Bateman Cup is Garryowen's next target

Colm Tucker RIP

OUR AIL game v Shannon was cancelled last weekend due to the untimely death of Colm Tucker. The club would again like to express it’s deepest condolences to the Tucker and Hartery families on the passing of the Shannon legend. The huge funeral bore testimony to his standing across the club and sporting divide. May He Rest In Peace.

AIL v Shannon 9th March

The AIL game has been re-fixed for Friday 9th March in Dooradoyle. Never have a couple of months gone by so quickly and already the evenings have lengthened considerably. It seems like only the other day that we were sitting down for the turkey and ham. “Anois teacht an Earraigh beidh an lá dul chun shíneadh, Is tar eis na féil Bríde ardóigh mé mo sheol…...

All Ireland Bateman Cup s/f

We travel to play Buccaneers in the All Ireland Bateman Cup semi final at Dubarry Park on Saturday at 14.30. It would be great to add this coveted piece of silverware to the Munster Senior Cup. A supporters' bus will leave from outside South’s Bar at 9.45. Please contact Conor at 087 2428229, Cyril at 087 2217447 or Pat at 087 2996058 to book your place. Seats will be allocated on a, first come, first served basis and the cut off is noon Thursday.

Munster Junior Cup

Our junior team continue their preparation for their Munster Junior Cup game v UL Bohemian in Annacotty on Sunday 29th. It took a final minute penalty try to see off the challenge of a determined Old Crescent side 13-10 in the Munster Seconds League in Dooradoyle on Monday night. Successful penalties by Cian O’Shea on 20 and 30 minutes pushed the light blues in front, but the Rosbrien side reduced the deficit to 6-3 with a three pointer just before the short whistle. The visitors were not standing on any ceremony and a well-taken, converted-try on 60 minutes looked likely to prove the decisive score. The exchanges were tough and both sides gave it their all. Just when it seemed the points were heading the short distance down the road on a 10-6 score line, three successive scrums under the posts collapsed and the penalty-try was awarded. O’Shea converted for a narrow but valuable 13-10 win. Dave Sherry, Conor Hartigan and Cian O’Shea all had big games. No doubt we will have to up the intensity even more when we take on the Robins on their home patch.

AIL U21 SWC

The U21’s had a resounding 47-0 win over NUIG in the AIL SWC played in Salthill last Saturday. While the students may have lacked a bit of depth, it was still a very encouraging result for the light blues who ran in seven tries in all. Centre James McGarry netted 20 points with four cracking tries and understandably got the “man of the match” Gong. Neil Cronin, Donough McGillicuddy and Shaun Horgan also touched down. Shane O’Brien (he has a bright future with the boot); converted six of the seven tries. A more difficult task awaits on Saturday when we play Buccaneers in Dooradoyle at 14.30.

Gleeson League s/f

Our 3rdXV take on Shannon in the semi-final of the Gleeson League in Dooradoyle on Friday night at 20.00. This is one of the premier competitions for J2’s and invariably produces great games. This is evident in the large numbers who turn up to support their players. Nothing short of a cracker in store here.

U19

Our U19’s concluded their Dec / Jan friendly schedule with a game v Young Munster in Dooradoyle last Sunday morning. We continued the second half momentum of our previous encounter in Gonzaga with a high tempo performance. However we were rather flattered with our 40-10 victory, despite scoring six tries in the process. This was a hastily arranged game and we would like to extend a very big thank you to Young Munster for agreeing to this fixture at such short notice. Our Pan-Munster campaign commences on Saturday with a visit to Cobh Pirates. This will be a real test of our mettle as the Cork side are the South Munster League champions. Kick Off has been scheduled for 13.00.

Social

Congratulations to Tony O’Shea jnr. and his wife Christine on the birth last week of their beautiful baby girl, Lauren Jane. While pink is the traditional colour for a girl, there is no doubting she will be swaddled in a light-blue blanket on her first visit to Dooradoyle in the near future.

Table Quiz

The U21’s are holding a table quiz in Collin’s Bar, Dooradoyle on Wednesday February 1. The entry fee is 40.00 euro per team of 4 and the quiz will commence at 20.00 sharp. Lots of prizes on offer on the night and complimentary finger food will be provided by our hosts. Entries please to John Staunton at 087 9980773 or e-mail johngstaunton@hotmail.com. Our John does a lot of hard grafting organising these events so your support would be most welcome.