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Pirates Weekend of Near Clean Sweep

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20151003_121631MJL Div 2; Ennis 7, Cobh Pirates 35;

South Junior 2 League Section D; Mallow 23 , Cobh Pirates 25
Munster Womens League Div 2; Dungarvan / Youghal 26 Bandon / Cobh Pirates 19
Munster Under 18 League Conference 6; Cobh Pirates 20 , Youghal 0
Munster Under 16 League Conference 6; Crosshaven 11 , Cobh Pirates 20
Under 14’s; Cobh Pirates 12, Old Christians 13
Under 13’s; Cobh Pirates 31 , Old Christians 25

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Cobh Pirates enjoyed a good weekend of rugby this weekend, with a near 100% record across the grades, the majority of which were on the road. The weekend began on Friday night as Pirates were fortunate to be able to play at half time in the Pro Direct Munster v Glasgow clash in Thomond Park. The bus with no less than 26 players with coaches and parents on board, departed on the road to Limerick. The excitement built as the Limerick drew near, both the players and coaches thought the journey was longer than normal…

On arrival the kids were brought into the dressing rooms and then were chaperoned to the pitch-side where they were able to watch Munster go through their pre match drills with a birds eye view. On the stroke of half time the players ran onto the pitch with great enthusiasm. Although losing out by a score the games in which the kids got to enjoy is a memory of a life time, playing in front of a few thousand supporters.

The remainder of the Munster encounter was enjoyed with great vigour. They were then treated to a McDonalds on the way out of Limerick, much to the enjoyment of all.

The bus was quieter on the return leg, the euphoria wearing off and food kicking in.
All the kids returned to the Paddock on Friday night having done what many children only dream of doing, and having a very enjoyable and memorable day out.

Sixty Sixes at Cobh Pirates

Roll on Saturday morning where Cobh entertained Midelton in the Paddocks, while some of the age grades made the journey deeper into East Cork. With the new season well under way, record numbers of mini and youth players are turning up to play rugby. This is especially true of the club’s youngest group of players, Under Six, which has 64 junior and senior infants coming to The Paddocks on Saturday mornings to play.

Their coaches, headed by Leslie Bulfin, introduce the basic skills of rugby through a series of fun games and activities including Stuck in the Mud, Simon Says, Spiders Web Tag, Sharks and Jellyfish, Bulldog, Parachute and Tug of War as well as mini games of tag rugby.

The Junior 1s, fresh of the back of their home victory to Thurles last weekend headed for Ennis on Sunday. Having gotten the perfect start last week only one thing was on the mind of coach Brendan Ronan, and that was a first win on the road to keep momentum going. After a focused warm up it was clear the players were tuned in from the off, with flying winger Shane Cullimore touching down for Eamon Ronan to slot over giving Cobh a 7-0 early advantage. The inform winger was to double his tally not long after with another try, again Ronan adding the points to put Pirates a further 7 in front, with TJ McSweeney getting over the line soon before half time to leave the score Pirates 21-0 Ennis on the break.

Not long into the second half Ennis pulled a try back to get them 7 points on the board, but Pirates settled well again. Eamon Ronan made a great line break to cross over for the 4th try and add a further 2 points from the boot. After some more sustained pressed and not to be out done by his brother Eoin McSweeney got Pirates 5th try, with Ronan again stepping up to leave the full time score Pirates 35 – 7 Ennis.

The Junior 2s also took the trip North, to Mallow, where they enjoyed a narrow victory over home side Mallow, with a 24-23 scoreline. An overall strong performance from the pack saw young Peter Chandler get a well earned try with jack Cahill and Cian Gormley crossing over also. The introduction of Steve Chandler and Dave The Bull Mulchay strengthened the pack further with Steve crossing the line for Pirates 4th try. Adam Devlin added a penalty and conversion to amake th final tally 25 in favour of Pirates. (courtesy of Peter Ahearn)

Pirates Ladies

Having taken a victory on the road last week against Richmond, the combined Bandon / Cobh Pirates ladies, (now known as Bandon Pirates) were on the road again for round two, this time to a blustery Youghal to take on the combined strength of Dungarvan / Youghal.

Bandon Pirates kicked off with the strong breeze to their backs and the home side immediately knocked on, this was to set the tone for the next few phases where Pirates applied pressure at even chance though some great tackling and chasing.

Off the back of their first scrum, Youghal kick was restricted by the wind handing the first lineout of the match to the visitors.

Bandon / Pirates continued to build the pressure and got to within sight of the line before knocking on. Youghal opted against kicking this time and kept the ball in hand, making it to the visitors 22 before the cover got back and forced the pass inside to the support who failed to catch cleanly and knock on. Sustained pressure and a quick tap from Youghal got the ball out to their outside centre who sprinted to the opposite wing and charged across the line for Youghal’s first try, which they successfully converted to leave the score 7-5.

Youghal took possession from the restart and went straight into attack, and while initially contained by Bandon Pirates, the defensive line did not hold and the Youghal winger broke to score their second with the successful conversion bringing the score to 14-5.

Youghal were pinged for holding on shortly after the restart and the quick tap by outhalf Aisling gained another 10 metres as Youghal had not retreated quickly. Bandon Pirates did little with the possession and a turnover saw another quick counter and a break by the Youghal winger who crossed for her second within the space of five minutes. The conversion was unsuccessful, leaving the score 21 to 5.

Bandon Pirates needed to respond and take control of the match again, and a knock on by Youghal shortly after the restart handed a scrum to the visitors inside the Youghal half. A clever kick through by centre Emma into the 22, was touched by a Youghal player before going into touch, giving Bandon Pirates the foothold they needed. Another penalty, awarded for lineout infringement, was quickly taken and Bandon Pirates controlled possession to get within two metres of the line. Rachel Quinn picked off the back of the ruck and crossed, but was held up over the line.

Youghal were to gain a turnover shortly after the five metre scrum, but Bandon Pirates responded and held up the ball carrier and gained another scrum in the Youghal 22. Better control brought them back to within 5 and when Youghal were pinged for offside, Captain Suzanne Morgan was on hand to take the quick tap and barge over for a try just to the right off the posts, ensuring outhalf Aisling could kick the conversion on the stroke of half time, leaving the score 21-12 at the break.

The restart at the beginning of the second half by Youghal was collected by Samantha Byrne, but Youghal were up quick and held her up. Youghal went wide off the scrum and managed to unlock the Bandon Pirates defence yet again to cross for the bonus point try, but could not convert, leaving the score 26-12.
A tight exchange of possession over the next series of phases was to follow before Youghal infringed in the ruck near the home sides line.. Prop Chloe McCarthy was on hand to take the quick penalty and stormed over the line to score the final try of the match. Outhalf Aisling stepped up to take the conversion and it went over to secure the ever important losing bonus point as the referee blew the full time whistle.
Final Score Dungarvan / Youghal 26 Bandon / Cobh Pirates 19 (courtesy of Rob Paisley)

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