Provincial Towns Cup Semi-Final Longford v Wicklow
By Tommy Butler Longford RFC PRO
After suffering heart break at the death in their Promotion Play off, Longford will be looking to get back on the horse when they take on Wicklow in the august setting of the Provincial Towns Cup Semi-Final. Â The match takes place in a neutral venue, in this case, Naas RFC at 3 PM next Sunday April 7th.
Longford have taken the hard road to the Semi-Final stage haven beaten Cill Dara and Division 1A opponents Boyne and Kilkenny. Â However, a stiff challenge awaits against a Wicklow side who finished second in Division 1A with nine wins out of fourteen behind champions Enniscorthy. Â Saying that Longford will not be phased by their opponents as their success this season has been built on focusing on their own game while respecting what the opposition might bring. Â Indeed, the last few months of games have been great preparation for the challenge of Wicklow, with Bective, Kilkenny, Boyne, North Kildare and Suttonians all giving Longford stern examinations. Â All but North Kildare were playing in 1A this year or will be in 1A next year in the case of Suttonians.
You can find links to match reports on each round of the cup so far below:
1st Round 200119 Longford 22 Cill Dara 08
2nd Round 100219 Boyne 07 Longford 14
1/4 Final 170319 Longford 20 Kilkenny 07
The Provincial Towns Cup is one of the oldest trophies in existence in Irish rugby dating back to 1892 and is widely regarded as one of the Premier Junior Rugby Knockout tournaments. The Cup originally named the Leinster Junior Challenge Cup was then presented on the inception of the Provincial Towns Cup in 1926 (you can see Director of Rugby Niall Moran with it when it visited the club for the 1/4 Final v Kilkenny). Longford RFC contested the 88th final v Tullamore and also reached the final in 1932, losing out to Dundalk but have never lifted the famous trophy.
The match will be recorded and highlights available after.  Longford go into the match as underdog’s, but Glenn Baskett will be asking his players to give one last push to try and earn their place in the final versus Enniscorthy in Navan on Sunday April 28th.Â
A fantastic occasion awaits everyone who travels to the match and we ask that our excellent travelling support continues as we look to finish the season on a high; ‘Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more’.
Longford Squad v Bective
