Today Balbriggan’s 1st XV are away to Ardee in their third Leinster League match of the season. KO 2pm. The team will today be wearing the club’s original colours from the foundation of the club in the 1925. We want to thank our sponsors for the clubs ‘retro’ jersey, for this our 90th Anniversary season. In particular we would like to thank Tracey and Ivan McFadden and Noel Heeney of McFadden’s, John Gallen, John Cumisky and The Balrothery Inn for their support. Tracey was on the Women’s team that won the League last year. Ivan is a former player and current Director of Rugby with the club. Noel Heeney has given support to the club over many years. John Gallen and John Cumisky, together with their sons represent the fourth generation of each of their families to have been involved with Balbriggan RFC since 1925, either through playing or admin. Willie Cumisky and Jack Gallen were stars of the early era of Balbriggan RFC. John Gallen and John Cumisky have also worn the clubs colours with pride. Brendan McCormack and the Balrothery Inn have provided sponsorship and a base for the social side of the club over recent years. From all at Balbriggan RFC we give a big thanks to all our sponsors and supporters. Good luck to Ciaran and all in the 1st XV in their Leinster League match today.

Orders can be placed and paid for, from this Thursday Oct 8th, at the clubhouse between 7pm-8.15pm and next Wednesday Oct 14th, between 7pm-8.30pm. Minis jerseys age 6-12 are €30, Youth & Adult are €36

Balbriggan 53 Swords 5

Balbriggan recorded a win over Swords in their Div 2 derby game. The score however reflected the fact that Swords lost a number of players to injury through the game and ended the game with 13 men. Swords though in the early part of the game put it up to Balbriggan at scrum time pushing the home side off the ball on a number of occasions. The day was for the Balbriggan backs who were missing Ian Murphy and Ciaran Verdon from last week. Conor Casey took over at scrum half and Kyle Healy moved to out half. Dave Healy moved into the centre to partner J Mullen. At every opportunity they were trying to run the ball with J Mullen punching big holes in the Swords defence. Swords conceded a penalty on the 22 and rather than going for the point Healy kicked to the corner. Malone carried the ball from the line out and Casey popped a pass to Mullen who barged over for the first try. Balbriggan added a penalty before it was Swords turn to get over the line when their forwards carried well and Balbriggan were unable to hold them out. However from the kick off Balbriggan turned the ball over and flashed it along the line and Dave Healy got over from 22 metres out. Brother Kyle added the points. Balbriggan fullback Marcel Brennan was giving Swords all sorts of problems with his attacking runs and it should have been a warning to Swords not to kick long. Eventually they were unable to keep him out and he got in under the posts. He quickly then added a second try.

At this stage Swords were losing players to injury and while they played on manfully Balbriggan were able to find the gaps. Dylan Staunton added the next try when he outsprinted everyone from the halfway line. Winger Steve Keegan finished off a good run by the pack. Marcel Brennan looked as if he was in for his hat trick on probably the best move of the match. Balbriggan stole a line out and the ball went all along the line; it looked as if Brennan would score but didn’t manage to hold the ball but was able to pass it on to Chris Bateman who squeezed over in the corner. Scrum half Con Casey then got in the act with two individual tries when he created space with good dummies and left himself a clear run in.

While the scores this week all came from the backs it was the forwards who did the work up front. Mark Browne and Mark Geraghty worked hard all afternoon in the second row, carrying hard when the opportunity arose. Anto Whelan probably gained the most yards with a number of big runs. There was another good display from Connor Burke who is acclimatising to the Irish game and getting in plenty of tackles. The man of the match goes to Marcel Brennan for an overall display. Next week Balbriggan are away to Ardee.

M Brennan, D Staunton (C Batemen), D Healy. J Mullen, S Keegan, K Healy, C Casey, C McDonald (A McKirenan), J Davis, A Whelan, M Browne, M Geragthy, G Dennis, C Burke, S Malone,

The Balbriggan ladies got their season off to a good start with a 19-10 win over Westmanstown.

Former Rugby International and long time Balbriggan resident, Johnny Fortune, has passed away. Johnny was the first Irish International to score a try against the All Blacks back in 1963. Our sympathies go to his wife Margaret and his two daughters.

Birr 8 Balbriggan 25

Balbriggan got their Leinster league campaign off to a good start with a hard earned win over Birr in Co Offaly on Sunday. It has been a number of years since the clubs met but the Balbriggan men knew what would be facing them, a good hard game up front and that is exactly what they got.

From the kick off Birr were in their face with their forwards taking the ball up hard into the engagement. It looked as if it was going to be long afternoon. After absorbing the pressure for the first ten minutes Balbriggan were let off the hook when Birr kicked their first penalty attempt wide. From the 22 drop out Balbriggan gathered and Sean Malone, playing at No 8 in the absence of his brother, showed that Balbriggan could also carry the ball. As Balbriggan settled into the game they were able alleviate the pressure and started to turn it over. Birr gave away a number of penalties for high tackles, the referee was very strict on the interpretation and Birr didn’t listen.

One of these was in kicking range and Healy put Balbriggan 3-0, unfortunately Balbriggan gave the 3 points straight back from the kick off. Birr used the wind on their back and attacked down the touch line but a fine steal in the tackle by Dave Healy gave Balbriggan the chance to attack up the line and they won a penalty for yet another high tackle. Kyle Healy kicked Balbriggan up to the Birr 5 metre line and looked as if Sean Malone got over for the first try when Balbriggan won the line out but Birr hadn’t engaged and Balbriggan were deemed to have been accidently off side. A few minutes later Birr played the same dangerous game, except this time John Davis stole one against the head and Balbriggan got the ball across the line for Marcel Brennan to score in the corner. Brennan had only just come on for Tommy O’Toole who picked up a shoulder injury.

The play was back and forth with both teams attacking and counter attacking. Birr with continuing high tackles lost a man to the bin and Balbriggan took advantage. Once again Balbriggan saw themselves in the Birr corner and they won a scrum and after a good break by Malone, Healy followed up to score at the posts and then convert it.

It looked that Balbriggan would take a 15 – 3 lead to half time but just as the half ended Birr spread the ball wide and got a score in the corner for 15-8.

In the second half Birr again came hard at Balbriggan with the intensity of the play Balbriggan were glad they had a full bench as first they lost Ian Murphy with an arm injury from all the tackling he was doing. Coach Casey substituted for Murphy and took on the scrum half role with Kyle Healy moving out one. Casey used the box kick to great effect and with swift follow up from Verdon and Dave Healy they managed to keep Birr pinned back. They then lost Spud Brown to the bin for a high tackle, while it wasn’t malicious the ref was at least being consistent. Birr were not able to make any headway with the one man advantage. Malone was the next to hobble off to be replaced by Mark Fay.

J Mullen looked as if he was through to score until upended by another high tackle where the Birr player went to the bin for the second time. Ciaran Verdon nearly scored a drop goal from the ensuing move but Healy then converted the penalty. It was Healy again who put the game out of reach grabbing the final try in the last quarter.

A tough win and a good one to get under their belt. Connor Burke and Mark Brown had good games in the back row. Anto Whelan pressed into front row duty did well considering the pressure he was in all weekend. He also carried well. The man of the match though had to be Healy who had his overall best game in a long time with a lot of intelligent plays coupled with his tries.

Next week is the local Fingal Derby against Swords.

C Verdon, D Healy, T O’Toole (M Brennan), J Mullen (Capt), D Staunton, I Murphy (C Casey) K Healy, C McDonnell, J Davis, A Whelan, M Geraghty, G Dennis, M Browne, C Burke, S Malone(D Bryan)

Balbriggan 41 Ratoath 8

Rugby will hog the sports headlines for the seven weeks, with Ireland getting off to a great start against Canada, and the Japanese shocking South Africa; what a day’s rugby on Saturday. Sunday saw the All Blacks fight a tough dual with the Argentinians.

However on Friday it was Balbriggan’s turn to lay down a marker of intent for the season, but to be fair to the opposition the end score line flattered the home side a little and didn’t reflect the effort the visitors put into the game.

Ratoath now coached by former Balbriggan CRO had put in a lot of work on the training ground over the last few weeks and were a much improved side as compared to the side that appeared in the Beachie Cup a few weeks previous. They had a lot more structure to their game and put the Balbriggan side under great pressure in the opening quarter. In particular they didn’t give Balbriggan any time to settle on the ball. It was Ratoath who opened the scoring when they made a good break through the Balbriggan line.

As usual it was the Malone brothers who were making good ground for the home team. A good break by Ciaran Verdon got Balbriggan up to near the 5 metre line and failure by Ratoath to properly defend, allowed skipper Malone to get in for the first score from the ensuing maul. Score 5-5 but Ratoath quickly regained the lead with a penalty. Again Balbriggan came back and a steal at the front of the line out let the ball out the line and outhalf Murphy fed J Mullen who with a lovely show and go left the Ratoath defence flat footed to score under the post. This was reminiscent of the Mullen of old as he continues to regain fitness. Healy added the conversion and a further penalty to leave Balbriggan 15 – 8 up at half time.

The defensive line out was Ratoath’s big weakness and Balbriggan added three more second half tries from poor defending of the line-out. The best of these was from just inside the half when the Malone brothers combined to let skipper Ciaran in for his second try. He went on to add a third close to the end.

The backs didn’t have much opportunity to run but with their one move that saw the ball send out the line saw winger Healy score in the corner. Out half Murphy made a strong run from outside the 22 metres to add the last score of the night.

A good win but still bits to work on. Others to impress were Mark Brown at wing forward and Mark Geraghty in the second row. However for the second week, Man of the match has to go to Skipper Malone with his hat trick of tries.

Next Sunday when Ireland are facing up to Romania, Balbriggan will be facing up to Birr in Co Offaly in their first Leinster match. They will be without a couple of their front line players who will be supporting Ireland on the day.

International Tickets for Away Matches – If any club members are interested in going to either of the away 6 Nations matches please let Club Secretary, Robert Cashell know, no later than 12th October. Applications cannot be guaranteed, as the club does not know what allocation it will get, if any.

Balbriggan 20 Ardee 6

The Rugby season is back – for the second year in a row Balbriggan opened their Jenkinson Cup campaign on a very wet night in Balrothery. With a gale force wind and torrential rain it was very difficult for both teams in particular the team facing into the wind which in the first half was Balbriggan.

With a gale blowing down the pitch the simple tactic was to kick the ball to the opponents half and let the wind do the rest. The only problem for Ardee was that Balbriggan full back Andrew Miller enjoyed nothing better than running back at the opposition at full tilt and with the three quarter line joining with him Balbriggan made considerable ground but then the weather took over and the ball was spilled. Ardee used the elements to put Balbriggan under pressure and as usual Ian Murphy led the tackling but the visitors managed to recycle the ball and the next man up was J Mullen but the ref adjudged the tackle high and the ball was slotted between the posts for 3 points. Soon after Balbriggan gave away another penalty for not rolling away and went 6-0 behind. Winger Healy gained himself a yellow card for querying the refs decision. For the next 10 minutes the game became a little fractious and an Ardee man joined Healy in the bin. Skipper Malone had severe words with his team and from then on the game was played as it should. It looked as if Ardee would hold their lead into half time but they gave away a penalty for straying offside. Scrum half Healy found a touch inside the 5 metre line. Balbriggan went with a 4 man line out and Geraghty fed Malone who was standing at scrum half. Malone dumbied a pass out and then headed to the line, he was held up short but younger brother Sean took the ball on to get the try. 6-5 at half time.

Balbriggan now had the wind and should have just kicked to the corners but on numerous times they tried to run from deep. There was good running from Mullen and O’Toole in the centre and with the skipper popping up as an extra centre they were testing the Ardee defence.

The second try came when Ardee failed to catch a kick from Murphy and winger Dylan Staunton showed his soccer skills to keep the ball in play and dribble it to the line before scoring in the corner. Balbriggan were now exerting their power and strong running was stretching the opposition. Skipper Malone eventually got on to the scoreboard when after a one two with brother Sean he dived for the line and his physical strength kept him from being tackled into touch.

The final quarter saw the introduction of new boys Jaedon Gibson at scrum half and new CRO Connor Burke in the back row. Both brought their skills to the game with Burke showing himself to be a strong forager at the break down. He capped off his debut by winning an opposition line out and going over from 5 metres to gain the bonus point.

A good work out for the Balbriggan team, with a few players not available there is going to be good competition for places. Geraghty in the second row had probably his best game in a Balbriggan shirt showing great carrying ability. Veteran front row Joyce, Davis and McDonnell showed the youngsters will have some work to do before they are displaced. Ian Murphy showed both attacking and defensive skills but the man of the match award must go to skipper Malone who ran tirelessly all evening. He also showed his leadership skills in getting the team to settle down and play rugby when in the past a Balbriggan team may have become too distracted by the off the ball events.

On Saturday 5th of September a group of our U15s took part in a start of season team build event at Delta Force Paintball in Wicklow. Having gone through the last season without enough players to officially enter in the North East and Leinster leagues as a couple of players had left due to other commitments, the lads showed great commitment and dedication to their teammates and club by staying together and training every week, despite not having matches to play. In recognition of this, the Club organised a day paintballing – which was hugely enjoyable (if at some times painful!). However, it WAS noted that certain U15 coaches were suddenly unavailable when there were mutterings amongst the team of retribution for the tough drills and laps of the pitch they have to endure at training!!!! But with all joking aside, the day was a huge success, and the lads were joined by Connor Burke, the club’s new Development Officer. Thanks to John Moore, Kevin Sweeney, Shay Whelan and Sinead O’Halloran for providing transport on the day.

Congratulations to Ashbourne RFC on winning the McGowan Cup this afternoon, and congratulations to the clubs of the North East in their performance in this brilliant game of rugby. Final score was very close with Ashbourne holding out to win 17 v 22. We were honoured to have the President of the Leinster Branch, Robbie McDermott, at Balbriggan RFC to watch the game and present the medals and Cup. Many thanks to the match officials today, led by George Clare of Dundalk, in his final season as a referee. One of the officials (Hugh Early) even went so far as to don the North East colours. Well done and thanks Hugh! Thanks to touch judges Carl McIntyre and Pierce Hederman also. The Clubs of the North East would like to thank in particular, Peter Clarke of Navan for taking the training session during the week and for managing the team on the day. Finally, the North East would like to thank Bill Douglas for all his work in selecting the North East team. Today’s McGowan Cup Final showed all that is good about rugby in the North East. Best of luck to all clubs in the coming season.