Cobh Pirates Juveniles & Ladies Continue With Results

Juvenile Report

Pirate´s under 13´s maintained their unbeaten run in the league with a hard fought victory over East Cork rivals Midleton in an early kick-off at The Paddock. On a perfect day weather wise , Pirates won on a scoreline of 20-0 which does not give the full story of a titanic battle between two evenly matched sides . Pirates ,who were without some regulars from the squad ,had to pull out all the stops to overcome their well drilled opposition. Head coach Bernard Kiely was joined on the day by his able assistants Colman Rasmussen and ex Pirates, Defence Forces and Munster junior scrum half Noel Dunne. Pirates defence was tested to the limit before they managed to put together some phases in the backs to free outside centre Mathew Soans to score the first try of the day.

All the hard work put in by the front five of Jim Kevany, Charlie Rasmussen , Cathal O´Dea ,Aaron Whelan and Kyle O´Mahoney was rewarded when scrum half Kevin Murphy(son of Enda) released his backs to allow Mathew Soans ( son of Michael) to score his second try just before the break. Wily coach Kiely had practised line out variations all week in the knowledge that Midleton had a slight height advantage .Five minutes into the second half hooker Charlie Rasmussen spotted his opportunity and called a two man lineout deep in Midleton´s twenty two . Using a variation last seen used by Ireland in the Willie Duggan era, he outfoxed the Midleton jumpers to throw underhand which ensured vital possession for number eight Zach Devlin ,who charged for the opposition line. Some quick rucking followed by Conor Pasley and Conor Kelly and the opportunity presented itself for livewire scrum half Kevin Murphy to touch down for his sides third try .

Midleton fought back and put huge pressure on the Pirates defence. Thankfully for Pirates ,the umbrella defence , favoured by coaches Dunne and Rasmussen ,held out and the Pirates line was not breached . Fierce tackling from Olan Farrell (son of Alf) Michael Mc Carthy, Dan Sheehan, Brendan Tait and Jack O´Donovan meant Midleton remained scoreless in this vital stage of the game .

Having withstood the pressure , Pirates ,with great contributions from Shane Kidney ,Martin Mngomezulu ,Luke Kelly ,Jamie Mc Donnell ,Anthony O´Regan and Cian O´Mahoney managed to pull away and score their fourth try through impressive number eight Zach Devlin to finish the game on a high . Kiely ,who had further lineout variations on his mind post match ,is looking forward to his side´s next league outing against Carrigaline in two weeks .

Meanwhile ,Pirates under 15´s had a great win over Pres Cork by 52-39, while the under 17´s had a free week. Under 17´s forward coach ,ex youth interprovincial KillianTighe, reports that injury victim ,Glen O´Sullivan is responding well following his operation and hopes to be back in action as soon as he gets off crutches!

Cobh Pirates Ladies Win On The Road

The Cobh Pirates Ladies team continued their successful league campaign with a victory over Thurles RFC by 12 points to 5. It was the first time the squad were to compete as 15 aside and also that the pack would have contested scrums. From the first whistle Pirates were on the attack. Having worked hard in training all week and with the help of some of the J1 pack, the pack won everyone of their own scrums plus many against the head. Once again Jill O’ Mahony was in flying form and using her now infamous speed and side step, Pirates got their first try after 15 mins. Out half Eilish Walsh on kicking form easily converting.

Thurles however proved to be very worthy opponents and tested the Pirates defence right up to half time, with a disallowed try on the whistle. In the second half, Thurles came out with all guns blazing and their efforts eventually paid off with their number 8 picking from the base of the scrum to score a try. Never a team, to give up, Pirates kept attacking and when Jill O’ Mahony made a b eak from inside her own 22, making 40 metres to off load to support player Ali Weinmann who ran the rest of the pitch to score.

With the scoreline now at 12-5, Thurles (looking for their 3 league victory in a row)remained on the attack till the final whistle. The whole squad were utilised and every woman played their hearts out. Particular mentio must be given to Oriana McGrath who played her first ever game of rugby and also to some outstanding performances of the day by, Charlotte Skidmore, Aileen Aherne and Angela Britton. The Ladies have a break next week-end and will be all set for their next fixture at home to St Senan’s of Shannon on the 25th of November.