Unlucky U-15s pipped in final

Ennis                    10
Presentation     12
ENNIS U-15s were just pipped at the post in this very competitive league final played at Coonagh last Sunday.

Presentation had the better start and exerted continuous pressure in the Ennis half for the first 10 minutes of the game. However, Ennis held their line and stout defence from backs and forwards alike kept the opposition at bay. Ennis came more into the game and their pack began to dominate proceedings both at the scrums and the line-outs.
Alan Britchfield, at number eight, began to find space and was well supported with drives from Jason Smith and Darragh Ryan as Ennis edged towards Presentation’s line. Oisín Kelly and David Flynn went close but a pick-up from Liam Halpin and a strong drive over the line saw Ennis take a 5-0 lead into half-time.
After the break, Presentation once again exerted pressure and a gap in the Ennis defence was exploited by their out-half who raced through for an unconverted try to level the score.
Ennis fought back and after winning a succession of rucks in the opposition half, the ball was moved along the back line and a well-timed pass from Paudie Carmody to winger David Reynolds, saw Reynolds go over for Ennis’ second try. With 10 minutes remaining, Presentation came back again and after some strong rucking inside the Ennis 22, their out-half once more went over close to the posts, giving himself an easy conversion opportunity.
Ennis had one more break in the final few minutes when Lorcan Casey set up Paudie Carmody who raced from the Ennis try-line to the opposition’s 22 where he was finally overhauled but there was not enough time remaining on the clock at this point to claw back any further score before the final whistle.
The Ennis players, can be very proud of their magnificent effort in this game and indeed throughout the season. They completed their league programme with seven wins from eight, finishing top of the league table on points and won through a tough semi-final play-off game against Newport. This group of players have a bright future and there is no doubt they will challenge again for honours in the future.
Ennis: Jason Smith, Darragh Ryan, Stephen Burke, Liam Halpin, Sam Skerritt, Alan Britchfield, Oisín Kelly, David Flynn, Mikey Clinton, Michael Lyons, Lorcan Casey, Paudie Carmody, Karl Cullinane, David Reynolds, Brian Malone.
Replacements: Shay Malone (Karl Cullinane), Liam McCarthy (Sam Skerritt), Cillian O’Gorman, Conall Curtin, Rob Austin, David Buggy, Matthew Fahy, Barry Heagney, Ross Kelly, Aaron Leyden, Tiernan McDermott, David McDonnell, Caolain Meaney, Luke Ryan, Aidan Rayman, Lee Regan, Jordan Ryan, Adrian Walsh, Demyd Yatsenko.

U-11s in Bruff
THE U-11s were on the road again at the weekend with a blitz in Bruff. The huge response resulted in the splitting of the group with two teams going to Bruff and a third team going to Old Crescent.
The blitz in Bruff was to consist of Bruff, Ennis, St Mary’s and Garryowen but St Mary’s pulled out resulting in a bit of team juggling to balance things up. The new makeup gave Ennis two teams of 11 and one team of eight thus ensuring all who travelled got to play.
The team that travelled to Old Crescent were up against Newcastle West, Scariff and the hosts. Again, things went very well for Ennis who played with great commitment and cohesion.
Ennis squad: Stephen Talty, Sean Hehir, David Barbotin, Rian Boylan, Damien Galvin, David O’Sullivan, Noel Shannon, Dale Watson, Luke Kelly, Cillian Casey, Ronin Liddy, Eoghan O’Brien, Dillon Power, JJ Carraig, Cormac Whelan, Fionn O’Brien, Charlie Whelan, Cormac Reidy, Emmet McMahon, Fergus Garvey ,Conor McMahon,  Dan Geraghty, Ali Hussain, Cormac Brown, Ryan Barry, Jack Hassett, Conor Hogan,  Dara Curren , Brendan Cleland, Adam Harvey, Eoghan Hahessy, Ben Sullivan, Bruce Piggot, Robert O’Connell, Matt Hanrahan, Alex McConway, Nathan Stackpool, Conan McLeod and Patrick Scanlon.

U-7s’ first blitz
ENNIS U-7s had their first blitz on Sunday when they travelled to presentation to play the hosts and Thomond. A further blitz is planned for this Sunday in Bruff.
Team Ennis: Jack O’Connor, Jonathan O’Reagan, Alex Fitzgerald, Sam Scanlon, Tom Curran, Aaron O’Brien, Cain Guilfoyle, Henry Kennedy, Aidan Keating.
Team Ireland: Eoin O’Reagan, Paddy McGuinnes, Cormac Maher, Sean McAllister, Luca Cleary, Marco Cleary, Harry Doherty, Frankie Toner, Colm Meaney and Cormac Goggin.