamwork, then they can tame the Fermoy Lionesses and progress to Division 2 of the Womens AIL. Go for it, girls!

Buccaneers Thirds square up to Our Lady’s Boys Club in the semi-final of the Ard-Na-Cregg Cup at Galway Sportsground on Sunday, kick off 3 p.m. This will be a dogged affair and Buccs will need to front up and battle to the very end. The midlanders overcame OLBC when the sides met in the league in Galway earlier in the season and, if Buccs play to their collective potential, then they can advance to the final at Corinthians Park on Sunday week. It will call for a sustained effort but Buccs are capable of producing it.  

Meanwhile, Connacht Eagles British & Irish Cup game against Newport, which was postponed last January due to the bad weather which prevented the Welsh club travelling, has been rescheduled and takes place in Dubarry Park, Athlone, on Saturday afternoon. So, if you cannot make the trip to Bruff, pop out to this encounter which kicks off at 2 p.m. The fixture seems a little bit daft at this stage as it has no major significance in terms of the B&I Cup but, with incoming coach Pat Lam now in Galway, a lot of young Connacht players will see this as an opportunity to impress. Jack Carty, David Heffernan (at hooker?), Conor Finn and Peter Reilly are among the young Buccs likely to be involved.

BUCCANEERS 8  GALWEGIANS 25

GALWEGIANS hit the hard ground running to get off to a flying start against a disorganised Buccaneers outfit in the Connacht U-21 Cup final which was played on the side pitch at Galway Sportsground where the city side triumphed 25-8 on Tuesday night.

Kick off was delayed for 15 minutes due to Buccs arriving close to the appointed starting time and, with the fresh breeze blowing straight up the pitch favouring Wegians in the opening half, the Pirates were quickly under pressure. They conceded three penalties in the opening six minutes but the first two attempts by David Symes were woeful while Conor O’Rourke’s effort from the third penalty rebounded off an upright. However, scrumhalf O’Rourke found the range following a high tackle after 14 minutes.

When Buccs got out of their own 22 courtesy of a fine Jack Keegan break, the ball was knocked on. Buccs had a let off at the end of the opening quarter when a long kick ahead was not dealt with and Wegians spurned an overlap when the pass went straight into touch. But the westerners soon breached the midlanders’ goal line when, after Michael Mannion was yellow carded as Buccs tried to deal with a Wegians maul, the Tribesmen tapped the ensuing penalty to the left corner and, from the lineout, Dan Deegan rumbled over in the corner for an unconverted try.

32 minutes into the game, Tim Clifford was sin binned following the intervention of a touch judge. His tackle was late, but not any worse than that of the opposition’s Matt Dever after 19 minutes. If one player merited ten minutes “rest”, then so did the other offender and there should not be such inconsistency by the officials which cost Buccs dearly. Down to 13 players for a period, it was no surprise that Wegians forged further ahead when they drove over the Pirates line to go 13-0 ahead. The situation got worse for Buccs in the final move of the half when impressive handling and support play by Wegians was finished off by Dever for a try converted by O’Rourke for a handsome 20-0 halftime advantage.

With the wind now at their backs, the game was still salvageable for Buccs and Feeney landed a 44^th minute penalty to instill hope. Buccs took the game to Wegians but could not fashion a try. Rossa Taylor made a promising break on 66 minutes and should have backed himself but the light blues winger Paul Power read his intentions and intercepted Taylor’s offload to race in for an opportunist try from his own half. This score killed off the game as a contest, although Buccs battled gamely on and they restored some pride with arguably the best try of the match. Substitute Ben Carty made a brilliant break from midfield and almost got to the line himself but Aidan Connaughton was at his shoulder to take the pass before powering over for a try in the right corner in the final phase of the match.

A disappointing outcome for Buccaneers who were much too slow getting to the tempo of the contest while their tackling, particularly in a sub-standard first period, was not up to scratch. Wegians were the better organised and more focussed unit and deserved their 25-8 victory and the silverware.

BUCCANEERS:-  T.Clifford; R.Taylor, R.Pepper-Hobbs, R.Sheridan, E.O’Reilly; J.Feeney, B.Digby; B.Teape, S.Flanagan, C.Flynn; J.O’Rourke, M.Mannion; J.Donoghue, P.Maxwell and A.Connaughton (captain). Replacements:- R.Enraght-Moony (for Flynn), N.Carr (for O’Rourke) and B.Carty (for Clifford).

GALWEGIANS:-  S.Noonan; D.Quill, D.Symes, M.Dever, P.Power; R.Burke, C.O’Rourke; R.Brennan, R.Muckian, P.Griffin; D.Deegan, M.Towey; P.Hackett, N.Dillon and E.Earls. Replacements:- P.O’Donnell (for Brennan), C.Roarty (for Earls), E.Earls (for Deegan) and R.Mulvey (for O’Rourke).

REFEREE:-  Karol Collins (Connacht).