Postponed Navan game re-fixed for next Saturday

Nenagh Ormond RFC

In terms of rugby the only news from the weekend past was news of cancellations as the cold blast of weather took hold on the country. In fact, when it came to the Energia AIL only ten of the 25 games scheduled for last Saturday were actually played. Of the fifteen games cancelled, unfortunately our home fixture with Navan was amongst them.

There were in fact no fixtures played involving Nenagh Ormond teams across the weekend as all North Munster Youth fixtures were cancelled on safety grounds too.

From a senior perspective, as this Saturday 17th December was the nominated reserve date for replaying any cancelled All Ireland League games, the Navan game will now be replayed on that day at 2.30pm

Assuming that the game is able to progress, which is by no means certain given the ongoing frozen state of pitches, there are wider repercussions for the senior rugby schedule. Saturday 17th was originally slated as the date for a home semi-final in the Munster Senior Challenge Cup v Highfield. The club and community as a whole were looking forward to a big day in Lisatunny for this game with Christmas festivities for our underage players planned to coincide with the fixture and a bumper crowd expected to be in attendance.

Shortly after Christmas there was to be another big day for the team on Saturday, January 7th when the Limerick Charity Cup Final v Shannon was intended to be played in Takumi Park, Rosbrien. For now, both of those games are postponed.

In any case, regardless of what happens there will hopefully be rugby played this weekend as opposed to the complete wipe out of fixtures last week. No doubt regardless of the competition in question there will still be a bumper attendance in New Ormond Park on Saturday if the senior side get on the park and everyone will be keen to see the team wrap up their 2022 programme on a positive note.

They can hopefully then look ahead to making a push for the league playoff spots in 2023 as well as targeting success in the two cup competitions mentioned earlier. A win on Saturday would be just the tonic needed to go in to 2023 with a spring in the step. Navan have however always been a stern opponent, and this will no doubt be a cracking tie.

Our youth teams too will be hopeful of getting on the park this weekend. As of now there is a busy programme of games at almost all levels scheduled to be played. Weather forecasts will be studied anxiously in the coming days in the hopes of keeping competitions moving. Again, as with the senior fixtures, please follow our social media updates for all the up-to-date fixture news for our youth’s section. Fingers crossed we will have many games for our supporters to enjoy over Saturday and Sunday.

Fixtures: Senior: v Navan in Lisatunny on Saturday at 2.30pm

U18.5: v Midleton in Lisatunny on Sunday at 12.30pm

U16: v Ballincollig in Ballincollig on Saturday at 12.30pm

U15: v Clanwilliam in Clanwilliam on Sunday at 11.30am

U14: v UL Bohemians in Tyone on Sunday at 11.00am

Split the Bucket: Congratulations to our most recent Split the Bucket winner Margaret Brislane who wins a jackpot of €500. Well done also to our bonus spin winners Eimear O’Keefe and Anne O’Kelly. Throughout December we will be having two bonus spins per week for vouchers for local businesses. This week’s vouchers were for Tadhg O’Flynn Jewellers and John Hanly & Co. Keep an eye on our social media pages for details of the coming week’s extra prizes. We remind all supporters to shop local this Christmas and support our wonderful local businesses who are always generous in their support of this and many other clubs. Remember too that a subscription for Split the Bucket is a great gift idea and with cash winners every week has the potential to make a great Christmas even better for the recipient. See all purchasing options at nenaghormondrfc.com/products.

Ballina/Killaloe RFC

Ireland: Congratulations to Oisin Minogue who was named in the Irish U18 Clubs & Schools squad, while Oisin Pepper has been selected in the U19 squad.

Newport RFC

Christmas Draw: What better way to keep warm during this cold spell than to enter our Christmas Draw where you can win a trailer load of timber. Draw will take place next Sunday 18th December. Tickets are €5 each and can be purchased online at https://pay.superpayit.com/link/3zOg0W0