Under-17s Leinster League final 

Thursday night sees the latest crop of talented Longford players go in search of silverware in the Leinster League Final against Wexford Wanderers on Thursday next in Portlaoise (KO 8pm).

Looking back on the season things started to look good right from the start with Longford hosting and winning the under 17 blitz while playing a game less than their nearest rivals.

What impressed most was the rugby that the lads played they were a joy to watch and laid down a marker for the season. The first two league games came on two consecutive weekends and with full points from those two games the momentum was starting to build.

The next challenge was away to Edenderry who we expected to put up a stronger challenge and although they did try their best they were no match for a Longford side that had too much in reserve.

Boyne were next to visit Longford and they left disappointed after getting beaten 31-nil, again things were supposed to get harder for the lads as their next two matches were against fellow playoff contenders Navan and Skerries but again the young men from Longford RFC excelled by beating Navan 10-nil and Skerries by 17-nil.

The lads were starting to get into the habit of not conceding any points and with Dundalk conceding the points in our final game we finished top of Division 1 (north) and were now left to await Portarlington in the quarter-finals.

The large crowd that turned up to watch the home side play in their "new kit" (sponsored by CPF Profiles/Hugh Connolly) were not disappointed as again the home side came away the victors with a 29-7 victory over a very physical Portarlington side.

After having our semi-final date set against Skerries we were given short notice that the game had to be postponed as there were "irregularities" at other clubs and this lead to a long and unnecessary delay before finally meeting Skerries at Barnhall in late March were the lads came out on top with another solid performance giving them a 20-5 victory.

This leads us to the final against Wexford, who themselves finished top of their respective division. Although their form was more erratic than Longford's, losing one game and conceding many points throughout, it is expected to be a very close encounter.

The success of this fine Longford team and the hard work of their coaches George McDermott snr, Dave Lulham and Ger Murray was reflected in the fact that Cillein Farrell and Paul Hughes were training with the Midlands Under-16 squad.

George McDermott jnr, Peter Mimnagh, Michael Bannon, Aaron Beirne, along with Owen, Joseph and Finbar McGowan, made it onto the Midlands Regional Development team that recently won the Shane Horgan Inter-Area Leinster cup and remained unbeaten.

This would not have been possible for the lads without the mentoring and commitment of Steve Coy Snr, who puts in a lot of unseen work.

As well as the main sponsor CPF Profiles the lads were able to purchase t-shirts for the final thanks to contributions from Trevor McHugh, Longford Ladies RFC, Derek Turner, Farrellys coaches and Farrell and Coy.

The season cannot be summed up without mentioning the vital help and work behind the scenes of Maria Keelty (Youths Co-ordinator), the Longford Ladies for their willingness to train with/against the lads and the fantastic support of the parents who washed the kit and attended the games, some of whom did not miss a game all season. Last but not least "Mossy" for his prompt deployment of H2o and the kicking tee.

The Longford U17 coaches and players would like to thank all those that have been of help this year and may we repay that help with a win 

Longford Under 17 Squad