Dermot's Back!

Today was like an early Christmas present for the rugby girls of St Mac Dara's as Dermot Gascoyne from Sky Sports Living for Sport came back in for another visit.  He was kind enough to bring along Eilish Byrne, another great Irish sporting hero and a bronze-medal winner from the London Paralympic games. We even got a go out of the medal!

We showed Dermot and Eilish our team motto; Friendship, Honour and Belief and the display we had been working on of these words.  He was chuffed!  It wasn't long though before he and Eilish had us taking part in some team games and challenges.  We had a bit of competition between us and equalled a few records, but most of all we had a lot of fun.  We took part in some great exercises that emphasised teamwork and encouraged communication between us.

Today with Dermot and Eilish wasn't just about having fun; it was also about pushing ourselves and doing our best as a team.  Part of what we've gained from the Sky Sports Living for Sport project has been an incredible team spirit and as Dermot pointed out teams don't just have fun together.  They work hard together too.  And boy did he make this team work hard, but as a team we* completed it and not a single player was left behind.  There was then a chance for us to sit down and have a chat and a catch-up with Dermot and fill him in on our work and progress.

We also had a surprise for Dermot; the girls had arranged to get a thank-you card and also an Irish rugby jersey for Dermot and made the presentation just at the end.  We're not sure if Lisa started to cry first, or if Dermot was the weak link, but it was a great moment.  Dermot has been a great friend to all of us in St Mac Dara's, but has also been a real inspiration and a hero to all of the girls.  He's made this team into a tight and strong team and helped forge a hugely strong bond between us all.  Thanks Dermot.  We'll see you again soon.

*by "we" I mean everyone except Ms Brady & Mr Culleton who stood at the side and chatted!

Special Training this Thursday with Dermot Gascoyne

This Thursday's training session for the girls squad will be an extra-special one as Dermot Gascoyne from Sky Sport Living for Sport is coming in to see us again.  Dermot has very kindly offered to take a special fitness session this Thursday in the PE hall, so no need for boots and hopefully no need for gumshields!  Dermot is also bringing along Eilish Byrne, another great Irish athlete, and a bronze medal winner in equestrian at the 2012 London Paralympics.

See everyone on Thursday.

Sky Sports Living for Sport visit with Natalya Coyle

Today was our project visit with Natalya Coyle.  This was something we had been looking forward to since Natalya first came out to us seven weeks ago with Dermot Gascoyne and we had been working really hard on our Sky Sports Living for Sport project since then.

We spent our day in L 5, but also out on the basketball courts doing some exercises.  Today's focus was on the "Six Keys to Success" and we learned about them both in class and through the exercises that Natalya set up for us.  We especially focused on how we communicated with each other as a team and how well we worked together as a team.  After "Tal" put us through our paces we could see a lot of improvement (eventually) ... even on the blind rope-skipping! 

The whole day was so much fun, but also really intense.  One of the highlights was when Tal shared her story with us, giving us some insight into the life of an Olympian and how she came to be where she is today.  There was then a "goal-setting" session where we considered what our long-term goals might be and looked at what barriers might stand between us achieving our goals.  We had a long question-and-answer session to finish and kept poor Tal almost half-an-hour late!  Still it shows her commitment and she certainly didn't mind.

 

This was a fantastic day and one where we learned so much that can help us both as individuals and as a team.  Lots of thanks have to be extended.  A special "thank-you" has to go to Ms Brady who organised and arranged today, but who wasn't able to come in today due to illness.  We also need to thank Mr Donnelly and Mr Kingston for their support.  We especially have to thank Natalya Coyle, an awe-inspiring Irish sporting hero, but moreso, a very cool and very funny friend of our rugby squad!

 

The six keys to success are:

1. Mental toughness
2. Hunger to achieve
3. People skills
4. Sports and life knowledge
5. Breaking barriers
6. Planning for success

The six keys to success are designed to help young people develop valuable life skills that will help them in and outside of school, now and into the future.

MATCH REPORT: Scoil Chonglais 24 - St Mac Dara's 22

We started our first year in the Junior Development Cup on the 7th of October in Carlow RFC against Pres. Carlow.  It's kind of fitting that our journey ended on the 7th of November in the same location.  Four games, three wins, scoring 20 tries, conceding only 14, playing for four hours, with 26 different players representing the school.  Not bad, in one sense, but crushingly disappointing in another.

Scoil Conghlais had the home advantage in this semi-final, but the fact that it was on in Carlow RFC, the site of our first victory in the cup, meant we felt very comfortable heading down there.  The team from Baltinglass were able to push kick-off back until 2.30, but we were determined not to be put off at all, and we made sure we were down in plenty of time to get a good warm-up, but also to show how comfortable we were travelling.

Scoil Chonglais kicked off and Charlie Clarke (flanker) secured possession for St Mac Dara's through some strong rucking.  We kicked for territory and forced them back for a lineout in their 22.  They won their lineout, but our pressure forced them into making errors and conceding a scrum.  Jake Miller (scrumhalf) used a boxkick to make them respond to our play, rather than create some of their own.  The pressure paid off with Conor Ryan (Outside Centre) scoring a try after just four minutes.  All of the play had been in their half and we had been dictating the play right from the start.  It was time to be cautiously optimistic.

Again Charlie Clarke put in great work on the restart (perhaps inspired by his dad & grandad on the sideline) and contested well for the ball.  We were the ones responding now unfortunately and their number 15 crossed to score just two minutes after our try.  Both trys were unconverted however, so we were still level pegging.  Our restart was gathered up by some of our loose forwards but in doing so we knocked the ball on, conceding a scrum.  The ref awarded us a free-kick however as Scoil Chonglais were feeding the ball incorrectly.  The scrum would be another area of dominance for us throughout the afternoon, and something that the opposition became very wary of.

We were soon awarded a penalty which Jake Carroll (outhalf) drove up the line for us.  Our lineout was good, but we fumbled the ball, conceded a scrum and gained a free-kick because of another crooked feed.  Once again we were the ones creating play and soon Conor Ryan crossed for his second try.  Shortly after the restart we noticed how Cillian Smith (front row) was being penalised repeatedly by the referee for crooked throws into the lineout.  We're not sure about whether to buy Cillian a ruler, or the referee some glasses!  In the space of five minutes the referee penalised us twice for our throw into the lineout!  While our lineouts weren't a source of possession for us, the scrum was, even when it was a defensive scrum for us.  We won another on our put-in, and gained another free-kick after a third irregular feed from Scoil Chonglais.  This time the ref warned of a potential yellow-card if this happened again!

Play continued and we made great territory through a break from Jake Carroll, but unfortunately we conceded a penalty in the ruck, Scoil Chonglais were able to regain all of that territory and break through our lines.  The ref judged their effort at scoring a try to have been held up however.  Within two minutes we had struck at the other end, with Mark Ryland (winger) giving us a ten point lead at half-time.  A two-score lead, with a dominant scrum and a strong bench to introduce.  Reasons for confidence.

Dylan Hamilton (tighthead prop) came off at the end of the half to allow William Kelly take a place as hooker in the front row.  We were confident going into this final half of the semi-final, but after just three minutes Baltinglass had scored and converted their try, bring the lead down significantly and leaving us just three points ahead.  While play got scrappy for a while, with bothe teams conceding penalties and forcing some scrambling defense, we were still able to exert some pressure.  Luke Hill (lock) made way for Luke Alford, who introduced himself to the Scoil Chonglais team with a huge tackle that forced their ball carrier into touch.  Shortly afterwards Andrew Hayden (number 8 & captain) carried the ball over the line and placed it securely down, but the referee judged it to have been held up.  Frustrating, but we tried to keep our composure.  Ten minutes into the half we conceded another try, and for the first time in this competition, after three hours and forty minutes of play, we went behind on the scoreboard.  15 - 19, and twenty minutes to go.

We restarted and soon gained a penalty at the breakdown, but the resulting try was again judged to be held up.  (Just for the record, not a single try from any team we played, or from ourselves, had been judged to have been held-up before today.  In this match THREE tries were called as held-up.  Two for us, and one for them.  Just saying like)  After eight minutes in deficit Conor Ryan secured his hat-trick and put us back in front.  Jake converted this one, despite the tricky side-wind, and we were up by three points.  We were happy to be in the lead, but this team has always attempted to defend a lead by extending it and we continued to probe and attack.  Dillon Ritchie, Jake Carroll and Conor Ryan kept attacking their lines while we kept an eye on the time.  Then, with two minutes left in the game, we let them through and they scored.  The try was not successfully converted and we were trailing by just two points with two minutes to go.

We attacked.  We scrambled.  We won a line-out but we were not able to break through.  Time ran-out.  We lost.

Sometimes it's easy to lose.  You don't mind losing if you feel that you didn't deserve to win.  If the other team had hockeyed you off the pitch and had run away with it, you can't really moan and complain.  We lead for 48 of the 60 minutes of the game.  We didn't lead in the last minute though, and that's the one that counts.

Congratulations to all of the squad members of the Junior Boy's Rugby team.  Everyone from the first year players who ran on with water bottles, played defenders in drills, cheered, supported and substituted, through to the grizzled veterans with their thousand-yard stares, helped take this team through to the semi-finals of the Development Cup in our first year taking part in that competition.  It's the commitment and team-spirit of these boys that brought this team to where it is today, and that will help us build on this year and get more success over the years to come.

To every one of you; thank you.

Tomorrow's Junior Semi-Final

Tomorrow's match will kick off in Carlow RFC at 2.30. This is later than usual, so bring lunch and make sure you are fuelled and ready for the match.

The bus will leave at 12.00. Please leave class at 11.40.  Ensure you have teacher's permission.

Match details for this week.

This week's match for the Junior Boys Squad has been confirmed.

Away versus Scoil Chonglais on Thursday 7 November.  The match is due to kick-off at 1.30.  Time and location have to be confirmed.

BLITZ REPORT: St Mac Dara's at the Railway Union RFC Schoolgirls & Tournament.

All of those late Thursday afternoons training with Mere, all of the muck and dirt and bruises, all of the sore legs, arms, and heads had come down to this.  It was tournament day in Railway Union!

The morning was glorious, and we were looking forward to a great afternoon and evening of 7s rugby, but it started to rain on our way to Sandymount and it kept raining!  We spent almost an hour in the clubhouse looking out at the deluge coming down and listening to people saying it would pass soon!

We had two teams entered; Junior and Senior, and we were facing opposition from St Louis, Muckross and Newpark college.  Our juniors were first up to play and took to the field against St Louis' Juniors.  Jessica Keating was nominated as our captain for the day and kicked the match off.  She was joined on the pitch by Aoife McGowan, Laura "Abercrombie" Creighton, Holly Baker, Laura Crossan, Eva Keller and Vicki Browne.  Despite an early break and a quick dash across their try-line we weren't able to convert our opportunities.  Defensively we were very strong with Abercrombie putting in some awesome tackles.  A 7s pitch is a wide pitch unfortunately and Louis were able to get past us for their first score.  We lost Holly along the way unfortunately as her ability to run and create space was sorely missed.  Despite Jess getting a try just after half-time we lost 10 points to 5.  Still, there was plenty left to play for.

Holly Baker and her bust nose!

The seniors were up next, again against St Louis.  Lisa Callan (captain) took to the field in her preferred number 2 jersey, bringing Rebekah Hayden, Kelly Walsh, Sarah Carroll, Caoimhe Guerin, Katie McGowan and Roisín Tindall with her.  Louis got off to a blistering start and were able to push around us with far too much ease.  Before we even had a chance to catch our breath it was half-time and we were down by four tries.  The second -half started off equally as fast, but we were better prepared this time.  Louis were stopped by great tackling on Lisa and Katie's parts.  Claire Harrington was subbed on and also helped us sustain the pressure.  They did get through though, but Lisa was able to break through their lines and give us some respectability.  At the end we had lost five tries to one.

We had some time off to recover and refresh after the matches and also to check out the opposition.  The seniors were first up this time, against Muckross.  We gave Eve Higgins a place on our squad, and gave Jojo Clune and Fionnuala Wilson their starts.  This game went more to plan with some fantastic interplay between our players.  Lisa got us on the scoreboard after just a minute and the cheers from our subs and the juniors could be heard all the way back in Templeogue!  We were playing into the sun and we were worried about blindly looking about for the ball after restart kicks.  Katie McGowan had a fantastic take into the sun and broke down the pitch, leaving everyone staring after her.  We also had a textbook offload from Jojo helping us keep pressure on Muckross.  At half-time we lead 10 nil. Lisa scored again from the off in the second-half, thanks to great pressure and support from Kelly Walsh.  Katie also scored after another trademark pitch-length break.  Jojo and Roisín also added to the scoreboard, while Sorcha Kampff came on and used her great fielding skills to help us keep possession.  Another great game from a great team.

The juniors had their game against Muckross next.  This was a game we struggled in, but we were so impressed by soem fantastic defensive work.  Sinead Aspell put in two amazing tackles, one on each side of  half-time that really stopped Muckross in their tracks.  These were two of the best tackles made all day, and poor Sinead was covered in muck afterwards!  Except for her grin that is.  Abercrombie also made some important tackles.  Saragh Deegan got onto the pitch in this game too, as did Chloe Hutchinson.  They development in confidence and ability we saw in all of our girls over the day was immense, and Saragh and Chloe were two great example of this.  The result was a loss, but our girls put in a fantastic display.

The seniors were back on, again facing St Louis.  Holli Breslin and Cliodhana Edwards got their first starts of the day.  This time we were first on the scoreboard with Roisín Tindall putting in an amazing turn on the wing.  Unfortunately we lost Katie shortly after this after a clash of heads.  Katie has a reputation as a ferocious tackler and we would miss her, but head injuries are too serious to take any risks over.  Sorcha Kampff and Claire Harrington proved very able subs though, but unfortunately  Louis were able to force themselves across our lines and onto the scoreboard twice.

The juniors had one last game against Newpark.  In many ways we were playing just for pride, but a good display could also result in us winning the Plate competition.  The girls put in the work that was needed and helped us secure the plate.  Well done to them and to all on the team.

The Seniors then took to the field to play the Cup Final.  We were facing St Louis for the third time in the contest.  The first one we had lost five tries to one, the second two tries to one.  This time we were confident.  Rebekah, Caoimhe, Sarah, Kelly, Lisa and Jojo went on to the pitch, while Sorcha and Roisín were two big impact subs for us.  Louis blitzed past us for the first score of the game and this allowed their confidence to lift.  They kept us out throughout the first half, even though we put huge pressure on them and it felt like we lived on their lines!  They even managed to get a second score just before the break.  In the second half we came out like demons.  Roisín gave us a fantastic score.  Louis were desperate to slow the ball down as they could sense the momentum building behind Mac Dara's.  We knew that if we drew and forced extra-time we would have the psychological advantage.  Again we applied massive pressure and a late move by Caoimhe Guerin looked like we had just made it across the line but Louis managed to force her into touch.  The whictle blew, the game was over and we had just, just, lost out on the cup.  We had the plate though as a consolation, as well as the knowledge that we had played as a great team throughout the day.

We couldn't have been prouder than our junior and senior teams than we were on that rainy, cold, windy. bright Friday in October.  They have given up so much of their time and put in huge efforts.  Well done to all.

MATCH REPORT: St Mac Dara's 31 - St David's, Greystones 19

Another Thursday afternoon on Templeville Road, and once again the sun was shining.  This match was always going to be a challenge, as quite a few of our starting players from our win over Castleknock were unavailable today.  (William probably won't even bring back something nice for everyone after his holiday!)  Still, while we never like to be over-confident, we knew that we would put up a good contest and if someone was to beat us, we would not make it easy on them!

Johnny English wasn't available to ref us today, but Dara O'Kelly was taking over duty on the whistle.  He got us going at one o'clock, with St David's kicking off.  We quickly gathered the ball and made our way into their half.  Mark Reneghan (lock) put in an enormous carry and pushed deep through their lines.  It was our plan to be in their half for most of the game!  We quickly recycled the ball through our forwards, with pick-and-go being the weapon of choice for the first few phases.  Once we kept play in tight for a while we quickly moved the ball out to the wing where Ben Daly (winger) scored our first try after just two minutes.  The angle was too tight for Jake Carroll (inside-centre), but five-nil up after two minutes was a great start.

St David's restarted and James Murphy (fullback) fielded it brilliantly, turning their kick into our advantage.  They did manage to turn the ball over though and had a strong ruck in place on the half-way line.  Our counter-rucking was fantastic though and helped us a number of times throughout the match.  After another minute or so of scrappy play we had a line-out just inside their ten-metre line.  We won the throw and Jake Miller (scrumhalf) used a box-kick to put pressure on St David's and to force them to react to our play, rather than be able to create any of their own.  Luke Hill (lock) carried the ball (and at least two of the opposition players!) right up to their lines.  St David's held the ball up and so we went out for a scrum-five.  Some quick passing and then Conor Ryan (outside-centre) broke through for our second try, which Jake successfully converted.  Eight minutes on the clock.  Twelve-nil on the scoreboard.

This time it was Jake Carroll who gathered their restart kick and put pressure back on St David's.  We were pushed into touch though and it was St David's turn to use their line-out to put us under pressure.  James Murphy showed his defensive strength again and managed to steal their ball.  Unfortunately we conceded the first of two quick penalties.  St David's had a strong play for their penalties involving crashing their forwards up through the middle.  While we could slow them down, we couldn't stop them and after fifteen minutes they were on the scoreboard.  Three minutes later St David's had scored again, and converted it.  We were level, but they were the ones celebrating!  We went back to our clinical ways, bashing up through the centre through our forwards, drawing defenders in, then sending Ben over again for his second try.  The work done by Charlie Clarke (flanker) and Billy Hamilton (tighthead prop) in rucking and carrying was phenomenal.  We kept pressuring them, through our line-outs and their scrums, and again we put in immense counter-rucking displays.  Eventually we broke across the line and Jake Carroll scored a fantastic team-try.  He converted it and we took our half-time break with a 24 to 12 lead.

We restarted and when they carried they ball into contact we counter-rucked and secured possession for ourselves.  Unfortunately we quickly conceded a scrum for knocking-on.  St David's won their scrum but then knocked-on themselves.  We won our scrum and made a great break up their wing.  Unfortunately we lost possession, but St David's were forced into touch.  They stole the ball from us at the following line-out and we could see St David's starting to grow in confidence.

Matches are made up of little moments that only last for a second, but that can have an influence throughout, and even beyond the match.  Jake Carroll stealing the ball from St David's on the four-minute mark, in a text-book rip.  Our pack winning the scrum on the opposition put in twice in the second-half.  Owen Flood (winger) putting in a tremendous tackle to stop St David's in their tracks. Owen and Mark Ryland (outhalf) tackling together to force St David's into touch.   Aaron McDonagh (loosehead prop) dashing down the wing like a back contesting for a loose ball.  They had the possession and the territory in this phase of the match but our defensive display was so strong that they couldn't make use of it.  All of these scrums were starting to take their toll, especially on Cillian Smith (hooker) who had been forced to move in from his usual position propping and so with half of the second half gone we moved to uncontested scrums.  We were happy to see time ticking by with no scores appearing for either side but it couldn't last and three minutes later, from a line-out near our lines, St David's broke through and scored.  Their successful conversion meant there was just seven points separating the side with ten minutes remaining.

The pressure seemed to get to both sides, with lots of sloppy possession until wiser heads, like Andrew Hayden (number eight - captain) settled everyone down.  We knew there were just five minutes left in the game and that St David's would have to score twice to beat us.  Rather than getting defensive though we decided to attack.  It paid off when Conor Ryan got his second of the game and put us beyond their range.  We finished 31 points to 19 and we had secured our place in the semi-finals of the Junior Development Cup.

Well done to all involved, and thanks again to St Mary's College RFC for allowing us the use of their facilities.

Project Maths.

Tries. St Mac Dara's 5 (3), St David's, Greystones 3 (2)
Possession. St Mac Dara's 42 minutes. 72%. St D 19m. 28%.
Territory. St Mac Dara's 66%. St D 34%.

Line-Outs. St Mac Dara's 8 (5) St David's, Greystones 3 (3)
Scrums. St Mac Dara's 5 (4) St D 10 (7)
Penalties conceded. St Mac Dara's 4.  StD 1.

Congratulations to Lisa Callan, Leinster Rugby Player.

Congratulations to Lisa Callan (Sixth Year) who has been selected for the Leinster Rugby Girls Under 19s squad.

Lisa with Nora Stapleton and the Women's Six Nations Trophy.

Lisa is the first rugby player from St Mac Dara's Community College to have been selected for a representative squad.  Best of luck to her as she trains with the squad this weekend.

MATCH REPORT: St Mac Dara's 36 - Castleknock CC 19

Wednesday of this week was an awful day. It started to rain during the night and then stayed raining throughout the day, as if the Irish Sea was being spilled onto Dublin.  It was looking like our fixture for Thursday against Castleknock Community College was under threat!

The sunshine on Thursday was glorious.  Some of our players even got a little sunburn.  It wasn't just the sunshine that was glorious though; the rugby was pretty spectacular too!

This was our second fixture in the Junior Development Cup, and we kicked off slightly later than usual at 1.15.  Johnny English was back refereeing us again and he has to be given a lot of credit for allowing a fast game of rugby to be played and giving both teams the opportunities they needed to play.

Castleknock kicked off but we quickly gathered the ball and put great pressure on them.  We stayed in their half recycling the ball quickly from the breakdown and pushing forward through our backs.  After just two minutes Mark Ryland (Winger) crossed the line and dotted the ball down.  Everything seemed to be going our way, as we won a scrum on our put in, and were awarded a penalty, all in Castleknock's half and before five minutes had been played.  Castleknock CC showed great composure though and contested strongly at the lineout following our penalty, stealing our ball and breaking through into our half for the first time.  We sustained the pressure, despite some great probing attacks from their number 13, and were able to get the ball quickly to Ben Daly (Winger) on our right wing to score.  The angles for conversion kicks so far were tight, and Paddy Martin (Outhalf) was finding it difficult to make his kicks, although his luck was soon to change.

Mark Reneghan (Lock) was having an awesome game and while Luke Alford (Number 8 and Captain) was off having his broken finger taped up Mark was able to break through the Castleknock lines to score.  Great credit has to be given to Dylan Hamilton for filling Luke's giant shoes while he was off, and to Paddy Martin for making this kick.  Play got a little scrappy at this stage and the next ten minutes or so saw two scrums being given, one to each side, including one that had to be reset.  The ref warned both teams that they had to take responsibility for the scrums and they would go to uncontested scrums if another collapsed.  Message received, and no more scrums collapsed!

Our backs put on a great display throughout the game, with amazing probing attacks coming from Conor Ryan (Outside Centre) putting great pressure on the Castleknock defence.  James Murphy (Fullback) also used a very clever kick near to put the ball behind Castleknock and to force them backwards.  Just before half-time Jake Miller (scrumhalf) was able to capitalise on this pressure to get us a fourth try, which Paddy Martin converted successfully.  24 to nil at half-time, thanks to great team work and a great display from all on the pitch.

That pressure that was put on Castleknock in the first half was exerted again straight after the restart.  Our forwards protected the ball, with great rucking from Luke Hill (Lock) and Charlie Clarke (Flanker).  The ball was quickly recycled out of the rucks and across to the wings, and then back through the centre with blinding speed.  After just four minutes Jem O'Ciaráin (Inside Centre) gave us another try.  Luke was very quick to warn the team not to be complacent though and to watch out for the opposition's probing attcks, again through their Outside Centre.  Aaron MacDonagh (Loosehead Prop) had a great run up the middle of the pitch, carrying three of the opposition players with him as he went.  We traded set-pieces for the next few minutes, until, with ten minutes gone in the second half, Castleknock conceded a penalty for holding on while on the ground.  William Kelly (Hooker) and Cillian Smith (Tighthead Prop) had been tackling like demons in the sequence running up to this penalty, and the decision they took to tap-and-go helped Jem get his second try of the day.  36 - nil, and the sun was still shining.

With fourteen minutes left in the game Castleknock were able to exploit our right wing and managed to cross the line for their first try.  Nathan Devitt and Craig Smith were making their debuts for the team and had shown a little hesitation which Castleknock were quick to take advantage of.  Castleknock tried to come down that wing again, but Craig put on a remarkable defensive display that slowed them down and helped us regain possession.  Castleknock kept probing our lines though and were able to break through twice more.  With nine minutes left in the game they had 19 points to our 36.  Some of our players were beginning to get worried.  Once again Castleknock tried to break through on our right wing, hoping to break through Nathan.  He put in a massive tackle on a guy almost twice his size, pushing Castleknock back in the process and saving us from a definite try.

Pressure switched back into the Castleknock side when Mark Reneghan stole the ball from them and was able to link up with Andrew Hayden (Flanker) and help Andrew score between the posts.  With Paddy's conversion the whistle was blown and after an incredible team display, St Mac Dara's Community College Junior Boys Rugby squad are through to the Development Cup Quarter Finals.

Well done lads.

Number Crunching.

Tries. St Mac Dara's 7 (4), Castleknock Community College 3 (2)
Possession. St Mac Dara's 43 minutes. 72%. Castleknock CC 17m. 28%.
Territory. St Mac Dara's 75%. Castleknock 25%.

Line-Outs. St Mac Dara's 3 (3)  Castleknock 2 (1)
Scrums. St Mac Dara's 5 (5)  Castleknock 9 (7)
Penalties conceded. St Mac Dara's 3.  Castleknock Community College 7.

News on Matches and Training for this week.

GIRLS - Today's match vs Lucan Community College has been postponed until next Wednesday, the 23rd.  Same arrangements as this week.  Bus at 1.00, please leave class at 12.20 with your teacher's permission, to get lunch in the canteen.  GUMSHIELDS.

BOYS - Tomorrow's match vs Castleknock Community College is still going ahead.  Kick off in St Mary's at 1.00, so leave class at 11.40 tomorrow to get lunch in the canteen, with your teacher's permission.

TRAINING - Training as usual tomorrow for all (unless you were involved in the Junior match) from 4.00 until 5.00 for the boys and from 4.00 until 5.30 for the girls, although if you have to leave at 5.00 you can, of course.  Mere is coming out again tomorrow and will be training with us from 4.30 until 5.30.

Any questions, see Mr Culleton in L5.

LEINSTER RUGBY School of Excellence SPECIAL OFFER for St Mac Dara's Girls.

LEINSTER RUGBY's School of Excellence is one of the most popular rugby camps in Europe and this mid-term break it's coming to Railway Union RFC.  There is a special rate available to Railway Union members and they have very kindly extended this deal to any girls from St Mac Dara's who want to avail of it.

John Cronin, Director of Rugby at Railway says "We're putting a big focus on the girls aspect of it and any girls that are being coached by us in our schools programme, can get on this Halloween camp for €60. It's normally €75.  It's the best camp Leinster

run ..

. coaching will be by Leinster, lots of gear given out, Leinster players visit it, etc."  So if anyone is interested they can email Ali 

(girlsrugby@railwayunionrfc.com) for more information or look at the information on the Rugby Noticeboard outside L5.  You can also find the relevant information by following the link below;

http://www.railwayunionrfc.com/index.php/2013-05-27-09-39-46/item/115-leinster-school-of-excellence-on-tour-for-girls-too

Friendship Honour Belief

MATCH REPORT: Salesians College Celbridge 30 - St Mac Dara's 0

You learn more about a team from a defeat than you do from a victory.  You learn about things like leadership and friendship, things like commitment, like dignity and honour.  If you watch a team that has been held scoreless applaud their opponents off the pitch, thank the referee and then rededicate themselves to each other then you can be very proud of that team.  That is a team, in the purest, simplest and most honest form.  That is a group of men, not boys.

Today our Boys Senior Rugby team played their first match in the Development Cup against Salesians College Celbridge in NUIM Barnhall.  We kicked off at just five past one and then had a period of six-and-a-half minutes sustained pressure in the Salesians half.  We applied huge pressure on them and kept recycling the ball through the forwards but Salesians were eventually able to kick the ball into space behind us to take some pressure off themselves.  This pressure was swiftly applied to us and some quick passing from the right unleashed their left winger who crossed for the first of his trys. 

In previous games our set-pieces have provided us with solid platforms to build from.  Today our scrums were an excellent attacking option and apart from one that we lost simply because of a wild ball our scrums were dominant.  Well done to new player David Holmes (Hooker) who packed down and put on a great display.  Mitchell Manning (Flanker) was also new to the game and performed really well, despite being dropped in the deep end.  Our lineouts were not as relaible and Salesians managed to steal our ball a number of times, robbing us of opportunities to convert our pressure into points.

After another six minutes the Salesians winger had struck again.  We were stuck with the ball in our forwards with the option to "pick and go" being chosen rather than choosing to push the ball out to the wings.  Ultimately this is what cost us.  Jonathan Kelly and Jake Carroll put in sterling service as the half-backs today and deserve great credit for their initative.  Owen Walsh and Adam Carruth were the eager and hungry wingers, playing in their first ever rugby matches for St Mac Dara's, while Darren Kelly and Alex Walsh were also novices not just in their centre partnership, but also in playing rugby for their school.  The most dynamic player on the field today, and the one who gave us the most territory in attack but also provided a strong defensive display was Liam Delaney (Fullback).  Liam, like all of our backs, was playing his first game for his school, but used his skills and ability from soccer and football to great effect, running good probing lines and fielding the ball to great effect.

Our forwards were the veterans and it was they who kept everybody's heads up during play.  Andrew Hayden (Number 8 and Senior Captain) deserves great credit for his leadership, as was also shown by Ross Coyle (Flanker) and all of the forwards.

Here's the team on the bus back to school, after a stirring rendition of "Call me Baby".  Nothing wrong with their team-spirit.  Well done lads.

The Numbers.

Tries. St Mac Dara's 0, Salesians Celbridge 6
Possession. St Mac Dara's 35 minutes. 50%. Salesians 35m. 50%.
Territory. St Mac Dara's 60%. Salesians 40%.

Line-Outs. St Mac Dara's 6 (1). Salesians 3 (3).
Scrums. St Mac Dara's 7 (6). Salesians 5 (3).
Penalties conceded. St Mac Dara's 4.  Salesians 5.

Mere is coming!

We 're honoured to be visited by Mere Baker (pronounced "Midi") tomorrow and for the next two Thursdays.  Mere will be coaching the Girls Squad from 4.30 until 5.30 on Thursday October 10, 17 and 24.  Of course anyone who wants to leave at 5.00 can go but being coached by someone of Mere's calibre and experience is a pretty big deal and we would urge everyone to take full advantage of this opportunity.

This is a great opportunity for the girls as Mere is a former New Zealand Senior Player and is a World Cup winner, as well as a six-time winner of the Hong Kong SEVENS Tournament, the most prestigious sevens rugby tournament in the world.  She's also the only female Level 2 qualified coach in Ireland.  So, Mere is a big deal, and her coming out to coach in St Mac Dara's is also a big deal!

She's the nicest scary person you'll ever meet!

Sky Sports LfS First ATHLETE MENTOR Visit

This afternoon the Girls Rugby Squad of St Mac Dara's Community College in Templeogue had their first Athlete Mentor visit as part of their participation in the Sky Sports Living for Sports project.  We were thrilled to meet Dermot Gascoyne who gave a talk on the importance of sports in his life and the difference sport made to him.  Dermot's talk was extremely frank and open, dealing with the difficulties he had in growing up and in the tough decisions he had to make to become a professional heavyweight boxer.  The girls were fascinated by his talk and were really motivated by his message.  There was a great question-and-answer session with Dermot too and the girls asked a lot about his motivations and his experiences as a professional sportsman.  There was a lot of fun and banter throughout the talk and a great atmosphere in the classroom.

Dermot was accompanied by Natalya Coyle, one of Ireland's Olympians from last year's games in London.  It was a great experience to meet someone who had represented Ireland at the Olympic Games and Natalya also had a lot to tell the girls about her experience and what drives her.  She was going to swim six kilometres worth of lengths after she left us!  That's dedication for you.

 

Dermot then brought us outside and had us play a couple of games to get us moving and enjoying ourselves.  He then wanted us to show him one of our drills from training.  He got stuck in too and had a great time, coaching the girls who were taking part in the drill, as well as coaching the girls who were running the drill.  A real multi-tasker.  Dermot also had the girls show him how good their boxing skills were.

Back inside then for a quick cup of tea and some treats that the girls had made especially for our guests and some more chat.

It's hard to express how fantastic an experience this was for the rugby girls of St Mac Dara's Community College.  Everyone was very moved and inspired by Dermot's talk and he had some great advice for everyone, from the newest first-year players to the grizzled veterans of sixth-year.  We've gotten plenty of inspiration from today and we're really looking forward to working further with Sky Sports and the Living for Sports project.

MATCH REPORT: Presentation Carlow 17, St Mac Dara's 28

It's a long way to Carlow, but that was the venue for our first round fixture for the Junior Squad in the Development Cup.  The bus left promptly at 10.20, straight after an impromptu team-talk from Mr Donnelly.

It took us about an hour-and-a-half to get to Carlow Rugby Club grounds but we made it just in time for a quick warm-up and then our opponents, Presentation College Carlow kicked off our match.  The first ten minutes was all about the set pieces, with four scrums and two line-outs taking place.  The same kind of set-piece dominance displayed by the St Mac Dara's pack in our last game could be seen again today.  In fact we never lost a scrum on our put-in, nor did we fail to reclaim the ball on any time it was our throw-in to the line-out.  We even poached a few of the opposition's set pieces!

Nervousness and a slightly greasy pitch underfoot accounted for all of the early handling errors and the amount of set-pieces.  Although we were steady in our scrummaging an early break from Carlow allowed them the first score of the game on the 15 minute mark.  They failed to convert but our restart was very quickly claimed by Carlow leading them to put more pressure on us.  We conceded a penalty for not releasing and managed to sustain the mounting pressure from the Carlow lads from three quick line-outs, on opposite ends of the pitch, in the space of two minutes.  This remained the pattern of play until nearly the end of the half, with Pres Carlow attempting to put pressure on us through their set-pieces and managing to steal ball from us through their rucking.  Some great pressure was put on them by Luke Hill (Lock) and the rest of the forwards.  Our defence was solid though and eventually Carlow were penalised for going off their feet in a ruck.  Jake Miller (scrumhalf) took a quick tap and unleashed our backs.  Conor Ryan (Outside Centre) eventually put us on the scoreboard two minutes before half-time with a great try, which Jake Carroll (Inside Centre) handily converted.  5-7 to us.  Half-time.

The teamtalk at half-time was fairly animated, to say the least, but the St Mac Dara's team knew they had the strength and ability to win the game.  Rucking was identified as one of our weaknesses and an area that the players resolved to improve.  The second half saw Mark Reneghan (Lock) and Luke Alford (8 & captain) conduct a masterclass in possessive rucking and offensive counter-rucking.  The Carlow No. 8 had stolen so much ball from us in the first half but in the second half he didn't get to touch one!  This new-found aggression lead to a great try from William Kelly (Hooker) only three-and-a-half minutes into the second half.  William had a great defensive game in the first half and was constantly and consistently the first player up from Mac Dara's to put pressure on Carlow and to make his tackles.  He was also a great vocal presence on the pitch and really helped to drive the team.  Another perfect conversion from Jake and the game was back on.  At almost fifteen minutes into the second half Jake Miller showed great initative and used a choke tackle to turn-over possession.  Our pressure was constant and paid off when Andrew Hayden (Flanker) scored a great try at the twenty-minute mark.  Another perfect conversion from Jake and we're 5-21 ahead!

You're always most vulnerable just after you've scored and we leaked one four minutes later.*  Despite great pressure from us we conceded another try* five minutes later and with their score we were suddenly ahead by just four points.  Three minutes later William Kelly, in a man of the match performance, scored another try giving us the perfect spread heading into the last two minutes, especially after Jake scored his fourth conversion for a perfect 100% record.  The whistle went and we had recorded our first win of the season.  The first of many.  A special mention to the first years who made their debuts today. 

The bus trip back didn't seem to take as long as the trip down!

Tries. St Mac Dara's 4 (4), Presentation College Carlow 3 (1)
Possession. St Mac Dara's 35 minutes. 55%.  Carlow 25m. 45%.
Territory. St Mac Dara's 60%. Carlow 40%.

Line-Outs. St Mac Dara's 2 (2). Carlow 7 (5).
Scrums. St Mac Dara's 8 (8). Carlow 9 (7).

James Murphy, Mark Ryland, Conor Ryan, Jake Carroll, Ben Daly, Sean Redmond, Jake Miller, Luke Alford (c), Andrew Hayden, Charlie , Luke Hill, Mark Reneghan, Billy Hamilton, William Kelly, Aaron MacDonagh.
*It's always extremely important to respect the referee's decision, even when we think he's wrong.  And blind.  And from Carlow.

St Mac Dara's Girls & Sky Sports

There are only three weeks left until the mid-term break.  It's amazing how quickly the time is passing!  We've a very busy three weeks planned for the Girls Squad and it all kicks off on Monday the 7th of October.

The Girls Squad has been accepted onto the Sky Sports Living for Sport programme.  You can read some more about the programme here.  Our first ATHLETE MENTOR  visit will take place on Monday 7 when Dermot Gascoyne will visit St Mac Dara's and speak to the girls about the Living for Sport initiative.  It's going to be a lot of fun!

MATCH REPORT: St Mac Dara's 12, Balbriggan 24

The first League match of the new season was held on Thursday 26 September. It was a home game for St Mac Dara's and we were lucky enough to be able to borrow a pitch from Terenure College.  We got down with plenty of time to spare and had a nice warm-up.  The highlight was Mr Culleton's ability to hold back Aaron MacDonagh (prop) in a little contact warm-up. No way was Aaron pushing Mr Culleton back!

The referee (Johnny English - no messing!) started us off bang on time at half-one.  Within a minute Balbriggan had struck.  They had a great core group of athletic players who were able to take advantage of any gaps and rush to our try line.  Within two minutes we were seven - nil down.  Not an ideal start but the lads didn't let their heads go down even once. Throughout the entire game the St Mac Dara's philosophy was to attack and then to attack some more.

 

Our set-pieces were dominant throughout the entire game.  They provided our players with a great attacking platform and it was only through some scrambling defence that Balbriggan were able to keep St Mac Dara's from their line.  Three times during the first half we were within five metres of their lines and some handling errors turned over possession.  Balance was restored and some justice prevailed when Jake Carroll (Inside - Centre) scored after 22 minutes.  Jake then converted his try to bring things level.  Each time we attacked from one of our set-pieces we made great territory and forced Balbriggan back.  Our scrum was a great platform to attack off.

 

Our line-outs were also very effective and we maintained a 100 % strike-rate.  Some of our calls were ... interesting.  "Canterbury" and "x-ball" kept them guessing, while "Ball Ger Sma" had us all guessing.  William Kelly's throwing was flawless, and the way Andrew Hayden bossed both teams in the Line was great to see.  The defence being shown by players like Jake Miller and Jem O Ciaran from line-out play was also a big boost to us.

 

So half-time saw things all square.  Both teams were eager to get back in to things.  Unfortunately for us the second - half started the same as the first; Balbriggan broke through after a minute to score.  The possession and territory remained the same also, with players like James Murphy (Outhalf) and Luke Alford (Lock - Captain) putting great pressure on Balbriggan.  Our constant pressure was rewarded when eventually, finally, after being camped in their 22 for what felt like half-the-game Mark Reneghan (Lock) steam-rolled through the Balbriggan defence for a great score.  The angle was really tight and Jake wasn't able to convert the try unfortunately.  The game was turning into a war of attrition though and we had to move to uncontested scrums when Aaron strained his calf.  Billy Hamilton proved a worthy substitute for Aaron though, with his twin Dylan also making a great impression in his first game for St Mac Dara's.  William also strained his calf.  In fact Ms Galligan thought he was giving birth he was screaming so much!  The tiredness showed as soon Balbriggan ran two tries in and while we scrambled to get back at Balbriggan and put great pressure on their defence time ran out.

 

Our first match of the season.  A loss, against the run of play.  A great display of our technique and ability, and also a great display of the team-spirit of the St Mac Dara's Junior Boys. 

A big thanks to a lot of people.  Thanks to Paddy and Rory for being ball-boys and for sorting out the flags.  Eventually.  Thanks to all of our many water carriers who were kept really busy and gave great support to their team.  A special thanks to our referee, John English, who allowed the game to flow and never got in the way and used his whistle to teach as well as to run the game.

Some boring statistics:

Tries.  St Mac Dara's 2 (1), Balbriggan 4 (2)
Possession.  St Mac Dara's 40 m. 66%.  Balbriggan 20m. 34%.
Territory. St Mac Dara's 70%. Balbriggan 30%.

Line-Outs. St Mac Dara's 7 (7).  Balbriggan 4 (2).
Scrums.  St Mac Dara's 5 (4).  Balbriggan 4 (2).

Full team list will be added first thing Monday morning.  Or Tuesday maybe.  While not all players have been named all players deserve credit for putting in a great performance.

Junior Boys Match Thursday 26 September

Junior Boys will have a match this Thursday at 1.30 in Terenure College.  It's a home game for us but the Prior of Terenure College is very kindly allowing us the use of their facilities.

The match is against Balbriggan.  Meet in the Canteen at 12.20 (sixth period) for lunch and then we'll travel to the match.  We should be back to school for 3.40.

Training 19th September 2013

Well done to everyone who came out to training last Thursday.  Our numbers are good, but we're always looking out for more players so if you have a friend or classmate who would like to play then tell them to come out and join us.

The girls would like to say a big thank you to Su Carty, Women's Development Officer of the International Rugby Board, for coming out and taking a session with us.  It was great also to have Hugo, the head coach of the Mexican Women's Rugby Squad out with us also.  Su will be coming back to us next Thursday for another session so that's something to look forward to!

Junior Certificate Results!

Best of luck to all of our players receiving Junior Certificate results today.  We're looking forward to celebrating your results with an extra tough training session tomorrow!

Training, Thursday 12 September

Training this Thursday for ALL players, Boys & Girls.  Four o'clock sharp on the pitch.  Details of the session and the plan are on the noticeboard outside L5.

Remember you'll need your gumshields and your boots.  Bring a friend.  You'll change their life for the better!

Jenny Murphy and the Women's Six Nations trophy

On Thursday 5 September we were delighted to welcome Jenny Murphy of the Grand Slam winning Irish Women's Six Nations squad to the school.  Jenny even brought along the trophy!  Here she is with some of our senior players.

We spent nearly an hour with Jenny in the classroom where she gave the girls lots of background and details on her life and experience as a rugby player, as well as some useful tips on shampooing and the proper use of conditioner!  The girls had a great time and were really impressed with Jenny.  The Junior girls were a little bit star-struck;

Then Jenny spent the best part of another hour posing for photographs with the girls and signing everything put in front of her.  Her self-portrait on Elaine Boyd's mobile phone was priceless!  Jenny also agreed to come back and hold a training session with the girls some time soon.

We had a great day, and we have to give a huge thanks to Jenny for coming out and having so much banter and craic with the girls.  A huge thanks to Niall Neville of Leinster Rugby also for arranging the visit.

Thursday's Training Session

Training resumes this Thursday.  We have some fitness and conditioning drills ready to go and details of the drills will be posted up on the noticeboard across from L5 today.  Hopefully seeing what's coming up and what we're planning to do will help us get sessions up-and-running nice and quickly.

Don't forget as well that feedback is always welcome and if there is something you think we need to cover in training then please let us know.

See you all there!

G U M S H I E L D S ! !

Thursday? RUGBY Day!

We're delighted to announce that next Thursday we will be hosting the Amlin Challenge Cup Trophy, the RaboDirect PRO12 Trophy and the British & Irish Cup.  These form the treble of trophies won by Leinster Rugby last season.

We will also have the Women's Six Nations Trophy and (hopefully) one of the grand-slam winning players too.  There will be a chance for people to get out of class to get their photographs taken with the trophies, but only rugby players will be allowed out of class.

We will also kick-off training for the year next Thursday, so remember your gear and your gum-shield. Especially your gum-shield!

Thanks to Niall Neville of Leinster Rugby for offering to bring the trophies in to us.

Congratulations to Leaving Certificate Students

A quick congratulations to all of the St Mac Dara's RUGBY players who are receiving their Leaving Certificate results today.

Two weeks to the new season

So on the one hand it's terrible to see the end of the Summer Holidays looming, but on the other hand it does mean that we're close to the start of the new season.  Most clubs have already begun their pre-season training and there's also been a busy tag season throughout the summer so lots of our players have been kept really busy!

Timetables aren't ready yet so we can't confirm our training times just yet, but it looks like Thursday after school might be the best option at this stage, so pencil in Thursday 29 August as our first day of training!

And please, don't forget your gumshields, okay?

Railway Union launch Schools 7s Programme for this season

It's great to see that Railway Union RFC have launched their Schools 7s programme for the upcoming season.  We were fortunate enough to be involved last year in this programme and every girl who took part enjoyed it immensely, as well as gaining great experience from it.

The coaching is delivered under Mere Baker, a former New Zealand Women's Rugby player with vast experience in playing, coaching and winning (Hong Kong Sevens SIX times  - count 'em!).  She is a fantastic coach who always challenges and encourages players to perform to their best.

This year Railway Union RFC have expanded their programme to include Junior Players from first to third year.  This is a great opportunity to play and to develop and we will be collecting names for this programme right from the start of term.

Full details will be available by clicking on the link below.  There's also a video showcasing the great experience available also by clicking here. 

http://www.railwayunionrfc.com/index.php/2013-05-27-09-39-46/item/104-railway-launch-girls-7s

We also have to say well done to Railway Union, and especially their Director of Rugby John Cronin for having the courage and foresight to build women's rugby in Ireland from the ground up.  Thanks John!

IRFU SEVENS schoolgirl team

The IRFU are planning to enter a team in the UK School Games this September and are inviting applications from Irish schoolgirls who would like to join the team.  Full details can be found here: girlsSEVENSapplication

Screening days will take place in mid-July.  Best of luck to any of our players who are hoping to apply.  If you need any advice on completing the application form please feel free to get in touch using the email or phone number below.

Awards Night 2013

Congratulations to all of the RUGBY award winners at this years Sports & Cultural Awards ceremony.  Guest of Honour on the night was Fiona Coghlan, captain of the Grand Slam winning Irish Women's team.  It was a real privilege to have Fiona in attendance and our players were delighted to meet her.

Boys RUGBY Awards

First Year - Luke Hill.
Junior - Jonathan Kelly
Senior - Darren Martin

Girls RUGBY Awards

Junior - Sorcha Kampff
Senior - Lisa Callan

Medals were also presented to the winners of the following competitions:

Railway Union Girl's RUGBY 7s Tournament Plate Competition Winners

Sorcha Kampff, Claire Harrington, and Katie McGowan.

South Dublin Girl's RUGBY 7s Tournament Winners

Jessica Keating, Aoife McGowan, Sarah Carroll, Katie-Ann "Bambi" Bushe, Sorcha Kampff, Rebekah Hayden, Katie McGowan, Anna Sherlock, Lisa Callan, Laura Kilcoyne, Shauna Lehane and Aoife Lyons.

Player of the tournament was awarded to Lisa Callan.

Congratulations to everyone involved in rugby throughout St Mac Dara's Community College this year and thank you to everyone who made the effort to come out to training and to take part in matches and support us at matches.  Well done to all.

Gallery

Here are some photographs from our exploits over the last season for you to enjoy.  If anyone has any photographs that we may have missed feel free to contact us and let us know.



This is the gang outside the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff during the Wales Tour 2013

Kicking training at Sully Sports Centre on the last morning of the Wales Tour 2013. Yes it was that cold.

Here are members of the Girl's Squad with Nora Stapleton, Outhalf with the Grand Slam winning Irish Women's team at the recent South Dublin Tag Blitz.

The Boys and Girls Squads of 2011 / 2012 with the Heineken Cup and their coaches.

 

South Dublin Girl's Rugby Tag blitz 2012 - showing off our shiny new rucking pads too!

There's himself.

 

 

Welcome to the St Mac Dara's Community College RUGBY Blog

Hi everyone,

This blog is intended to help out everyone involved in RUGBY in St Mac Dara's Community College to keep in touch with each other.  It will help teachers and coaches to keep students and players informed on what is coming up, whether that's training or a match, and it will help parents and guardians to see all of the amazing things that their children are achieving in St Mac Dara's.

Keep an eye out for updates from the start of September on.  In the meantime enjoy the off-season.  Hopefully everyone will have a great break.  Best of luck to all of the RUGBY players from St Mac Dara's involved in exams.  See you all next season.

S Culleton.