Firsts

Sunday was going to be vital and was with buccaneers the visitors to Cloondeash. In a game that showed the true fighting spirit of this team and how determined they are this year, they held out to win by just a single point. The try coming from Paul Coady with Diarmuid Byrne scoring the rest of the points. Paul Hannify scored Buccaneers three penalties. We are currently top of the table by just one point from Westport with Monivea behind in third. The next two games are now the most vital of the season with the trip to Monivea in two weeks followed by a home game with Westport that could realistically decide the league. It is a wonderful testament to rugby in the county that two sides are currently top and everyone is counting the days to the Monivea game. A full round preview will feature next week.

Castlebar: Paul Coady, Paddy Flannelly, Jason Keane, Darren Claasen, Diarmuid Byrne, Robbie Cusack, Christy Cusack, Mike Campbell, Tadgh Kirby, Enda Murphy, Ger Prendegast, Alex Goor, Kevin Cox, Paddy Durcan, Rayno DeKock.

Replacements: Simon O’Malley, Sheamus Devaney.

Ladies

Training continues on Wednesday evenings and all players travelling are asked to be at the courthouse at half six. New players are always welcome as the team continue their preparations. Contact Nicola for more details.

The under 18 team were in action on Sunday when they travelled to Creggs for a game that would be tough for the lads. However, it did not look that way as Nigel Byrne, Padraic Healy and Danny Cunningham who scored two in a 24 – 5 win. This is an excellent team display and shows that this team are seriously going places. A team to watch for the rest of the season.

Castlebar: S Cunnane, I McDonagh, A McNulty, C Rogan, R Moran, L Sweeney, D Staunton, M Gill, P O’Malley, R Conway, N Byrne (Capt), S McLoughlin, T Murphy, J Derrig, D Cunningham, M Moran, M O’Neill, R Irwin.

Castlebar hosted a mini blitz with Connemara who brought up a full bus of players to play us. Castlebar fielded teams at under 8,9,10,11 and 12 levels. Connemara came with the intention of playing well and brought the best out of the Castlebar teams and some excellent rugby was played with wins and losses for all teams. This was a wonderful practice for the Connacht blitz and all coaches were delighted with how their teams played. Special thanks must go to the ladies who looked after all the players with food and refreshments.

Next weekend the underage teams travel to Sligo with the bus leaving from the courthouse at 9am and it is hoped that the bus will be back in Castlebar at 2.45pm.