U15 League Final Report

 Coolmine 19 Wanderers 0

 

A commanding pack performance allied to skilful backs paved the way for Coolmine to take the title on a sunny saturday in Donnybrook. Coolmine kicked off long and for the next five minutes they kept Wanderers pinned in their own 22. Eventually Coolmine forced the mistake & after a quick penalty, Ben Griffin forced his way over for the game's first try wide left. Wanderers enjoyed some possession & territory but never really threatened the Coolmine try line. Five minutes before half time, outhalf Louis McDonough passed  inside close to the right corner. Ethan Keogh showed some good footwork to power over. McDonough’s excellent touch line conversion left the half time score at 12-0.

 

Wanderers again tried to spread the ball wide from deep but 10 minutes into the second half Coolmine’s well organized defence forced another turnover. After a quick penalty, Max Gerhardt showed some good awareness in scoring at the base of the post. McDonagh’s conversion put Coolmine into a commanding 19-0 lead. Coolmine applied further pressure in the last quarter with prop Ben Griffin & number 8 Ben Colgan carrying prominently. A Wanderers penalty relieved the siege when another Coolmine try looked inevitable. But for a few handling errors when the gaps opened, Coolmine looked like adding to the scoreboard.

 

A final penalty for Coolmine allowed Louis McDonough to kick the ball out & the celebrations began. The lads were presented with their medals and captain  Conor Kelly accepted the Premier League pennant.

Big End to Season for Coolmine Youths

With five finals to look forward to, end of season tours, it has been a hectic and very successful time for the Youths teams in Coolmine.

 

Pride of place goes to the U15’s, who have now three finals to play before the season end. They match up against Wanderers in the School Youth Premier League Final and the School Youth Cup Final. Following their successful tour to Germany, they also qualified for the Metro Plate Final against Malahide, following a thrilling 33-29 victory over Lansdowne on Sunday last.

 

In preparation for their tour to Biarritz, the U13As have qualified for the final of the School Youth league. They were far too strong for Old Wesley in their semi final last Sunday and face Seapojnt this Sunday in final which promises to be an epic encounter.

     The U13As made short work of Old                Wesley  recently

The U13Bs have held their own this season and beat Barnhall in the Metro Plate Wednesday 20th to progress to next round.

       On tour...

On Sunday 10th April, the U14’s played Naas in the Division 1 School Youth lleague semi final. In a replica of the recent Connacht Grenoble game, Coolmine came from 26-7 down shortly before half time to win an absolute thriller 35-31. Seapoint await them in the final and this will also double as a Metro Cup game due to the short season time remaining.

 

The U17’s made their competitive exit last Sunday, when going down to a strong  Barnhall outfit. Coolmine gave a good account of themselves and could have come close to winning if they had taken their chances. This weekend they head to Clare for their end of season tour, including rugby & surfing in Lahinch.

 

The U16’s had a very successful Easter tour to Bedarieux in the South of France, where they beat the local U16 team 29-14, in probably their performance of the season. The hospitability from the home club had to be experienced to be believed. The trip also encompassed a local rugby final, trip to a local tree top adventure park and a sightseeing trip to Mountpellier. A huge thank you to Fiona & Gamel Taeib for organizing this fantastic trip. On Sunday April 3rd, the U16’s made their competitive exit in the league semi final. In a tight game they lost 13-8 to a strong Clontarf team who won the treble last season.

In Memory of John McHugh: Run Ronan Run

Last year we lost a former player and dear club friend in John McHugh in the Dublin Half Marathon as he collapsed close to the finish line.

His friend and former teammate, Ronan O'Byrne has decided to to run the London marathon in his memory having never done anything like this before. 

Ronan also has epilepsy - so has decided to raise money for two charities - CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) and the Epilepsy Society and split the amount raised between them. The two charities do great work and he hopes to raise as much as possible for them.

For years Ronan played against John at schools level, as he attended Castleknock College while John went to Belvedere. But their rivalry was put aside after school and both played together for Coolmine under Andrew Wood.

'As a part of my fundraising,' Ronan tells us 'I have tried to get a range of prizes for those who sponsor me. For every €5 donated you get to guess the time in which you think I will complete the marathon. To date I have managed to get some great prizes'

And the list of prizes is impressive:

 * Signed Irish Jersey by this years Six Nations Squad (Match Jersey worn by prop Martin Moore)

* Signed English Rugby Jersey by the Grand Slam winning team (was signed in the dressing room after the Wales game)

* Signed Leinster, Ulster, Ospreys, London Irish, Bristol Jerseys (will hopefully get more incl. Munster, Bath jerseys and a Stade Francais rugby ball)

* Signed Dublin and Meath GAA Jerseys

* Weekend tickets to the British Touring Car Championship (Silverstone)

* Vouchers for many restaurants

* Tickets to the Theatre and other activities

* Tickets - Croke Park skyline walk & museum, Guinness Storehouse, Jameson Distillery

We wish Ronan the very best in his fundraising efforts and that he does well in the London Marathon.

The link to his fundraising page can be found here: 

(http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RonanOByrne)