Connacht League final double for Carrick RFC

It was Connacht glory on the double last weekend for Carrick RFC as their U17 and U14 teams both claimed Provincial League titles in comprehensive fashion.

On a brilliant weekend for the club, Carrick’s Senior team had a big 44-5 win over Tuam on Sunday in Castlecarra while the U13s lost narrowly to Corinthians.

U17s claim League crown

Carrick U17s won the Connacht Division 2 League Final on Sunday against Connemara Oughterard 32-13 in Castlebar.  

Carrick came out of the blocks quickly as Andrew Deegan went over for Carrick's first try on three minutes. Energised by their early success, Carrick added a second four minutes later through Jayden Bosomtwe. 

Connemara Oughterard snapped into life and after pinning Carrick back, they converted a penalty on 16. The Galway side applied more pressure but Carrick absorbed it before, 31 minutes in, Bobby Hanrahan sniped at the base of a ruck and sprinted clear to touch down for a fine individual effort. 

Carrick led 19-3 at halftime and despite a much stronger second half from Connemara Oughterard, crossing for two tries, Carrick held out and Niall Stenson sealed the victory with a try on 35 minutes.

THE CARRICK RFC TEAM WHO WON THE CONNACHT U17 DIVISION 2 LEAGUE TITLE

Team: Peter Moran, Luke Creighton, Rian Costello, Tristan Hoey, Cathal Enright, Ben O'Connor, Robert Hanrahan, Marcus Fallon, Andrew Deegan, Eoghan O Reilly, Jayden Bosomtwe, Oisin Molloy, Alex Newcombe, Alister Hewson, Cathal McDonagh, Eoghan Rynn, David Murphy, Des Keane, Yemin Siddque, Niall Stenson, Reece Hill, Alan O'Beirne, Michael Cunningham, Aaron Stokes

U14s win at second attempt

Carrick U14s completed an unbeaten 2023/24 league campaign last Saturday when they defeated Dunmore 21-0 to win the Division 2 League Final replay  in emphatic style at Creggs RFC.

The Carrick lads started the brightest and stamped their authority on the game and opened the scoring when James Faughnan collected a clearance and burst for the line only for a last ditch tackle to hold him up on the five metre line but Carrick were able to drive on with Colton Quinn barrelling over to open the scoring. Alex Kilrane with the conversion.

Carrick kept up the high intensity attack from multiple angles only for last ditch efforts from the Dunmore outfit that kept Carrick at bay for the remainder of the half. Carrick was in total control though and never looked like conceding.

From the restart, Dunmore briefly threatened a try but Carrick’s defence stood firm in what was the only time Dunmore threatened a score. Carrick upped their tempo a notch further and extended their lead through Shane Murtagh to effectively kill the game as a contest. 

THE CARRICK RFC TEAM WHO WON THE CONNACHT U14 DIVISION 2 LEAGUE

As the referee blew the final whistle, there was great delight from players and supporters alike. Captain Sam Kieran was presented the League trophy surrounded by the U14 squad members who had battled hard throughout the season to achieve their goal.

Seniors: Carrick RFC 44 - 5 Tuam RFC 

Carrick RFC hosted Tuam RFC in dry but windy conditions on Sunday. Carrick started the first half with the wind behind them and it didn’t take them long to break Tuam's defence and run the ball over the line. 

They kept the pressure on Tuam for the whole first half keeping them off the scoreboard with the first half ending 27-0.

The second half wasn’t any different with Carrick extending their lead to 44 points only letting Tuam score a try in the last 10 minutes. It was a great win for Carrick with the final score 44-5. 

Players that stood out were Daniel Bosquette, Ian McGhee and Paddy Charles for their line breaking and Peter Lavin for his storming  ball carrying runs.

U13: Corinthians RFC 26-19 Carrick RFC

Carrick U13s travelled to Corinthians last Sunday to play their last League game before the Connacht Cup. Corinthians were first to strike with a well worked try but Carrick answered soon after with a try of their own from a well executed kick and follow up work. 

With strong ball carrying by their forwards and good positional kicking, Carrick played in the Corinthians half for the better part of the first half but Corinthians’  defence kept Carrick from scoring until just before half time to make the score 7-12 to Carrick.

Carrick were strong in the scrums and ball carrying but missed several opportunities out wide to build up a  lead. Corinthians caught out the Carrick backline to earn a   deserved 26-19 win.

MINIS

Our U12s headed to Creggs for their Connacht age festival and played superbly against their counterparts from all over the province. Given the massive numbers in U12s, we entered two teams to the tournament most clubs would not be able to do that. 

Our U7s travelled to Buccaneers for their Connacht festival and had a brilliant time showcasing their hard work and new skills learned since the season started. Well done to all the players and their coaches and of course to their parents for making the efforts to travel. 

Our U9s were delighted to play their part in our seniors' big win on Sunday providing flag guard of honour and half time game entertainment, one club, one vision from minis to seniors. Our U9s were presented with a beautiful set of jerseys very kindly sponsored by Philip Coughlan and Carrick Self Catering. As with all our sponsors we are extremely grateful for their belief and support in our club.