By Tommy Butler Longford RFC PRO tommylbutler@gmail.com 

Senior Men away to Suttonians, Senior Women play Tullamore, Longford Hall of Fame Awards with Joe Schmidt, Minis Trip to Leinster v Toulouse…

Senior Men

Longford Senior Men travelled to Sutton, Co. Dublin to take on Suttonian’s, the only team to do the double over them last season.  It was a mixed day with the Early XV scoring their third win on the trot and the Late XVs winning streak coming to a halt.  However, we still are in a strong position only three points off the top with five wins out of six.

The Senior Men have next weekend off before heading into two back to back matches at home in CPL Park v North Kildare and Coolmine.  Their last Leinster League match of the season is away to Carlow on December 9^th.

Midland League Finals Day, Friday December 30th

Longford are the defending Midland League Champions and after topping the League section, will face off against Edenderry for the Midland League Trophy on Finals day on Friday December 30^th.  The Midland League Trophy, Shield and Plate are all up for grabs on the day with Tullamore RFC hosting all three matches.

Upcoming Fixtures

Sunday November 25^th Leinster League North Kildare (Home).

Sunday December 2^nd Leinster League Coolmine (Home).

Sunday December 9^th Leinster League Carlow (Away).

Friday December 30^th Midland League Trophy Final v Edenderry (Tullamore).

Kick offs 13:00/14:30 in November/January & 12:30/14:00 in December.

Longford Women (Warriors)

Longfor Women came up against a very strong team on the road, the match report will be published tomorrow.

Upcoming Fixtures:

Sunday November 25^th Leinster League Tallaght (Home).

Sunday December 2^nd Leinster League Athy (Away).

Sunday December 9^th Leinster League Portlaoise (Home).

Sunday January 13^th Leinster League Greystones (Away).

Player Profile Megan Banahan

1. Position

Out Half

2. Favourite Food?

Bacon & Cabbage

3. Favourite Band or Musician?

Brave Giant

4. Favourite Rugby Team?

Leinster/Ireland

5. When did you last score a try?

Against Athy a few weeks ago

6. Who is your favourite rugby player?

James Lowe

7. Who is your funniest teammate?

Fidelma Fallon

8. What do you most like about rugby?

Working as a team to win games and playing/training with friends

Longford Mini/Youths

Match reports

U18

The under 18s played Birr at home in the league. It was a very physical game played at a high tempo. Longford came out on top with a final score of 29-12. To a man each player put in a great performance. Jack Finnegan, Brynn Peters, Dean Norton and Michael Dunne scoring a try each. Dunne also kicked 3 conversions and a penalty. Next up Edenderry in Longford Saturday 17th November.

U14

The U14's played in their third Leinster league match away to Balbriggan today. Great conditions, played on well maintained pitch, resulted in a 38 to 33 win. Longford lead at halftime thanks to 4 tries by Ryan D'Arcy, Sam Mills and a brace from Shane O'Hara. Balbriggan grew in confidence as the game closed at the half, 26 to 14, we also lost part of our scrum power as Oisin Gallagher took a knock and had to be subbed.  The second half started with another Shane O'Hara try but from there we witnessed a great fight back from Balbriggan. Score was 33 to 31 and we were looking at a close defeat. Then Adam Reem grabbed a loose ball out of a ruck and bust straight through 5 tackles to score under the posts. Outstanding plays during the game by Shane O'Hara, Sam Mills, Adam Reem. Areas for improvement are ball passing/ supporting the runner and tackling. Next match will be in the Leinster League, at home to Wanderers on the 18th November. Wednesday training this week will be attended by specialist coaches.

U11/U12 Blitz

Longford RFC hosted the Midlands area U11 and U12 Blitz on Saturday last. Teams from Mullingar and Edenderry arrived on a cool morning for an action packed morning.

The pitches were in top condition despite the rain overnight. Thanks to our brilliant parents who brought the food for the after match banquet with our visitors.

U12.

The first opponents up were Edenderry whom we had drawn against in our last encounter. Our trade mark slow start once again let the opposition out of the traps into a lead. We got to grips with the game in the second half and tries were scored by Tom Murray, Matthew Kenny and Senan Murphy. When the boys put their minds to it, they can match anyone!!

Game two was against the first Mullingar team. This was a much better performance. Better tackling and line speed forced turnovers and errors giving us many scoring opportunities which were gratefully accepted.

Game 3 against a bigger Mullingar team started brilliantly. Brilliant carries by Danny Kelly, James Cosgrove, Darragh Nash and Tadgh McCauley showed great spirit and indeed, Tadgh was unlucky not to have a try awarded for his efforts, as the ref declared it held up!

Tom Murray, Donnacha Golden and Mel Mulligan were potent in attack while Derek Belton and Harry Byrne were excellent off the back of set pieces. Despite all the positives we let the Mullingar lads back into the game with very sloppy defence as we forgot to tackle and exert the earlier pressure on them.

Lots to work on as we need to learn to start playing from the off, maintain concentration in defence and keep the foot down when we are in front.

Training resumes Thursday 6.00pm.

We have a break from games next weekend and therefore will be back in the club for training Sunday at 10.00am.

 Fixtures

Saturday November 17^th  
U18 v Edenderry (Home)

U17 v New Ross (Home)

U16 v Gorey (Away)

U15 v Gorey (Away)

Sunday November 18^th

U14 v Wanderers (Home)

U7-U12 & Girls Training (Home)

The Full Mini (U7-U12) Season Planner can be downloaded at the following link; http://goo.gl/DAZ5GK  

Training

Longford RFC field teams at Youth level from U6 to U18. Training and coaching information can be found below.  Gerry Carthy is Minis/Youths Chair. We are always looking for more coaches, managers, referees, administrators or helpers. If you can help out for even a few hours or make sandwiches for a game or have an ideas/concern’s please contact Gerry on; 086-8046857.

Youths

Longford Youths are back training at all levels. New players are welcome at all age levels throughout the season (it is never too late to join in!). There is no better time to start with the Rugby World Cup looming large on the horizon next November. Training times and Fixtures can be found on www.longfordrugby.com or at https://goo.gl/qAVBPv

New players are welcome at all age levels – just come to the club on the relevant training night or contact the coach above for details. Don’t worry about not having played before – we have the coaching staff to teach the basics to any player. Jimmy Murphy is the Youth’s Co-ordinator and can be contacted at 086 2555621.

Minis (U6-U12)

Our future Leinster and Ireland stars train every Sunday at 10.30 am. New players are very welcome, we have a comprehensive team of trained coaches. Just remember to bring a gum shield and a bottle of water along with your training gear. Two new innovations for the coming season are that we have a new state of the art 4G training area, which are suitable for contact sports along with Girls Training from U8-U12.

Padraig Murphy is the Mini’s Co-ordinator and can be contacted at 086 2526741 or prgm@me.com 

Please make sure to have membership paid in order to take part in games and make sure that your details are on the text list.

Club News

Longford RFC Hall of Fame awards with Joe Schmidt on December 15th

The awards will take place in the prestigious venue that is The Mansion Houses Round Room on December 15th.  The two inductees for the Clubs Hall of Fame are Paddy Quinn and Matt Hanley.  Neither of these club stalwarts will need any introduction to members and friends of the club.  Longford have secured the services of the most in demand speaker on Irelands sports circuit at the moment, none other than Ireland Head Coach, Joe Schmidt.  Getting to hear from Joe with the Six Nations and the World Cup on the horizon are worth the ticket price alone.  A pre-lunch reception begins at 12.30 followed by lunch at 13:00.  To round off the day attendees can add tickets to the Leinster v Bath Champions Cup match in the Aviva Stadium, which takes place at 5.30.  Tickets are priced at €100 each.  Tables of ten are also available.  

Tickets are going fast sop please contact any of the event committee asap to secure your place; Michael Connellan, Pat Fitzgerald, Padraic O’Kane, Dan Magan, Padraig Murphy, Gavin Belton and Derick Turner.

Longford Minis/Youth heading to Leinster v Toulouse

After the last very successful trip where over 150 Longford Minis/Youths travelled to the Aviva Stadium to watch Leinster take on Wasp, the Minis are back on the road again supporting the Boys in Blue v Toulouse in the RDS on January 12^th.  The match kick off is a very Mini Friendly 1 PM.  The trip is now booked out, if you would like to be put on the cancellation list, please contact Padraig Murphy on 086 2526741.  All payments are due in by the end of the week.

Amazing Fundraising Draw by Longford Senior Men

The Senior Men's Rugby team will be holding a draw this Christmas to support the local rugby club. The tickets will range from 1 cent up to €15 and will be available from all senior players. There is a big prize fund so get your tickets to be in with a chance to win!  The first prize is €1000!!! Second prize is €500 and three further prizes of €100 each.

Social Dancing at Longford RFC

Did you know that social dancing takes place every Wednesday evening from 10 PM – 12 PM?  We have one of the newest and best clubhouses in the country, along with great music and a great crowd.  Admission is €10 including refreshments with all funds raised going directly to the club. Contact 087 9843331 for more information.

Upcoming lineup;

14/11/18 Matt Leavy

21/11/18 Sean Brennan

28/11/18 Carmel McLoughlin

Christmas Gifts from Longford RFC
It is getting towards that time of year where you might be considering what to get your friends and family for Christmas. Did you know we have 24/7 online shop through our partners Uniformity.ie where you can purchase Longford RFC Jerseys, Hoodies, Jackets and more, all by Canterbury. Why not consider Longford RFC Canterbury Gear as a gift this Christmas? The general turn around is up 14 days from order, so make sure to order early!  You can log out to our shop via the shop link on our website www.longfordrugby.com or the this direct link https://goo.gl/5MH8eE

Uniformity will be in the club on Sunday November 25^th with samples and taking orders.

Great Food/Events & Christmas Parties at Longford RFC

The Sin Bin at Longford RFC serves great quality and value food on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday from 12-3 and 12-7 on Saturday and Sunday. Booking for events such as birthdays, christening, confirmations, communions, weddings and funerals are available.

Kris is now taking booking for the Sin Bins ever popular Christmas parties.

The Sin Bin also shows all Irish rugby/Leinster/Munster matches live.

For bookings and information phone Kris on 0872872357.

St. Stephens Night at Longford RFC

The Sin Bin will be hosting our normal great St. Stephens night party on December 26^th.  On what is a very busy night in town the rugby club is perfect place to meet friends and family in a more chilled atmosphere.  Remember to put it down on your diary.

4G All Weather Pitch Rental

Our state of the art floodlight Mel Diffley 4G pitch is available for rental.  It contains shock absorption so that players can play contact sports/fall over without hurting themselves.  It is also perfect for 5 a side soccer.  If you would like to book it phone Damian on 0862757103.