West Offaly Lions News

  U13's

Best of luck to the U13 squad this Sunday who will make a long trip to Ballina too take on Ballina in the Connacht Cup, the side have been playing well under the excellent guidance of Conor Galvin and have preformed well in their recent outings against Buccaneer's and Ballinasloe, lets hope this good run of form carries through to Sundays game and their run in the Connacht cup is extended.

Seniors

The seniors took on a strong Connemara side last Sunday and the lads from the west showed no signs of fatigue as they tore into the Lions from the off, it was a tit for tat affair in the first half with West Offaly forcing the game and making a lot of errors and mistakes which lead to a very stop start first period, Tom Gilligan did cross the line in the first half and what seemed to everyone else a perfect try the referee deemed it had been held up and the score was not allowed but the Lions did start to play and begin to put in the phases and it was shaping up to be an interesting second half. The lions hit the ground running in the second half and start to build on the last few minutes effort in the first half but the strong Connemara defence didn't relent posing a strong wall to break down but as the half wore on it looked only a matter of time before the deadlock was going to be broken and it eventually was some strong work by the forwards got the lions inside the Connemara 22 and with some neat hands released Ronnie Guinan through for the games first try, a few minutes later Gramps put a nice chip through for Jeff Cuskley to touch down in the corner and in the dying minutes of the match Jason Clancy went through as well to finish the day off on a high, the Lions finished up the day 20 - 0 but were made work for every point, it will have to be a much better performance against UCG who proved to be the Lions stumbling block last season especially with the promotion battle heating up as the season draws to an end, the top 4 teams are all still in contention for promotion with Creggs top on 39 West Offaly on 38 and Loughrea snapping on West Offaly's heals in third its all a little to close for comfort and looks as though it will go right down to the final game. The Lions so far have the strongest defence this season in the league with the least amount points against and this is testament to the huge effort been put in by coaches and players and it would be a shame to see all that effort go to waste so starting this Sunday with the students West Offaly will be doing everything in their power to ensure a strong performance and a mouth watering finale Sunday 3 weeks in Creggs.

Development team

The development team travelled to Monivea last Sunday to take on the team top of the table and the home side showed exactly why they are top with a clinical performance beating the Lions 43 - 7 in a tough hard battle as these games always prove to be, the Lions never gave up and with some players missing due to injury and been called up to the first team to fill the voids the Lads acquitted them selves well and it was good to see some old faces back in the side and hopefully we will see them for the remainder of the season.

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)

  West Offaly Lions News

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)

  WEST OFFALY LIONS R.F.C

 

 

West Offaly Lions Development Team had a superb win over the Buccaneers Thirds Team at Dubarry Park Athlone last Sunday 11^th October 2009, in the Connaught J2 league.

The first half saw a lot of hard hits and tackles from both sides but it was West Offaly Lions who scored first with a penalty kick by Donal Corbett. During the game there was three fantastic try's from Padge Malone, Stephen Cornally and Adrian Coughlan; one conversion and a drop goal from Donal Corbett brought West Offaly Lions tally to 23 points. The Buccaneers only score of the game came from a try by Niger So, who also converted the try to leave the Buccaneers at 7 points for the day.

West Offaly Lions wish a speedy recovery to two of the Buccaneers players, Gerry Glynn and Dave Shaughnessy after injuries early in the second half.

The final score of the match was West Offaly Lions 23, Buccaneers 7.

West Offaly Lions RFC - AGM Report 2008-09 Season
 
A very well attended AGM of the West Offaly Lions RFC took place in Ferbane Community College on Thursday 21st May 2009.
 
Bernard Quigley, Hon Chairman, reported on a very successful season for the club at junior and under age levels. He paid tribute to Charlie Couper and all coaches and managers for their hard work throughout the season. He especially congratulated Marion Gilligian on receiving the Connaught Volunteer Recognition Award.
 
Hon Secretary, Marion Gilligan also summarised the season gone by and thanked everyone for their involvement with the club during the season.
 
In his financial report, Hon Treasurer Martin Kelly, gave a detailed overview of the club accounts which are in a very healthy position going into the new season.
 
In his President's address, President Peter Mooney thanked everyone involved in the club for all their efforts over the previous year both on and off the pitch. He also thanked all the club's sponsors. He especially congratulated all the players for their dedication and spirited performances during the season.
 
The following officers were elected to serve on the committee for the 2009-2010 season
 
President, Peter Mooney.  Chairman, Bernard Quigley.  Vice Chairman, Brian O' Carroll.  Secretary, Marion Gilligan. Asst Secretary, Jane Mooney.  Treasurer, Martin Kelly.  Asst Treasurer, Seamas Guinan.  Fixtures Secretary, Ray Walshe.  Asst Fixtures Secretary, Roy Fletcher.  P.R.O, Audrey Guinan.  Child Welfare Officer, Adele Kenny.  Connaught Branch Reps, Bernard Quigley, Jude Feehan.  Medical Officer, Dr. Gabrielle Murphy.
 
Congratulations to Donal Corbett who was voted Connaught Young Player of the year in our division and to Callum Boland who has starred in Ireland games in the FIRA u18 championships in France.
A special congratulations to Shane Lowry on his achievement of winning the 3 Irish Open. Wishing him every success in his future golfing career.
 
We wish all our players well for their other sporting quests during the summer months and we look forward to seeing one and all for the 2009-2010 season.  All new members wishing to play will be warmly welcomed at the club.

 

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

 

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.