Roots & All is a project where we pick a few teams that don’t normally make the spotlight week in week out and feature them regularly throughout an entire campaign.
That seems to have been a quick two weeks since my last piece, maybe it’s because of all the rugby that’s going on at the moment, you just gota love it. Just can’t get enough – thank god for SKY+ has to be one of the best inventions of modern times!
We even had the added dimension as to how our old boy would handle the Irish Captaincy – not too bad I think? Honest answers in the post match interviews anyway.
Naas seniors were back in AIL action last Saturday after a weeks rest and experienced an unfamiliar defeat, being their first of the season, away to Boyne on Saturday last (17th November). Naas had been top of Division 2B, Ulster Bank League and despite securing a loosing bonus point they have now slipped to fourth place overall behind Rainey OB, Nenagh Ormond and Boyne.
Naas had opportunities to pull ahead in the first period in particular but did not make the most of these and despite being 3 points ahead at the interval (3-6) and having a numerical advantage either side of it they did not translate this into points. To compound matters they conceded a try early in the third quarter which and despite responding with an excellent try of their own in the 53rd-minute, to edge into the lead (10-11) they never really put Boyne out of range and left themselves vulnerable in the final quarter after swapping penalties it was 13-14 going into the last 5 minutes, a missed Boyne penalty and two missed drop goal attempts left us thinking we had pulled another one out of the fire but to fall to a last ditch drop goal which was dramatically converted by the Boyne Captain and kicking specialist, Niall Kerbey, on the stroke of fulltime.
Naas will be keen to get back to winning ways for the remaining two Ulster Bank League home games of the year against Suttonians on 1st December and Thomond on 8th December and then the Final of the Leinster Senior Shield against Skerries RFC on the 15th December but more about that next time.
Meanwhile Naas Under 21s travelled to Merrion Road to take on Wanderers in the final round of the JP Fanagan Pennant pool stages on the 11th Nov. Naas got off to an impressive start and scored two outstanding tries and a penalty in the opening quarter to two penalties by Wanderers. In the second period Naas extended their lead with two further converted tries to one try for Wanderers, giving a full-time score of 27-11 in favour of Naas. The U21’s now progress to the next stage of the JP Fanagan Pennant along with UCD and Old Belvedere, IT Carlow, Dublin University and Lansdowne who were winners of the other pools. Off the three pools in the first phase, Naas are joint highest (with Old Belvedere) of the 15 teams competing and have gone top of Pool 1 with 20 points, just 2 points ahead of UCD and Seapoint.
The youths and minis are progressing nicely, all 650 of them, can’t say the same about the pitches after all the resent rain around these parts. The Senior Squad did, on their weekend off, a bit of coaching with the Minis. Running the boys through their rucking drills and putting the young boys through their paces and all seemed to enjoy the “new coaches” and hopefully the seniors got themselves a few new fans in return!!!
The U13’s won their area league in their fist completive season and now progress to the top division of the Leinster league.
The U15’s are also moving along nicely with only the one loss so far oblivious benefitting from the new coaching team and the input from the senior coach and senior players
All our minis u7s, 8’s, 9’s 10’s, 11’s and 12’s hosted Cill Dara RFC last Saturday and we (u12’s) are also getting stuck into the metro with Clontarf, Lansdowne and Blackrock all coming up over the next couple of weeks.
Hopefully Jamie and the boys can sort the Pumas out on Saturday till next time Happy Rugby
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MC
