210821 Colm O'Shea Cup Longford 36 Clondalkin 7   23/08/2021

21/08/2021 Colm O’Shea/Leinster League Cup First Round 

Longford 36 Clondalkin 7

There was a lot of excitement at CPL Park on Saturday when Longford Senior Men took to the pitch for the first competitive game in nearly 17 months in the Colm O’Shea Cup.  It is a new preseason cup competition involving only teams from Division 1A/1B on a straight knock out basis.  It was somewhat fitting that Clondalkin were Longford’s opponents as they were also the last team Longford played competitively before the lockdown kicked in.

It was a real preseason encounter with lots of endeavour shown by both sides and a good bit of rustiness, after such a long lay off and also new combinations bedding in.  However, Longford got going very quickly with the one and only Benny McManus crossing for a try with less than two minutes on the clock, which was converted by Danny McHugh.  Longford kept the pressure on and crossed for a second try after eight minutes courtesy of Full Back Cormac Hughes to put the home side into a 12-0 lead. 

After conceding two tries Clondalkin gradually got into their stride and started to test the Longford defense, which was tight in the middle but eventually leaked a try out wide after 16 minutes.  To Longford’s great credit that was the last time Clondalkin would score in the game with a penalty from Danny McHugh and a debut try for Mark McHugh putting Longford into the half time break fifteen points to the better.  A big positive feature of the first half from the Longford point of view and into the second was a great scrummaging performance, which forced numerous penalties.

The second half had the real look of a preseason game, with both sides trying plenty but ultimately the last pass or the ball not going exactly where it should in the lineout leading to a stop/start affair.  Both sides also took the opportunity to give all their players a run out.  It was not until 25 minutes in, that another score was conjured.  Clondalkin were on the attack and trying to spread the ball out wide under pressure from the Longford defence, which forced a knock on, which happily fell straight into the arms of Captain Hubie Connolly who ran half the pitch to dot down under the posts, to seal the win and passage to the next round.  A great effort by Longford was rounded off by Joe Bennett, who was back in Longford colours at No.8 and a real positive throughout the game going over for a late try to leave the final score, Longford 36 Clondalkin 7.

Overall, it was a good runout for both sides with the competition looking like a great idea.  Longford will meet Clondalkin at least two more times in the league this season, so we will be familiar foes by the end.  Longford looked good, fit and will be confident with a few more tweaks and returning players that they will be a force to be reckoned with in Division 1B, which kicks off in late September.

Finally, a big shout out to some of our players returning to Longford or appearing for the first time.  Big credit to our underage section, which continues to produce great players for the Senior side; Ciaran Shannon, Mark McHugh, Joe Bennett & Aidan Wynne.

Longford 1. J Forde 2 H Connolly (C) 3 Dylan Smith 4 Ciaran Shannon 5 Benny McManus 6 Mark McHugh 7 Kieran O’Gorman 8 Joe Bennett 9 Neal Farrell 10 Danny McHugh 11 Joe McGowan 12 Aidan Wynne 13 George McDermott 14 Daithi Connolly 15 Cormac Hughes 16 Dylan Quinn 17 Fred Davis 18 Kevin McDonagh 19 Alan Campbell 20 Jack Finnegan 21 Simon Moorehead

Colm O’Shea Cup Quarter Finals

Longford have been drawn to play fellow Division 1B side Boyne away in Drogheda next Saturday August 30th at 3 PM, all support would be appreciated.

Training Gear

Thanks to Cllr. Seamus Butler, Tommy Butler and all at Butler Manufacturing Services for sponsoring a full set of training gear for the Senior Men’s panel.  The gear looks great, with the training tops featuring BMS details on the back.  Log onto www.butlerms.com to explore BMS comprehensive range of package solution for sewage, wastewater and surface water treatment.

Senior Training

Senior Men’s training continues every Tuesday and Friday at 8 PM.  New and returning players are welcome as we gear up for the start of the Leinster League towards the end of September.  Any player enquiries to Head Coach Glenn Baskett 0866036175 or Director of Rugby Niall Moran 0879185073

New 3G Pitch

Last week say the first training sessions held on our new state of the art full size artificial 3G pitch.  It is an incredible facility, with the final touches being put to it this week to make it ready for games.  Thanks to everyone’s incredible hard work on the pitch but especially Oliver Scott who very actively oversaw the whole project on the club’s behalf and the one and only Derick Turner who as usual was the inspiration and driving force behind the project.

Sin Bin

The Sin Bin Event Centre is back open as per Government Guidelines.  Superb food and drink is available across the weekend (Friday to Sunday) and lunch on Wednesday/Thursday.  Phone 087 346 4914 for bookings or email sinbinbookings@outlook.com.  Check out the Sin Bins Facebook page for updates and specials;  www.facebook.com/thesinbinlongford/











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