Longford RFC Notes 13/02/2023

Early PTC exit for Senior Men, Ladies win big away to Clontarf, Mini/Youth News...

By Padraig Murphy Longford RFC PRO Ph: 087 6063587 Email:  lrfconnects@gmail.com 

12/02/2023 Provincial Towns Cup Longford 10-18 Tullamore 

By Karen Lennon at CPL Park

The Leinster league took a backseat as the Towns Cup competition kicked off on Sunday.  

Longford welcomed near neighbours Tullamore 2nds to CPL Park in the first round of the Provincial Towns cup.

The home side were indeed the first to register a score through Ryan McHugh on the fourth minute after a Tullamore infringement. Longford 3 Tullamore 0

The next few minutes saw an exchange of kicks keeping play between the 22s. Longford thought they had a break through with a good carry from Henry Bryce only for his run to be halted and Tullamore awarded a penalty to bring play close to the Longford line. Under pressure, Longford pulled together and defended well, forcing a knock on from Tullamore giving the home side a chance to clear their lines. The game was littered with handling errors and perhaps did not have the characteristic bite of a first round cup tie.

And it was from one of the knock on scrums that the visitors made their mark on the score board running in the first try of the game with 25 minutes played. The try, unconverted left the score 3 to 5 and that’s how it remained to the half time whistle.

Longford were immediately under pressure from the second half kick off. Tullamore made the most of the ensuing penalty and broke through the home defence with only 4 mins on the second half clock gone. Longford 3 Tullamore 10.

Longford made some good carries but sharpness of the Longford passing was not up to its usual standard.

With 15 mins gone in the second half, the home side were reduced to 14 for a collection of penalties. The visitors chose to kick for the posts. Longford 3 Tullamore 13.

Longford tried with some gusto to get some go forward ball but were unable to breach the Tullamore defence. Tullamore were quick to the rucks and were awarded a penalty after Longford held on to the ball too long. The quick tap and go saw the visitors make a great break to near half way and cause Longford to scramble a defence and after holding onto the ball the home side were awarded a penalty and could reorganise themselves. The penalty kick brought the play back to the Tullamore line. The home side could not make the most of the lineout and with the ball knocked on Tullamore cleared the lines again.

But there was fight in the home side yet. From a Tullamore knock on the ball reached Colm Glynn. A good pass from Glynn saw Ryan McHugh make some yards and move the ball wide to the supporting Diarmuid Masterson who, with a little work left to do, managed to touch down in the corner on the 25^thminute. The near touchline conversion was made by Ryan Mc Hugh. Longford 10 Tullamore 13.

This seemed to put some fire in the home-side but were left frustrated again when their hard work was undone by another knock-on.

Longford pushed on again with good carries from Daniel McHugh, Tom Gilheny and Liam Brady but again Longford were deemed to hold on too long and the visitors cleared the lines again from the penalty kick.

Their lineout was well taken and a kick through from the back of their ruck wasn’t dealt with and in the visitors ran for what was to be the last score of the game. Longford 10 Tullamore 18.

Longford will come away from the game frustrated that they could not convert some of the possession they had to scores but they will have to learn from today’s game and move on to preparing for the next round of the Leinster League next week when they welcome Tullow to CPL Park on Sunday next.

Leinster League Divison 1B Results

25/09/22 Cill Dara 18-12 Longford

02/10/22 Longford 14-20 Wicklow

16/10/22 Mullingar 27-25 Longford

23/10/22 Longford 09-22 Carlow

06/11/22 Tullow 28-10  Longford

13/11/22 Athy 28-12 Longford

27/11/22 Longford 18-14 Dundalk

04/12/22 Longford 10-07 Cill Dara

15/01/23 Wicklow 14-13 Longford

22/01/23 Longford 29-20 Mullingar

29/01/23 Carlow 19-12 Longford

Upcoming Fixtures

19/02/23 Longford v Tullow

15/03/23 Longford v Athy

26/03/23 Dundalk v Longford

Men’s Senior training continues Tuesday and Friday evenings at 7.30pm.

Ladies’ 2022/23 Season.

Longford Ladies Leinster league season continued  in a fine 54 points to 05 win away to Gorey on Sunday. The win is a welcome result to help consolidate the mid table position in the run in towards the last couple of games.

Results

09/10/22 Longford 22-05 Arklow

16/10/22 Longford 40-00 Greystones

23/10/22 New Ross 37-07 Longford

6/11/22 Longford 15-19 Wicklow J1

13/11/22 Clontarf 10-00 Longford

20/11/22 Longford 55-07 Gorey

4/12/22 Athy 31-27 Longford

11/12/22 Arklow v Longford Postponed

8/01/23 Greystones 14-23 Longford

15/01/23 Longford 12-17 New Ross

29/01/23 Wicklow 34-05 Longford

5/02/23 Longford 05-22  Clontarf

12/02/23 Gorey 05-54 Longford

Upcoming fixtures 

Longford v Athy

Arklow v Longford

Membership

New members should register with the IRFU on the following link.

https://rugbyconnect.irfu.ie/

When prompted, select Leinster as the Provence, and then select Longford Rugby Club as your club. Once complete, note the player number.  You are then directed to https://sportsmanager.ie/sportlomo/users/login to complete the process.

Payment is online and must be made as part of the process.  Players are only approved and available for match selection when full payment and forms are completed. 

Youth Rugby, sponsored by MLC, Midlands Language Centre. 

Weekend Results 

U16G  Longford 43-00 Portlaoise

U16 Longford 25-14 Portarlington Div 2

U14 Longford 24-19 Rathdrum Div 2

Upcoming Fixtures

U15 Longford v Enniscorthy Div 2

U14 West Offaly Lions v Longford ML

U13 Longford v Birr ML

Youth Match Reports Match Report

Portlaoise 29 – Longford U17 40

Longford Under 17’s made the journey last Wednesday to face Portlaoise in their first competitive match under lights. Portlaoise were after taking a losing bonus point against table toppers Athy the previous week, so it was not going to be an easy task after the 2hr journey to the O’Moore county.

Longford took to the pitch the most passionate and focused as we have seen them this year. They controlled play for the initial 9 minutes, but a quick break by Portlaoise out from their own half, led to a try, which was converted. The Longford men did not flinch and stuck to their game plan. It was end to end with some free flowing rugby by both teams. On the 31^st minute, after some hard rucking, Stephen Oates picked the ball from the resulting scrum on the 22 to score. This was duly converted by Conor Mulligan. Portlaosie immediately put on the pressure again were rewarded with a penalty under the posts and after they slotted it over to leave the score 10-7 to the Laois side at half time.

With some inspiring words by coach Ronan during the break, the lads immediately held possession and were camped in the Portlaoise 22.  Ciaran Heffernan ran for the line and was taken down illegally, for the ref to award a penalty try, putting Longford in front for the first time. A few minutes later after a great burst up the middle of the pitch by Stephen and Diarmuid Glennon, protecting the ball, Alex Forde got the ball and scored. With Conor’s conversion, it extended the score to 21-10. With some great kicking by out half Rian Browne, Longford kept the Portlaoise lads back in their own half and eventually got a lineout from a resulting penalty in the 5mtr line. John Sheridan caught a brilliant ball in the lineout brought it down and fed it back to Stephen, and with the forwards driving the maul, Stephen scored. At this stage Longford were well in control and again after Longford drove form the line in a rolling maul, Ciaran Heffernan when over in the corner. Conor was very unlucky with the conversion as it struck the black spot on the crossbar. At this stage, Cathal Ghee had to come off after taking a knock and Jarad Weaffer came on to replace him.

Portlaoise took the drop off after Ciranan’s try, however the ball did not got the required 10mtrs so a scrum was awarded. No. 8, Stephen, picked the ball from the base of the scrum, the opposition flankers were slow to react, and he burst through the defensive line to run in under the posts. Longford were now 30 points in the lead and the Longford legs were getting tired in the last 15 minutes. Portloaise to their credit did not give up and ran in 3 tries in this last period to show that a game is never over to the final whistle. Thankfully, Longford had done all the damage in the first 55 minutes, to leave the final score 40-29 to the Men in Black.

All of the lads played their hearts out and the work being done by Ronan, Danny and Michael on the training ground is paying off in results on the field. All the forwards stuck to the game plan, kept to their arrows, listened to the calls and kept driving forward in attack and their line speed was fast in defence. Sean Mohahan did some huge work carrying the ball into contact and driving the opposition back in defence, Oran Lyons tackled like a demon this weekend and our “giants of men”, Jack and James, intimidated the opposition with their controlled aggressive play. The backs tackled brilliantly and showed some great support play in attack. Chris was unlucky in the wings and ripped a brilliant ball from the arms of the Portlaoise winger. Diarmuid Rawle showed great knowledge of the game in some good rucking, while Caelum at full back (before he had a spell in the forwards) read the game well and was in the right place to catch ball when kicked and tactically knew when to come into attack the be the extra man and provide an overlap.

Preventing Portlaoise from a losing bonus point, virtually assures Longford of a place in the Leinster League Final on the 25^th March. The cup is up next with an away game against Edenderry on the 18^th. We require everyone in at training on Thursday night especially, so we can reinforce some of the moves we are working on and continue this winning form.

U16 Girls Dundalk 14 Longford 50

Longford U16 Girls travelled to Dundalk Sunday 12th in the Leinster League.  The Longford Girls were under pressure with a squad shy of the full 15 players.

Mia Rowan opened the scoring bonanza with a signature solo run from inside the Longford Half following on with a carbon copy try in between the posts, converted by Captain Isabella Larkin. Longford were up by 19-0 at Halftime. 

The game was restarted when Dundalk scored an early try and started putting pressure on the visitors.  Longford Girls absorbed a brief surge by Dundalk and got down to business of scoring tries once more. Amber McGrath was incredibly strong breaking through numerous tackle attempts with well executed hand offs, giving her a tally of 2 tries. Isabella Larkin broke free and scored 2 tries in the second half, both of which she converted. Amber McGrath kicked a ball from with the Longford half which Maria Ricon chased and beat a number of tackles to score between the posts once more.

Special Mention to Ava O Loughlin who put massive pressure on the home side causing numerous knock ons and her twin sister Rachel who was solid on the wing carrying ball forward and being instrumental in 2 tries.

Longford Girls welcome new player Casey Foran who displayed confidence in her carries and skill in her offloads.

Migle Frolovaite was nothing short of a tackling machine!

Longford barely put a foot wrong throughout.

Longford Team: Aoife McVeigh,  Shauna Hannon, Casey Foran, Anna O Connor,  Ava O Loughlin,  Migle Frolovaite, Lucy O Connor,  Niamh Brady, Isabella Larkin, Mia Rowan, Rachel O Loughlin.

Link to Leinster league and Midlands’s area competition fixtures and results can be found on the following link.

https://www.leinsterrugby.ie/domestic-rugby/domestic-fixtures-results/

Youth’s Training 

Age group, coach contact details and training schedule as follows:

Girls’ teams

U14 girls - Mags McKenna  087 6309653

Wednesday 7:00-8:15pm

U16 girls – Morag Rowan

Wednesday 7:00-8:15pm

U18 girls – Declan Smyth 085 1375973

Wednesday & and Fridays 7.30pm

Boy’s teams

U13 – Lisa Brady 087 6119960

Monday 7.00-8.45pm

Saturday 10.30-11.30am

U14 – Declan Elliott 086 8125363

Wednesday 7.00-8.15pm

U15 – Aoghan Clarke 087 6727002

Monday and Wednesdays 7.00-8.30pm

U16 – Padraig Murphy 087 6063587

Thursdays 6.30-8.30pm

U17 – Freddie Forde 086 1727145

Tuesdays and Thursdays 7.00-8.30pm

U18.5’s – Jimmy Murphy 086 2555621

Thursday 7.30-9.00pm

New players welcome at all age groups.  Just turn up with a gumshield.

Please follow club social media for updates on our Instagram & Facebook profiles - Longford RFC

Mini Rugby 

For further information on all mini’s rugby, please contact your coach or our Mini’s Co-ordinator, Pauline Marlowe on Mob - 087 632 3373.

For all teams not involved in blitz games, Longford Mini Rugby continues on Sunday mornings, 10.30am at the club.

Players should wear football boots, appropriate clothing, and a gum shield. Blade type boots are not permitted.

At Longford Rugby Club, we cater for all age grades from U6 up to U12 for both boys and girls with a girls’ team at U12. This group is for girls born 2010 & 2011.

Please note the following if your child was born in/Age Grade/Team contact:

2011 - Age Grade U12's - Pauline Marlowe 087 6323373

2012 - Age Grade U11's – Mark Quinn 085 8642266

2013 - Age Grade U10's – Colm Glynn 087 1520428

2014 - Age Grade U9's – John Healy 0879884240

2015 - Age Grade U8's - TBC

2016 - Age Grade U7's - TBC

2017 - Age Grade U6's* - TBC

2011 & 2012 Age Grade U12 Girls – Gerry Carthy 086 8046857

New players can be registered via this link

https://rugbyconnect.irfu.ie/

For further information please contact Pauline Marlowe, Mini Co-ordinator, Longford RFC. Mob - 087 632 3373

New coaches are needed at the younger age groups. If you are interested in helping, please contact Pauline Marlowe or Gerry Carthy. 

Please follow club social media for updates on our Instagram & Facebook profiles- Longford RFC

International Comment

Round 2 of the Six Nations saw the French roll into town at the weekend to tee up a fascinating encounter at the Aviva Stadium.  The most unusual prematch statistic of all was the world ranking of both teams, pitting World numbers 1 and 2 ranked teams against each other.  The hype on the game was matched by the performance of both sides from the off as they went on the attack. France, in the warm-up, focused on penalties and drop goals, perhaps signalled what was to follow.  Where France took the first penalty opportunity, Ireland struck with a try. France hit back with a try from deep in their own half to retake the lead and tagged on a couple of more penalties. Ireland struck with a fantastic try from James Lowe. The size of the French pack took its toll later in the game as Ireland pressed home their advantage in fitness and mobility and Garry Ringrose took a fabulous pass from Caelan Doris to hammer home the win with minutes to go.  The atmosphere at the game was fitting for the occasion and the French support certainly made their presence felt while the home support were equally enthusiastic.  Ireland have a welcome break next week ahead of the away trip to Rome which should tee up a Grand Slam finish to the tournament in March.

Ireland’s Head Coach Andy Farrell meets Longford player Senan Murphy after the famous victory over France on Saturday.

Ireland’s Head Coach Andy Farrell meets Longford player Senan Murphy after the famous victory over France on Saturday.

Boot Room

Parents - Why not check out the hugely popular Boot room here at Longford rugby club where we have a self replenishing stock of replacement boots.  You drop in a pair you no longer need and replace it with a pair that fits your child. That way your pair of boots doesn’t go to waste and someone else gets to benefit also, thus also helping someone else save a few Euros. 

If you have any boots that you wish to donate or exchange, please bring them into minis training and drop off the office for the attention of Gerry Carty or Pauline Marlowe who will assist with selecting the replacement pair.  Boots should be clean, laces intact and no missing studs.  No blades will be taken in. 

Please note it is not possible to guarantee there will be a suitable replacement available however we have rarely not had some to choose across a wide range of sizes.

For all Longford RFC club correspondence Ph: 087 6063587 Email:  lrfconnects@gmail.com