Page 67 - The Gonzaga Record 2004
P. 67
T he S porting Y ear
S enior Rugby
Unlike other years our pre-season training started in March with Mr. Byrne and
Mr. Fassbender drafting in IRFU conditioning coaches to instruct us in our devel
opment in the gym and conditioning on the field.
We reconvened in early August. Although retaining much of our squad from last
year there were some fresh new faces such as James Gethings, Mark Kelly and
Donagh O’ Shea who performed so well in last year’s Junior Cup campaign that
reached the final. There were also a few returning stars of U16 fame such as Fergal
O’Rourke and Thomas McAllister, lured out of retirement by a very persuasive
Games master.
The season started with the usual “friendly” fixtures against Presentation Bray
and King’s Hospital. We narrowly lost to King’s Hospital who were very well pre
pared for so early in the season. Pres Bray enjoyed a convincing win at home for
what was the first of three encounters.
T he L eague
The league campaign got off to a shaky start with a loss to High School. We
knew we would have to win our remaining matches to stand any chance of con
tinuing to the later stages of the tournament and qualify for the main cup compe
tition. With a depleted squad we travelled to Kilkenny for what was to be the most
important match of the league campaign. We were well aware that no Gonzaga
team had won down there in ten years. The conditions down in Kilkenny were
ideal for running rugby. An early Aengus Murray try from turnover lineout ball
close to the Kilkenny line settled the team’s nerves. Quick ruck ball and sharp han
dling by the Gonzaga backs saw Corry McCarthy outpace the Kilkenny cover and
score in the corner. A brilliant team performance and a late drop goal from Michael
Boland secured a very memorable win 32-21. The demons that plagued our early
games against Pres, High School and King’s Hospital were gone and in its place a
confidence instilled. We built on our performance against Kilkenny and secured
another victory against St. Andrew’s 21-15. Our final game was against would-be
cup opponents St. Gerard’s in Bray. Gonzaga and Gerard’s were level on points
going in to this match and both teams were playing for a place in the final eight of
the league. We drew first blood with a very well executed catch and drive close to
the Gerard’s line. Building on our dominance at the set piece scores followed from
Andrew Peacock and Colm O’Keane. A late try by Gerard’s left the score at 35-5.
Despite our rocky start we had accomplished our goal of winning all our remain
ing matches and were now tied with Kilkenny and High School on six points at
Page 65
S enior Rugby
Unlike other years our pre-season training started in March with Mr. Byrne and
Mr. Fassbender drafting in IRFU conditioning coaches to instruct us in our devel
opment in the gym and conditioning on the field.
We reconvened in early August. Although retaining much of our squad from last
year there were some fresh new faces such as James Gethings, Mark Kelly and
Donagh O’ Shea who performed so well in last year’s Junior Cup campaign that
reached the final. There were also a few returning stars of U16 fame such as Fergal
O’Rourke and Thomas McAllister, lured out of retirement by a very persuasive
Games master.
The season started with the usual “friendly” fixtures against Presentation Bray
and King’s Hospital. We narrowly lost to King’s Hospital who were very well pre
pared for so early in the season. Pres Bray enjoyed a convincing win at home for
what was the first of three encounters.
T he L eague
The league campaign got off to a shaky start with a loss to High School. We
knew we would have to win our remaining matches to stand any chance of con
tinuing to the later stages of the tournament and qualify for the main cup compe
tition. With a depleted squad we travelled to Kilkenny for what was to be the most
important match of the league campaign. We were well aware that no Gonzaga
team had won down there in ten years. The conditions down in Kilkenny were
ideal for running rugby. An early Aengus Murray try from turnover lineout ball
close to the Kilkenny line settled the team’s nerves. Quick ruck ball and sharp han
dling by the Gonzaga backs saw Corry McCarthy outpace the Kilkenny cover and
score in the corner. A brilliant team performance and a late drop goal from Michael
Boland secured a very memorable win 32-21. The demons that plagued our early
games against Pres, High School and King’s Hospital were gone and in its place a
confidence instilled. We built on our performance against Kilkenny and secured
another victory against St. Andrew’s 21-15. Our final game was against would-be
cup opponents St. Gerard’s in Bray. Gonzaga and Gerard’s were level on points
going in to this match and both teams were playing for a place in the final eight of
the league. We drew first blood with a very well executed catch and drive close to
the Gerard’s line. Building on our dominance at the set piece scores followed from
Andrew Peacock and Colm O’Keane. A late try by Gerard’s left the score at 35-5.
Despite our rocky start we had accomplished our goal of winning all our remain
ing matches and were now tied with Kilkenny and High School on six points at
Page 65
