West Offaly Lions News

Ballinasloe V  West Offaly Lions

The season so far has got of to a good start for the West Offaly Lions picking up where we left off last yerar with some impressive rugby and with 4 wins out of 4. On october 24th the lions travelled to Ballinasloe and in what was a hard night and the rugby was just as tough as well with the lions under pressure from the off but to there credit the composed themselves well and began to break down the stronge Ballinasloe defence and began to find the space which eventually lead to the first try of the night which was scored by Ritchie Clancy. The lions crossed over for another try in the first half and two more in the second in what was their best display of rugby this season with the players running good lines and off loading well and working the phases. Although it was a good win for the lions they will be disappointed that they took so long to really close the game off going most of the second half without scoring and defending the gain line but this was credit to the never say die attitude of a Ballinasloe team who were looking to score the first try this year against the lions but it wasn't to be and the lions held out for a 30- 0 win.

Westport   V   W.O.L.

The Lions made the long trip west last sunday to Westport to play a much fancied Westport Bulls side and the Lions weren't disappointed. The lions have never beaten the Bulls at home and we knew going there it was going to be a huge task but one which they would not shy away from.  The game started at a very fast pace with both sides not willing to give an inch in the rucks and mauls and this proved to be the story for the day, but when the lions did get it to the backs thats when they started to carve the holes and the off loading game started to take shape with Donal Corbett making a great break and going over for the first try af the game, Tomas Bennett then crossed over soon enough for the second try when given a great off load by Ciaran Coughlan and a miss match with scrum half and prop to touch down under the posts, the lions got flowing and looked very fluent when moving and should have had more points to the score board but it wasnt until the second half until the lions crossed again with a brilliant try, under serious pressure in there own 22 Ciaran Coughlan robbed the ball poped to Rory Walshe who sped away he then off loaded to Niall Flaherty just inside his own half way line who in turn used his pace to out run 3 Westport players only to be caught by the full back under the posts but he had the awareness to pop the ball to the ever supporting Tom Gilligan who touched down under the post and scored the follow up conversion. This did not how ever stop Westport and they went looking for blood and were with 13 men camped inside the West Offaly 22 for the remainder of the half but the stronge Lions defence proved why they haven't conceeded a try this season by meeting every attack head on and holding onto their nil scoreline which is a huge achievment especially to a stronge Westport team. The game ended 24 - 0 to a tough day on the field and to a welcome break.

West Offaly Lions R.F.C had a fantastic win over Gort in the Connaught J1B League in Ferbane on Sunday 18^th October 2009.

From the kick off, West Offaly Lions had Gort under pressure with a huge charge forward by team captain Ronan Guinan who led from the front throughout the entire game.

West Offaly Lions first score came from a great pass from Jason Clancy who put Tom Gilligan through for the home teams' first try, which unfortunately was not converted. After 30 minutes of play Gort had 2 missed penalty kicks. West Offaly Lions place kicker Donal Corbett found his kicking boots with two successful penalty kicks. Gorts' only score of the day was a penalty kick leaving the score line 11-3 at half time in favour of West Offaly Lions.

While not playing well in the first half West Offaly Lions found their rhythm in the second half and began to take control of the game. Scores came from a try by Thomas Bennett and converted by Donal Corbett. Soon after, Tom Gilligan stormed over the line for his second try again converted by Donal Corbett to put the game out of Gorts reach. In the last few minutes after the best move of the day by Richie Clancy and Ciaran Coughlan, Rory Walsh crossed the line for West Offaly Lions fourth try converted by Donal Corbett to leave a finishing score line of West Offaly Lions 32, Gort 3.

Development Team

West Offaly Lions Development team played the Galwegians in the Connaught J2 South League also in Ferbane with an early kick off at 1pm, it was a very evenly fought contest with both sets of forwards unwilling to give an inch and it proved to be this way for much of the day, the lions how ever with a smaller pack got wore down from added pressure and got sucked into the rucks this gave the Galwegians side the opportunity they needed and they crossed the line. The lions did fight back and were very unlucky not to have gone into the second half in front when they were stopped short of the Wegians line on two occasions late in the first half. The second half proved to be much like the first a battle of the forwards The Galwegians forwards were that bit stronger on the day and wore the pack down again and were clinical in there finishing converting the only two chances they got which proved the turning point on the day. The lions can take a lot from this game they battled hard and with just a little more composure in front of the line the team will turn these results around. The final score of the day was 18-5.

Thanks to our food sponsors Supermacs' Ferbane, and also to Danny Gleeson (Gleeson's Bar & Lounge)

 

The West Offaly Lions commenced their playing season in the Connaught J1B League with a winning score line of 28 - 3 over a fine Ballyhaunis team on Sunday 4^th October 2009 in Ferbane.

After a lot of West offaly pressure the first score of the match came from a penalty kick by scrumhalf Paul Deely, who went on to score a further 2 penalties during the game.the Lions had the Ballyhaunis team under a lot of pressure but in fairness there defence stood strong and it wasnt until late in the first half that Colin Malone crossed for the first try and Anthony Quinn crossed half way through the second half for the second try which the conversions were kicked by Paul Deely who's place kicking was excellent all day. Donal Corbett came on in place of the injured Richie Clancy, this being the only substitution of the day for the home team and West offaly started to carve holes and gaps in the Ballyhaunis defence but only for silly mistakes and handling errors the Lions cold not increase there score. Ballyhaunis did force the Lions into defence for a lot of the second half in search of a score but Ballyhaunis's only score of the day was from a penalty kick taken by Martin Finnegan in the second half of the game, which pays tribuite to the hard work done in defence by the West Offaly Lions.The final score came from a try by team captain Ronan Guinan. However, on this occasion the West Offaly Lions failed to make the conversion with a near miss by Paul Deely. It was a good start to what promises  to be an interesting season for the West Offaly Lions and hopefully the wins continue.

Many thanks to Danny Gleeson (Gleesons Bar & Lounge, Ferbane) for the use of his premises after the match. Also thanks to the management and staff of Supermacs in Ferbane as sponsors of the food for the season.

 

MINI Rugby continues next Sunday 11^th October 2009, at the Technical Field in Ferbane at 11.30am. All welcome.

So the new season is just around the corner and preperations are already well under way to insure the lions get off to as good a start as last season and hopefully go one step further and gain promotion. Training has been back in full swing now for the last couple of weeks under the new guidance of manager Geoff Kenny and the sessions have been tough but enjoyable numbers are reasonably good but are set to improve once the remaining fixtures in the GAA calender are played out with players from all the surrounding clubs still involved in the business end of fixtures, the awards night took place a few weeks ago in the Haggart in Gleesons Bar Ferbane and a very enjoyable night was had by every one there with Tomas Bennett, Danny Gleeson, Jeffery Cuskley and Ronan Guinan all recieving awards for their efforts throughout the year. There are a number of games fixed for the lions before the season starts and with every man fighting for his place it promises to be a tough and keenly contested season for the lions.

 

Pictured at W.O.L AGM is Danny Gleeson (Centre) presenting a cheque to President Peter Mooney (left) for sponsorship for medical kit for the W.O.L Development Team. Also pictured is Charlie Couper (right) head coach.

 

So the curtain closes on the West Offaly Lions second competitive season in junior rugby in what was all in all a successful season for the club. The first team came agonisingly close to promotion into the J1A division only to be piped at end line in a promotion playoff by local rivals Buccaneers in Ballinasloe, it was a step up for the lions and although they competed well and never shied away a few lessons were learned in what it takes to compete at a higher level, but it all bodes well for next season and the hunger is there from all involved to bring this club on further, the second team played well in some games and not so well in the others but it was a huge success for the club to be able to field two teams in there competitive leagues, the main problem with the second team was lack of practice together but as with the first team these are all lessons learned and to be taken forward to next year.

An outstanding performance in their last league game leaves West Offaly Lions on top of the pile which is a tremendous achievment in their first season in this division.The adult team who were promoted last year in their inaugural season will now have a play off most likely against Buccaneers to enter into the A.I.L Qualifying league. Carrick did not lie down but this WOL outfit were determined to finish the campaign with a bonus point win and all the nerves were placated when a Keenaghan special was followed by three more tries
before half time. The West Offaly Lions faithful fans were treated to 3 more tries in the second half when mistakes as well as resolute defence prevented wol from opening the floodgates. Again it is hard to pick out individuals in what was a superb collective effort but Jason Clancy and Julian Walshe brought a fresh impetous to the pack and Tom Gilligan and Brian Gleeson were prominent in an improving backline.

MINIS
The under 12s played outstanding rugby in theConnacht Blitz in tuam winning 4 of their 5 games many thanks to Donie Kenny and Connor Galvin for looking after the lads.The same day the u8s and 10s were in ballinasloe and they aquitted themselves admirably under the tutelage of Brian O Carroll Ray Carrroll and Roy Fletcher.
Many thanks to all the parents who travelled.Buccaneers bring over their whole mini section next SUNDAY .So its all hands on deck for an 11.15 start.
U14s coach Padraig Flaherty spent a few days in hospital last week but we hope to see him up and about for this weeks 12 oclock session on saturday

An inept first half performance by West offaly lions led to their first league defeat out of nine starts in the league.
The lions will now need to collect a bonus point in their last outing against Carrick on Sunday.But they havent done this all season so the chances of scoring 4 tries are remote even with a home venue unless the lions can have an inspired performance. Discipline as usual was the lions greatest opponent and unless players grow up and do what their asked then the hopes of promotion will be thrown away. NUIG had a very basic game plan, kick the ball behind the lions defence and wait for a mistake. Eventually it came with an intercept try and a mix up in defence just before half time and then a soft score after the break. Cue W.O.L. response as they realised too late that if you kick the ball against the wind its going to be returned with interest and they kept the ball in hand and scored a try, touched down by Anthony Quinn but unfortunatly it was not converted, the lions continued to storm the nuig line gaining penalties in front of the posts until a knock on brought the final whistle. It was a valuable lesson for the lions, but hopefully come next Saturday the lions will be victorious along with a bonus point.

Monivea did the double against a weakened development team despite a Myers try and Flaherty penalty the lions had countless opportunities to win the game but lack of training together left them wanting. It was a much improved performance on there last outing but performing isn't enough all to often the development team have performed well but its the result that really matters and this can only really be addressed with work on the training field and with two league game's left lets hope their on the right side of the results.

U14 match tbc next saturday

Mini training next sunday at 11.30 in the school field.

The West Offaly Lions made the long journey to Clifden  Co. Galway home of the Connemara Blacks for what turned out to be an entrawling game that could have swung either way but thankfully at the final whistle it was in the favor of the Offaly side.

The West Offaly Lions got off to a wonderfull start when center Tom Gilligan latched onto a long pass from the Connemara out half and sprinted from his own 22 to touch down under the posts which in turn was converted by Donal Corbett but after this the Lions never really seezed control of the game and although Corbett added another three points for a penalty the Connemara Blacks were slowly getting a foothold in the game they started putting together some good phases until eventually the barrier was broken the ball was shipped out wide from a ruck and touched down by the winger they added the conversion and it was game on. Connemara then added another penalty to edge them infront but they never really threatened the try line for the remainder of the half. The second half began and it was tit for tat Corbett added a penalty to level matters and it looked as though it was heading for deadlock, the Lions had one excellent break in the second half but failed to excute the chance, then deep in Connemara teority and after a clearing kick from their out half, Brian Gleeson took a quick line out, after some unsavory comments to the touch judge the referee awarded a penalty to the lions on the 22 right beside the touch line and the pressure was on, Corbett pointed to the posts placed his kick and bisected the uprights straight down the middle a huge roar went up from the travelling supporters it was game over. Every man stood up and was counted and there were some fine displays all over the field from Adrian Coughlan,  Liam Browne and Sean Henry in the forwards to Richie Clancy and Jeffery Cuskley in the backs to name just a few, from 1 to 15 it was a huge performance now the league is in there grasp. Come on the Lions

 Training continues Tuesday evening on the asto turf

During the recent festivities the West Offaly Lions had their Christmas dinner in Hineys Ferbane on Tuesday the 23rd of December, a good night was to be had by all. We would like to extend a huge thanks to Damien Spollen who put up a faultless night for the lions with plenty of food, drink and excellent music. We would also like to thank Damien for all the work and sponsorship he has put into the club over the last few seasons as to all our other sponsors as well it is greatly apperciated.

 Peter and Seamus presenting Damien with the club polo shirt and club tie.

We also took this oppertunity to present Alision Couper wife of Charlie Couper with a bouquet of flowers just something small to say thank you from the club, great patience is required in such circumstances and this woman has this in abundance.

Team Captain Ronnie presenting Alision with a bouquet of flowers.

Last Tuesday the 2nd of December saw the presentation of the team polo shirts to some of the team sponsors, Brendan and David Flaherty of Flaherty Fuels Ferbane and Paddy Molloy of Gem Garden Centre Cloghan. We would like to thank all our sponsors for there commitment to the club because without them the club could not survive.

Captains Ronan Guinan and William Farrell presenting Brendan and David Flaherty with the team Polo shirt

Ronnie and Willie presenting Paddy Molloy with the team polo shirt.

We would also like to extend a huge thank you to Ann Marie Sorohan of Ferbane Pharmacy who also made a presentation of a full medical kit to the club.

Annemarie presenting Peter Mooney and Seamus Guinan with the fully equipt medical kit

Also thank you to Danny Gleeson for hosting the presentation as well.

West Offaly Lions develoment team made their first expedition to monivea on sunday and in a hard fought but sporting game just came up short against a strong home outfit. Despite giving away a 7 pointer early on the Lions came back with a fine Cuskelly try converted and then added to which put them ahead 10- 7 at the break. However the home side came back strongly with a 70 metre try and then camped in the Offaly 22. A series of 5 metre scrums for West Offaly Lions were wasted and then a missed penalty that would have given them an unlikely 13-12 win before the referee finally blew for full time. A good effort by West Offaly Lions as this monivea outfit had beaten the first team in Ferbane last year and  a continued good turnout at training will bring better results.

West Offaly Lions: S Cornally, J Egan, T Butler, P Flaherty, J Cuskelly, G Moony, C Coughlan, P Malone, J Walshe, D Gleeson, A Coughlan, C Scott, W Farrell[capt]
S Henry Subs, I Rock, N Buckly, R Daly, C Malone, A Gunning, M Doolan

 

J1- Dunmore 10 - West Offaly Lions 16

J2- Loughrea 5 - West Offaly Lions 10

A huge day in the short history of the club as both the first team and the development team scored league wins. The first team travelled to the beautifully appointed Dunmore grounds for their first ever game against the local team West Offaly Lions were first off the mark with a Corbett penalty which was followed by another straightforward kick but Dunmore came back with a try brilliantly converted from the touchline. Just before half time West Offaly Lions scored with backs and forwards combining to put Tom Gilligan in for a good try with Corbett again doing the needful. As play ebbed and flowed in the 2nd half both defences were to the fore as a penalty apiece were the only additions to the score line. West Offaly Lions were well pleased to come away from Dunmore with a win but even better news filtered through from Loughrea as John Egan's brace of tries secured their first league points against a physical home outfit with Sean Henry Adrian Coughlan and Captain Willie Farrell and Alan gunning outstanding. It was a tense last 15 minutes with the defence holding very solid and with a little more work on the training ground this team will dramatically improve.

Training continues Friday in Guinans field at 7.30

 

West Offaly Lions 23 - Ballinrobe 6

West Offaly Lions scored another win in the Connaught league against a strong Ballinrobe side in the nun's field last weekend. Two tries by centre Tom Gilligan were the difference, coupled with Donal Corbetts immaculate goal kicking. Again West Offaly Lions experienced difficulties in the scrum but ruled the line outs and along with some great defence this pulled them through the tie. Ciaran Coughlan and Ronan Guinan were outstanding in the loose in a side that will
need to maintain their disciplines if it's to continue its league run.

 

West Offaly Lions 0 - Corinthians 17

Development team continued their league programme last Sunday and were better organised this week with a number of subs, though still missing a few key players. Stephen Cornally the Moony brothers and Frankie Kenna were best in a side that needs to train together to attain the results their talent deserves. It was a good performance overall but with training the development side aren't far off there first league victory which in turn will instil some confidence in the team.

 

The month so far has seen some good and not so good displays from the lions on October the 5^th the lions played host to two teams, it was a momentous occasion as on this weekend the lions produced two senior teams the j2 teams who had a very exciting and hard contest against Ballinasloe and the j1 team had a tough had battle against a very well organised Buccaneer's u20 side, although both teams were on the end of defeats it was not going to take away from the occasion that was for a club that is very new to rugby and only in its second season in senior rugby producing two senior teams both of whom acquitted themselves very well against the two teams, who have had a lot more match practice than either lions team. There were some excellent displays from both team with Rogger and Jeffery putting in fine displays on both wings and Paddy Marshall at out half for the j2's and Ronnie, Quinny and Steve Rourke to name a few from the j1 team.

 

October the 12^th saw the visit of the Westport Bulls to the home of the Lions for a tough hard battle. Both side had met last season in j2 and if last season's matches were anything to go by this one was going to live up to expectation with the two teams going at each other from the off the Lions were to cross the line first with a Donall Corbett kick through which he touched down himself but the try was not given, this did not stop the lions from trying to penetrate the Westport defence with Tom Gilligan making some excellent line breaks and offloads and his hard work was duly rewarded with a sublime try in the closing stages of the first half, the second half started as the first had finished with huge intensity and work rate from 1 - 15 and it was Aidan Keenaghan who struck next with a great try on the wing and minutes later Anthony Quinn touched down after some hard dogged work from the forwards Jason Kelly converted and an earlier Matt Boland penalty left the score line 22 - 0. It was an excellent team display from everyone, from Frankie Kenna and Julian Walsh and Ciaran Coughlan in the forwards to Tom Gilligan, Ritchie Clancy and Aidan Keenaghan in the backline, no man gave a yard and it's a good reward to the hard work been put in by Charlie, Peter, Seamus and all those involved in the training sessions which are continuing every Tuesday and Friday night in the school pitch at half seven.

The j2 team travelled away to Galway to play OLBC and the team were severly hit by injuries, the went down bad to the OLBC team loosing 53- 0 it was a poor display considering the early preformance against Balinasloe which was overall a very good show by the lions, much work is needed if they are to compete at this level and extra numbers are needed at the training sessions, hopefully once injuries clear up and others return the j2 team will start to preform like they know they can, its give something to work on in training and the only way is up.

Seniors  - Connaught J1b league
Gort 17 - W.O.L. 27

       Newly promoted West Offaly Lions won their inaugural game in this league when they travelled to Gort R.F.C. on Sunday. This was a massive win against a side which won the junior cup two years ago. This was a tribute to the Lions pre-season training which though still is somewhat undercooked was a big step up from last year. West Offaly Lions began well but didn't have it all there own way as Gort proved very strong in the forwards causing problems in the line out and scrums. If it was not for a last ditch tackle from Stephen Rourke, the side's would have went in at half time a lot closer but as it was after 40 mins the lions went in with a 10 point to nil advantage over there opponents. This was achieved by a trademark Donal Corbett run which he converted and a Matt Boland drop goal. Gort however proved doughty opponents and came back into the game with tries to level the scores and with this added pressure it lead to a tense and nail biting second half, with both sides unwilling to concede the slightest hint of forward movement.
The lions pressured hard and two further scores by Anthony Quinn, Richard Clancy  and another Corbett penalty left the Lions worthy winners despite a late Gort score.

It was a good overall team effort with captain Ronnie Guinan leading the way, W.O.L. will need to get to grips with the ELVs and work on their scrummaging before the next match.

Training as usual at 7 in the nun's field on Tuesday evening.

 

West Offaly Lions got their season off with a tough gruelling match against the Leinster j1 side Athy. Despite being without several of last seasons regulars the Lions acquitted themselves well in the warm humid conditions. Such was the appetite to do well by both side's that every ruck, maul and break was contested full blooded and whole hearted. Both side's fought hard to gain the yards and find the breaks, and although the pre-season has been going well for the lions the four previous matches which Athy had under their belts really stood out as they seemed just that little bit sharper match wise, but it give the lions something to think about for training Tuesday night. Newcomers Roger Quinn, Cathal Scott, Julian Walshe and Stephen Rourke made fine contributions. Next week we will travel to Gort for a league game at 3pm on Sunday. It's the first league match of the season and we hope to make it a good one with a win to start the season off.

Also best wishes to Ian bracken for a speedy recovery from injury.

Congratulations to all those involved in Tag Rugby in aid of cancer on a well organised and successful day.

U.14 training starts on Saturday at 11.30 in the nun's field and Padraig Flaherty and his helpers Collie Malone and George Mooney welcome all new members.

 

The W.O.L. Senior team play their first game this Sunday at 2pm in the school field against Athy R.F.C. After a good pre season W.O.L are now in full swing and training continues on every Monday and Friday nights at 7pm in the nuns field, with some new faces training is as intense as last year if not more so and competition for positions is strong, all new players are welcome .Our first league game is on the horizon with an away trip to Gort R.F.C. fixed for Sunday the 28^th of September.

MINS Our mini teams started last Sunday in horrendous conditions and training continues every Sunday in the school field in Ferbane
at 11.30am with squads at u7.u8.u9.u10.u11. And u12. New boys and girls are especially welcome.

Training commences for the u-14's this Saturday the 27^th in the nuns field at 11.30am sharp all are welcome.

Six of our coaches recently attained the IRFU mini coaching certificate .Congratulations to Connor Wynne, Padraig Flaherty, Steven Auret, Tommy Rickard, Brian O Carroll and Connor Galvin.
YOUR support is needed this Sunday for a charity tag rugby game at 12.30 in the school field Ferbane in aid of cancer awareness.

 

After a brief break during the summer and with the tag rugby over it's back down to the business end of things for the Lions adult team, with training getting underway Monday last the 11^th August, in what can only be describe as an Irish summers evening the numbers turned up and training commenced in the wet and blustery conditions of the tech field which has held up very well considering the recent weather we had.

Training was intense and hard considering it was the first training session of the new season and it's great to see the players and coaches desire to get things going, and if the first training session is anything to go by well it's going to be

a good tough season ahead. We expect the numbers to increase greatly as a lot of players are still involved in both hurling and football championship games in Offaly and this will only lead to huge competition for places for both the first and second teams and with also a number of new faces and old faces coming to join the Lions there will be a lot of headaches for the management which is to be Charlie Couper and Co. for the first team and Peter Auret and Co. coaching the seconds, an interesting and intense season lies ahead for the Lions,

Training will take place every Monday evening at 7.30 sharp in the NUN'S FIELD unless notified otherwise.

May this season bring as much success as the last!

 

West Offaly Lions in conjunction with The Prince Bar Athlone recently held a Tag Rugby tournament in the school pitch in Ferbane. It began on the 28th of May and ran continuously right up until the 9th of July come rain or shine. The turn out for the matches every week was excellent and each team was able to play three different matches each week. The tournament was played on a league format with the finals been played on the 9th of July. Each team got to play in a final from the cup right down to the spoon. There were four finals and they were contested by:

Connacht Cup Semi Final Heartbreak

Westport 14 - W.O.L. 12
 
W.O.L. season came to a controversial end when they were put out of the cup in contentious circumstances, a Westport player charged down the conversion in front of the posts of Ronan (Ronnie) Guinans try. The player took a punt and the referee deemed the kicker had started his run!
The match was played in extremely bad conditions with a constant down poor for the duration of the 80 minutes but this did not take away from the efforts of both teams who served up an entertaining game.
After a great start when they were over the line twice in the first few minutes W.O.L were put under pressure by a strong bulls pack and were
somewhat lucky to concede only one score . Mistakes when they were in the opposition 22 curtailed more W.O.L. chances until Liam (butty) Browne
took a quick penalty and scorched through the Westport defence for a try which was superbly converted from the touchline by out half Jason Kelly.
7 all at half time was slightly flattering to the visitors considering they struggled to leave their own half and conceded a 7 pointer due to the Westport pressure, but in typical fashion and the lions never say die attitude they roared back with their best spell of the game ending with an unstoppable rolling maul for the rampaging Guinan try, which led to the referees controversial decision over the conversion. Although not playing their best game of the year W.O.L tried but unfortunately didn’t do enough to bring the bulls back to Ferbane for a replay but note has to be taken on how well the team has gelled developed and improved since the start of the season . Credit to all the squad and mentors in their inaugural season. A higher division beckons for this developing squad of committed players and coaches,

LIONS!!!!

Connaght Cup Quarter Final

Galwegians 7 - W.O.L. 13

W.O.L. in their inaugural cup match travelled to the renowned Galwegians club and came away with an historic result

Glenina was in a sea of mud and water as a morning deluge and earlier games left the game in doubt right up to kick off. W.O.L. settled well and adapted to the conditions better with a series of pick and drives by the forwards led by Liam Browne Anthony Quinn and Colin Malone that resulted in a Jason Kelly try which he himself converted he also added a penalty to the score sheet before wegians responded with a try of their own on the stroke of half time.

W.O.L. started the second half well and successfully absorbed any opposition pressure before Kelly slotted over another penalty.Excellent defence by all the team and in particular Stephen Cornally, Ronan Guinan and rock solid full back Matt Boland ensured their was no more scores. Both sides are to be congratulated on their efforts to play good rugby in the atrocious conditions but it was the resilient and highly motivated W.O.L. squad who advance to the semi finals.

W.O.L. made their first trip ever to Mullingar last Sunday and played a tough encounter against a fine Mullingar team in cold bright conditions. A much changed team took too long to settle and were down by a couple of scores before they really got into the game, but when they did all the hard work and training that has been done since the start of the season shone through.  

Three tries were the product of some wonderful offloading and continuity play with the whole team contributing well both in attack and defence. Good displays from Danny Gleeson in scoring a try also made a telling contribution in defence as did Ian Bracken and the ever reliable Liam Browne.

W.O.L. 12 - Buccaneers 8

First blood was drawn in this local derby match as W.O.L. edged out Buccaneers in an enthralling game in the nuns field in Ferbane, it was an exciting win in their last league match of the season against a beefed up Buccaneers team.
      

A minutes silence was held before the game as a tribute to Darren Egan who played in our last game. Emotions were running high as W.O.L. were slow to settle and indeed Buccs went ahead with a penalty. Conor Galvin as captain calmed his troops and as they put some phases together and settled more and more into the game they got the break they deserved which led to a try from right wing Brian Gleeson, indeed it was good handling from the backline and a good side step which lead to Gleeson touching down and it was converted from the touchline by Jason Kelly.

The second half began with W.O.L. playing great rugby and controlling the game this pressure then paid off on the score board with another Gleeson try, but W.O.L. took their foot off the pedal and didn't close out the game and after a couple attempts buccs scored from a maul. This left the score at 12 to 8 to W.O.L. this remained the score at the end of the game, but through some heroic defending by the W.O.L. players right on the try line the result could have been different 

                 Amid euphoric celebrations W.O.L. were delighted with their first win against their near neighbours and president peter moony marked the occasion with a presentation to his opposite number at the after match function in Hineys

Creggs 3 W.O.L. 8
W.O.L. made their first trip to the famous Creggs on Sunday last and came away with a very hard earned victory
W.O.L. started brightly against an experienced opposition outfit and got the first score with a good Jason Kelly penalty and this settled the team a little. Constant pressure resulted a well worked break and in a fine try scored by Darren Egan after good quick passing by the backs. Unfortunately W.O.L. could not add to the score before half time as the slow ruck ball and some indifferent decision making, invariably hampered the W.O.L. progress.
At half time a change of weather to rain and gales made life very difficult for the W.O.L. they sustained strong pressure from the more experienced and heavier Creggs pack but to their credit W.O.L. kept trying to play in the appalling conditions, only a bout of ill discipline allowed Creggs in for a penalty and W.O.L.  Replied with continuous pressure on the village line but significantly failed to score. For the last 10 minutes creggs exerted considerable pressure on the W.O.L. line but superb defence prevented them scoring what would have been the match winning score
No doubt W.O.L. would have lost this match earlier in the year but new confidence, teamwork and team spirit have made W.O.L. a hard team to beat.
Outstanding were Tomas Bennett and Anthony Quinn.

West Offaly Lions  9 

Castlebar             3

  

Table toppers Castlebar were the latest club to feel the force of this ever improving W.O.L. side when a rampaging 2nd half performance ensured 4 points and a move up the table.

W.O.L. were fortunate to be trailing only 3 to 0 at the break after spending most of the half under the cosh. The defence held up very well and were really tested throughout the first 40 minutes. On top form in defence were Tomas Bennett, Brian Gleeson and along with the rest of the team kept the W.O.L. line intact

W.O.L. upped the game after the break when at last the forwards got stuck in and with Jason Clancy controlling play at the back of the scrum W.O.L. forced a score with Jason Kelly putting over a good drop goal. More pressure resulted in Darren Egan bursting over and touching down under the posts to score the games only try and to make up for his disallowed try in the first half and making Kelly’s conversion straight forward. It was not all plain sailing to the end W.O.L. did have to sustain some late Castlebar pressure but they did so very well with every man stepping up to the challenge and the huge effort paid off with the result. This team is really starting to gel together and all the hard work been put in on the training pitch by both coaches and players is really starting to show.

West Offaly Lions 51
Ballina                 0 

The W.O.L. recorded their first home victory with a comprehensive victory over Ballina on Sunday. The 51 - 0 scoreline was a tribute to the hard work done by the squad since the Tuam game and the team were really out to prove a point although the score line suggest different it was not all one way traffic the W.O.L. defence were tested in the opening minutes of this match but held steady and sustained the pressure of the Ballina attack. Then with some quick hands and good play by the W.O.L. backs Eamon Kelly crossed for the games first try and they continued their pressure throughout the game a testament to tell hard work been put in by the coaches and players on the training pitch. Best for the lions were Liam Browne, Tomas Bennett, Jason Clancy and Eamon Kelly. The same discipline and determination will be needed away to Castlebar the league leaders next Sunday.

The W.O.L. contingent travelled to Longford on Sunday where they won with a comprehensive 24 to 10 score line. Two tries by No. 8 and Captain Conor Galvin and 1 each by Niall Flaherty and Stephen Cornally along with 2 Donal Corbert conversions completed the W.O.L. scoring, with a little more accuracy W.O.L. could have doubled the score. It was any exciting game played in very good conditions, both teams attacked at every opportunity but it was the excellent defensive work by the W.O.L. that shone through and some very incisive runs by out half Donal Corbet. Best for the Lions were Danny Gleeson Kevin Lally and Pauric Egan in the forwards and Thos butler Ian bracken and Corbert in the backs. Best wishes to Niall Flaherty on a speedy recovery. Next week we are at home to Ballina in the league on Sunday at 2.30.

Score: 36-22

The Lions travelled to Tuam for this there latest encounter against a much fancied Tuam outfit and it wasn’t long until Tuam tasted first blood scoring an excellent try from a defensive kick by the lions fullback which failed to find touch, the immediately attacked and showed great hands and footwork and with to many missed tackles they crossed the line to chalk down there first of 5 try’s, the second of which came from a very similar kick 5 minutes later and the result was the same. It was a tough lesson for the lions and although they never gave up scoring 3 try’s of there own they were taught a valuable lesson on how important it is to make the first tackle count and to retain possession. It’s back to the training pitch for the lions and hopefully the next game will end in a more favourable result for the lions

Score :13-0

 

Due to weather and pitch conditions both teams travelled to Ballinasloe for this encounter and just like the rest of the lions matches so far this was to prove no different with both sides really up for the match with big tackles going in and nothing been spared, some very effective kicking from out half Jason Kelly started to allow the lions to control the game and only for lack of clinical finishing they would have been 5 if not 7 points up inside 15 minutes. It was not long after until the dead lock was broken and the lions got in for there first try of the game. It was from then on that the lions started to show the results of the efforts been put in by the coaches and players and they dominated the first half. The second half was to prove more difficult with Sligo not willing to give up any thing, which lead to a scrappy half of rugby it saw two try’s for the lions disallowed one by Ronnie Guinan who showed great power and turn of pace in one corner and another by Niall Flaherty who showed electric pace to even get to the ball let alone touch it down in the other, but Jason Kelly slotted over three penalties to keep the Lions on top of the game and to hold out for another victory.