Naas U7s at Old Belvedere Blitz

 

Naas entered two teams at u7 and one team at u6 in the Belvedere Blitz on Saturday 12th April. We had almost 40 players at u6 and u7 which was a fantastic turnout. There were 32 teams entered at u7 from all over Leinster and both teams at this level had tough groups to qualify from. One Naas team made it through the group and met Lansdowne in the quarterfinal -which they won 2 tries to 1 coming from behind after conceeding an early try. Next up was Kilkenny and it took almost half an hour of intense rugby before Naas scored a golden try to go through to the final against Wanderers. The exersions of the semi - final caught up with the players however and two minutes from time Naas conceeded the only try of the game after great defensive work all match. Naas didn't loose heart and finished the match on the Wanderers try line but couldn't get over the line. Congratulations to Wanderers who were worthy winners but it was a great performance from all the Naas teams. Well done to all who took part at both u6 and u7 levels - it was great to see so many turning out and enjoying the day.

Naas U8s win Old Belvedere Blitz

 

32 teams took part, and Naas scored 23 tries on the day, conceding only 2. Naas beat Blackrock 2:1 in the final with a golden try in extra time. This is the second time Naas have won the blitz in two years.

Naas U11s triumph in North Midlands

 

The annual North Midlands Area (Leinster Branch of the IRFU) ‘Under11’ competitive blitz took place at Naas RFC. Seven clubs, namely Athy, Cill Dara, Clane, Portlaoise, Naas, Newbridge and North Kildare, participated. The early games in the blitz were divided into two pools, where Naas played against Clane and Portlaoise. In the game against Clane, Naas came up against a robust defence and were ahead by one try at half-time, however, some slick passing in the back line in the second half resulted in Naas winning 4 – 0. The other pool game in which Naas played Portlaoise turned into a free-flowing affair and Naas eventually prevailed by 5 – O. These two results ensured that Naas won its pool outright and progressed to the semi-final where the opposition was provided by North Kildare.

In the semi-final Naas were quickly in to their stride having benefited from the earlier pool games and, in an entertaining contest, Naas’s superior teamwork, fluency and dominance of the ‘set-pieces’ ensured that it secured a place in the Final, having scored four tries without reply.

Newbridge had emerged successful from the other semi-final, so it provided the opposition for the final. As with all finals, the early stages of this contest were marked by intensity of effort and absolute commitment from both teams. With the “first try” rule applying in the event of a draw, both teams pressed hard for the initial score. Naas went close to scoring on at least two occasions but were held out by a resilient Newbridge defence, however, the pressure eventually paid off and Naas turned around at half time with an advantage of one try to nil. Having secured the opening score Naas now relaxed and played the more flowing rugby. In the early stages of the second-half Naas applied pressure to a Newbridge defensive situation and this yielded a second try. Both teams showed the effects of having played four games to reach the final and as individual players tired the strength of the benches was fully tested. Naas ran out victors scoring three more tries in the process.

This success for Naas was a triumph for team work, self-less play and a commitment to courageous tackling. This was borne out by virtue of the fact that the opposition never crossed the Naas try-line throughout the event.

In the backs Donal O’Hara, Ronan Slattery and Paddy Brickell linked well with their team mates; Jimmy O’Brien, Ruairi Cleary and Cillian Murphy proved elusive for defenders; Niall O’Neill provided an excellent service from scrum-half and Rowan Osborne played a captain’s part in putting pace on the ball and in providing superb support play. In the forwards, Donal Delahunt and Hugh Ronaldson dominated the lineouts; Mike Doyle and Conor Johnson were competitive at ruck and maul and Robert Brazil, Kevin McLoughlin and Ronan Slattery were industrious in loose play.

Naas Squad

Brian Ashe, Robert Brazil, Paddy Brickell, Ruairi Cleary, Mike Doyle, Donal Delahunt, Conor Johnson, Kevin McLoughlin, Cillian Murphy, Gavin Murphy, Jimmy O’Brien, Donal O’Hara, Niall O’Neill, Rowen Osborne, Hugh Ronaldson, Ronan Slattery.

 

 

 

U12 North Midland winners

 

L to R: D. Sutton (Coach); C. Doyle; D. Shanahan; E. Tierney; T. Brady; J. Bolger; M. O’Connor; K. Cleary; J. Deane; S. O’Neill (Coach);
A.Burke; E. Lawlor; M. Sutton; C. Healy; J. O’Neill; C. Conlan; M. Flannagan.

Naas U-12 team won the North Midlands Area Finals at Cill Dara RFC on Saturday, March 1st. It was a very well run competition by hosts, Cill Dara RFC, with teams from Athy, Clane, Cill Dara, North Kildare, Newbridge, Portlaoise, and Naas in attendance. Naas U-12’s came through against Clane and Portlaoise to qualify for a semi-final against Cill Dara. Naas U-12’s managed to overcome Cill Dara for a final encounter with Athy. The final was a tight game with the score at nil all at half time. The breakthrough came early in the second half when Naas whipped the ball out to the wing to give enough room for Mathew O’Connor to slip through for the first of his two tries. Naas U-12’s were in the ascendency as the game wore on with Mather O’Connor once more getting over for the second and final try of the game. Naas won 2-0

 

U18 Leinster league  Naas 22 New Ross 3.

 

Naas had an early start on Saturday as they travelled to New Ross for their latest match in the Leinster Under 18 Premier Division hoping to bounce back from their last defeat to Wicklow. 

Both sides were well up for the game despite the wet weather. This was the first occasion that both sides had to face the elements this season.  The opening score of the game went to the home side when they converted a long-range penalty to make it 3-0. But Naas bounced back brilliantly as Daragh Kiely won a lineout, which was mauled over the line and put down by second row David Benn. Naas continued to attack and got their rewards for the heavy pressure as the New Ross couldn’t handle the speed of winger Philip Tinsley who got over the line to increase Naas‘s lead to 10-0. The lead was furthered increased when Daniel O’Beirne, made another of his now customary forays into the threequarters.  Filling a the gap left by the centres O’Beirne burst through to touch down under the posts and Jamie Sheridan converted to make it 17-3 to Naas at the half time.  

Despite the scoreline Naas were not having things all their own way.  However, the experience of playing in the All Ireland series last season showed as they absorbed the pressure from New Ross and avoided giving away unnecessary penalties. Naas maintained  the good performance of the first half with strong play from David Benn and Conal Owens in the pack and David Lynch and Eoin Mullhall in the backs. They kept the pressure on New Ross and rounded off the scoring with a great team move which was finished off by which left the score at 22-3 and saw Naas go home happy with a good away victory. This was the perfect way for Naas to bounce back after their disappointing defeat to Wicklow and they will look to keep building on this performance and meet Wicklow again in the latter stages of the competition. 

Naas: D O’Beirne; C Owens; B Gallagher; D Benn; M Ibbotson; D Cadogan; D O’Brien; D Kiely; P Sutton; J Sheridan; D Lynch; A Murphy; P Tinsley; J Hennessy; E Mullhall.  Subs: P Mahon; I Callaghan; M Dark; O Tyrell; A Morris; R McCann and J Nolan

U18 Leinster league  Naas 15 Wicklow 22.

This Match between Wicklow and Naas had been eagerly anticipated by both clubs since the draw was made in September.  The meeting was expected to be the crunch match of the Leinster League Southern Area campaign. This clash of last years champions, Wicklow, holders of the Under 16 All Ireland Championship, with five Leinster panellists and Naas the current Under 18 All Ireland Champions, with 11 of last years squad returning.  
 

Naas, started very nervously conceding four unnecessary penalties in the opening ten minutes.  If fly-half, Niall Earls, had brought his kicking boots with him Naas would have been more than 3-0 down after 15 minutes. Wicklow scored the first try of the game after some good handling by their very strong pack, and with Naas unable to stop the rolling maul Wicklow got over in the corner for an unconverted try to make the score 8-0. Naas responded strongly with good control among the forwards getting the ball into the Wicklow 22.  a hasty clearance resulted in a line out on the 5 meter line which was won by Daragh Kiely.  The Naas pack controlled the maul allowing tetam captain Daniel O’ Beirne to break off and crash over in the corner.  The difficult kick was missed which meant Naas were still three points behind.  
 

Earls was coming more into the game and continuously threatened the Naas defence. A crafty run sliced open the Naas rear guard and a quick pop pass allowed Wicklow in for their second try of the game. Earls whose confidence was definitely boosted by his surging run from the centre of the park converted the try to make it 15-5 to Wicklow. There was one more score before half time when Naas won a penalty thanks to some good rucking by Andrew Reid and Matthew Ibbotson which allowed Jamie Sheridan to knock the penalty off the post and over and that made it 15-8 at half time. Naas were just a converted try behind.  
 

Naas opened the second half determined to get the try they needed to level the score and after immense pressure on the Wicklow backline Daniel O’Beirne bulldozed over the line in the corner for his second try of the game. Jamie Sheridan still had a lot to do with the conversion and he elegantly put it over from the touchline to level the scores. Straight from  the kick off Wicklow dealt Naas a killer blow. Having gained an overlap out the backline they took full advantage and scored a converted try to make the score 22-15.  
 

Naas tried gallantly to find another try but could not break down the resilient Wicklow defence. It was the first defeat for Naas of the season who despite good performances from double try scorer Daniel O’Beirne, Scrum-Half Peter Sutton and some excellent line out ball from Daragh Kiely could not find the killer touch to beat Wicklow.  
 

Naas Team: Daniel O’Beirne, Conal Owens, Bryan Gallagher, Matthew Ibbotson, David Benn, David O’Brien, Daragh Kiely, Donagh Cadagon, Peter Sutton, John Hennessy, Jamie Sheridan, Aidan Murphy Eoin Mulhall, Johnny Nolan, Philip Tinsley Subs: Philip Mahon, Ian Callaghan, Mark Darker, Andrew Reid, Michael Tutty, J.J Nugent, Gearoid Comber