Creggs Seconds travelled to Monivea last Sunday for the first game in the J1B league bottom 4 round-robin play-offs and came away with a hard-earned 19-13 victory.
With the Creggs J1A team getting a welcome break from competitive action, some members of that squad were eligible to play in this vital game, and they contributed handsomely to the win.
Callum Fahey put the visitors ahead with a 9th minute penalty, and he extended the Creggs lead to 6-0 when Monivea were penalised on the half hour mark, after a period of sustained pressure inside their 22.
Creggs were awarded a penalty try in the 35th minute when Mattie Curley was held up illegally near the try-line before Monivea broke downfield and almost scored on the resumption of play as Creggs momentarily switched off. However, staunch defence kept Creggs 13-0 ahead at half-time.
Monivea scored a try in the opening minute of the second half when their full-back Kevin Maher found a gap up the right touchline and touched down in the corner as Creggs were once again caught off guard. Boosted by this score, Monivea struck again shortly afterwards with a well-worked try following a clever chip over the Creggs defence.
A successful close-range penalty by Callum Fahey left Creggs ahead by 16-10 before a great break by Mark Kilcommons led to another opportunity for the sure-footed Fahey to nudge his side nine points ahead.
With tension mounting and errors increasing, Creggs conceded a penalty with a high tackle to leave just six points between the sides heading into the closing stages. Monivea threw everything into attack but Creggs held firm to deny them any potential late match-winning chances.
The entire Creggs squad performed very well on the day, with the bench making a significant contribution. A similar display will be needed against Ballyhaunis on Sunday next in Creggs in the second of the play-off games.
SENIOR WOMEN’S TEAM: The Creggs senior women’s team’s season came to an end on Sunday when they lost away to Sligo RFC in the semi-final of the Women’s Senior Cup.
After a very strong first 20 minutes when the scrum was on top and Creggs were held up just short on a couple of occasions, a breakaway score from Sligo seemed to knock the stuffing out of the Creggs ladies. Hard as they tried they never got their rhythm in attack and Sligo scored again just before half-time to take a 10-0 lead into the break.
Playing with the wind in the second half, Creggs had some cause for optimism but again mistakes proved costly and halted any momentum.
Sligo got in for a score to lead 15-0 with over 25 minutes remaining. Creggs continued to try their best but even positional changes just couldn’t provide sufficient spark on the day and Sligo ran in two further tries to win 25-0.
After an excellent league campaign, the Creggs ladies can look back favourably on the season after coming on so much from when they started last year.
U-16 BOYS: Creggs U-16 boys travelled to Athlone to take on Buccaneers in a rearranged round 1 game of the U-16 Cup last Saturday.
A poor start saw Creggs under pressure and a Buccaneers centre evaded three tackles to score in the corner. Creggs regained composure and after a couple of decent moves they gained a foothold in the opposition 22. Unfortunately, an intercept allowed the home side to get upfield and good hands from their backs saw their winger score under the posts. The conversion left the score at Creggs 0 Buccs 12 after just 12 minutes.
Creggs got more territory and better possession up until half-time but couldn’t break through a quick and aggressive Buccaneers defence leaving the half-time score at 12-0.
The second half saw the Creggs players express themselves better but a series of strong carries close to the Creggs line saw the hosts extend their lead by another seven.
Creggs continued to play good rugby and were rewarded after a good maul led to Conor Flynn crossing the line. Harry Waldron added the conversion to narrow the gap. The game was still alive but Buccs ensured they would see out the win with another try scored after good play from their strong pack. Final score: Creggs 7 Buccaneers 24.
Creggs RFC would like to wish Cathal Mulry well after he picked up a knee injury just before half-time. Thanks to those from both clubs who helped Cathal at the time. Next week they play Castlebar in round 2.
Panel: Cathal Mulry, Matthew Donnelly, Conor Hanson, Oisin Connolly, Andrej Anic, Kian Hughes, Joseph McSharry, Robbie McArdle, Sean Richardson, Harry Waldron, Sam Walsh, Domink Mrozek, Conor Flynn, Luke Hayes, Brian O’Connor, Callum Clarke, AJ Tully, Davy Fetherstone, Patrick Conneally, Patrick Zwierkcyz, Patrick Murray, Jamie Finneran.
U-13 BOYS: Creggs U-13 boys had their second game in the group stages of the cup last Saturday when they hosted Corinthians.
The visitors couldn’t have asked for a better start when they crossed over the line for an easily converted try to lead 7-0 after three minutes. The Creggs lads didn’t let that start faze them and they got right back into the game. It was tighthead prop Rian Davis who carried strongly to cross for five points. Unfortunately Rian had to go off with a bruised shoulder not long after.
Rian’s replacement Kyle Maloney was awarded a penalty try when he was illegally stopped short of the line. The score at half-time was 14-12 to Corinthians. As much as Creggs tried in the second half, they couldn’t add to their tally. A bigger, more athletic Corinthians squad added three tries to win the game 35-12.
Despite the scoreline the Creggs boys never gave up and showed great character and discipline. Next game up is away to Dunmore this weekend (7/8th of March).
BLITZ: Creggs hosted the 2025 U-11s Connacht Festival last Saturday. There were 16 teams from 13 clubs across the province with about 250 children partaking in the event.
The kids really enjoyed meeting our special guest, Connacht player Santiago Cordero who gave some words of wisdom and indeed Connacht head coach Pete Wilkins who was also in attendance.
LOTTO: There was no winner of last week’s Creggs Lotto which now stands at €4,500. The lucky dip winner was Anita Fannon. Please support Creggs Lotto. This week’s bonus prize are tickets to the Connacht v Cardiff URC game with the following week’s lucky dip prize being tickets for the sold out Connacht v Munster game in MacHale Park.
To be in with a chance of winning while also supporting the club, please contact any Creggs committee member for details on how to enter the draw or please check www.creggsrugby.ie or any of our social media channels for further details.
