Ormond round off impressive 2023 in style
By Shane Brophy
2023 has been a superb year for senior rugby in Nenagh Ormond, and they have set up 2024 to be even better.
The past year saw Nenagh reach a first ever Munster Senior Cup final and come oh so close to knocking off Young Munster in a titanic final at Thomond Park, while they also claimed the North Munster Charity Cup for a second time.
In the league, they finished in third place but the concession of a late try in the playoff away to Blackrock College saw their promotion hopes dashed with the Dublin side subsequently making the jump into division 1B and are currently in third place in the second tier of club rugby.
This time next year, that is where Nenagh Ormond want to be playing their rugby and at the half-way stage of this division 2A campaign, they are well on their way to achieving that aim, eight points clear, following their win over great rivals and second placed Cashel on Saturday.
“That was nice alright,” admitted Director of Rugby John Long after hanging on to maintain their winning run.
“Continuing our unbeaten season and beating Cashel in Cashel is a thing of dreams,” he added.
“We have them in Nenagh after Christmas, and I am sure they will be a different animal bit this was a great win.
“If you told me last September this would be the position we would be in I would be a happy man at Christmas.”
Nenagh didn’t make things easy by having no fewer than three men sinbinned with the fourteen men having to withstand a Cashel onslaught late on to claim the four point win.
“When the adrenaline starts flowing in big games like this, it is hard to keep your cool at times and the occasion got the better of them a few times and a few calls went against us,” Long said of their indiscipline.
“Any game, a bounce of a ball can change everything, and it nearly did but the lads fitness and physicality stood them again, as it has all season and is what is turning them into the team they are.”
This was a game where the panel also came to the fore with first-choice hooker Dylan Murphy and place-kicker Conor McMahon unable to play due to college exams on Saturday while the experienced lock Kevin O’Flaherty was restricted to a bench role. The sin-binning of John Healy in the second half meant Colm Skehan had to move from prop to hooker while John O’Flaherty stepped in as lineout thrower with Nenagh tested in every way.
“That is what we have been trying to build over the last couple of seasons,” Long said if their flexibility.
“We have gone into a few games this year with key guys missing, and anyone that has come in and took the jersey has done well. It is hard see who we are missing at times, there is such a good squad there now.”
“John O’Flaherty had a monster game, and the bench that came on made an impact, Kevin O’Gorman made a steal in own 22, it was just a great effort from everyone.”