Connemara back in business with third straight win

Rob Murphy

WHEN Connemara are good, all seems right in the club rugby world. There is something about those times when Clifden men are on the rise that gives everyone a sense of anticipation. The sun was shinning at the Monastery Field on Saturday and the home support saw their team blitz Ards 55-24 with seven tries notched up. Stunning stuff.

They've been down before over the past decade and bounced back like this. There has been talk of a return to Junior rugby on occasions and constant mutterings of 'isolation' and 'resources' yet they always seem to survive and it's never long before Connemara RFC get that second shove on.

Peter Bracken has come west this season and is moulding a decent side. He has South Otago native and Ballina player coach Cory Brown with him looking after a tasty looking backline and thanks to a fiercely intense work rate, a technically solid set piece and some heads up inventive back play, Connemara are back and after three straight wins, sit third in the table.

We can some up Saturday’s game as follows. Ards are a bottom eight side, possibly a bottom four side. They struggled in defence and while they scored three hard earned tries in the contest, a 30 point gap accurately reflects Connemara’s superiority, born from a flawless lineout, dominant scrum and an unbroken link to the backs.

There are plenty of players worth singling out. For example, the hugely reliable and always alert Alan Keogh at full back, Sean Joyce at out half, who kicked nine from ten, and captain Emmet Ferron at tighthead. Then there was open side Richie Byrne and try scoring centre Paddy Madden. We could go on. Next up is a trip to promotion contenders Nenagh on October 29th, that’s a much tougher hurdle.  

Elswhere in the Ulster Bank League, the pressure is rising in the Galwegians camp as another long season at the bottom of the Division 1b table seems inevitable. The 39-15 drubbing at home to Belfast Harlequins on Saturday was their third straight defeat in a season that has yet to yield a point. The manner of those losses is what is most worrying for what is a promising young squad.

In Division 2a, Corinthians are in much better form. They have now won three from three to put them out in front with the leaders in that league. There 22-9 victory away to Seapoint at the weekend was another impressive result with tries from Findlay Bealham and Wayne Williams in the second half helping them pull clear. The All-Ireland league takes a one week break before returning on October 29.

For more, read this week's Galway City Tribune.