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Under 18's 29th April 2008

Venue for the U18 METRO smei final against Guinness is at the Barnhall, Wednesday 30th April, Kick off is at 7:30pm,

Come along and support the young Bulls !!

Barnhall 16s perform well in MELROSE SEVENS but luck was not on their side 29th April 2008

The young bulls entered the Melrose Sevens as complete underdogs. A team of talented players was on tour but had no experience of Sevens Rugby compared to a lot of the opposition. Mostly Scottish teams made up the youth tournament and all the clubs from the Scottish borders are well versed in the game of sevens. Added to this were some strong teams from England who also had a good pedigree in the sevens format having played it regularly in competition.
Barnhall's first match was against local favourites Selkirk. This will be remembered as “the one that got away”. Luck was just not on Barnhall's side in this game and Selkirk proved very strong with an excellent defence that seemed to always have cover. In the first few minutes Conor Cribben fell heavy in the tackle. Despite the Barnhall player being prone for several minutes leaving the blues with six men, the ref let play continue until eventually the overlap came for Selkirk to score. This proved to be the end of Conor's tournament as he suffered a badly fractured collar bone. Barnhall pulled a score back as soon as they were up to seven players again and hope was restored. Despite many good attacks from the blues the Selkirk defence was solid and a late try gave the locals the narrow win.
Barnhall's second tie was against Scottish team Kircaldy. The blues knew that not only a win was needed but a bonus point too. With total determination and no small amount of skill they went on to destroy the opposition 38 – 5. This put Barnhall in to a difficult last match against Strathendrick who also had one defeat and one win. Again the Blues upped a gear and put on exhibition rugby for a delighted crowd as they got into the stride of playing true sevens rugby. They went on to victory with by far the highest score in the group of 48 -5. Like so many times in the cruel world of sport, the result was not enough as they were dependent on Selkirk losing points, but the well prepared Scottish outfit had done enough.
So Selkirk went through from the group and were just beaten in the semi-final by eventual tournament winners Boroughmur who beat Northern (Newcastle Falcolns sevens team) by one score in the final. All the Barnhall boys could do was watch the youth teams play the final in front of 15,000 and wonder what could have been (with a little luck).
The experience for the players was fantastic and they certainly did their club and country proud with displays of truly fantastic rugby with wonderful scores.
The tournament was a great success with a wonderful atmosphere. The youth tournament was played on the same pitches as the veterans and was great fun for the lads. Sharing the same changing area as the Ulster Veterans team, the Barnhall boys got into the sprit and were cheering “Ulster”, much to the surprise of the Ulster players. It was a great kick for the Barnhall players too, getting congratulated by the like of Andy Ward as they came off the pitch from their third game.
The Barnhall players spent Saturday watching the senior matches with some great rugby. Scottish Thistles eventually beating Leicester Tigers in the final, and the highlight of Melrose RFC beating the South African Shimlas.

Under 18's -- Barnhall 26 Wicklow 9 28th April 2008

This was the much anticipated Leinster cup final between Barnhall and Wicklow, a repeat of the League cup final that Wicklow took 9_3, at the same venue, Donnybrook. Barnhall were determined to learn their lessons from their last encounter where Wicklow kicked their way to the Leinster league title with 3 penalties and onto the subsequent all Ireland title.
Wicklow came out with the confidence of all Irealnd winners and pressurised Barnhall for the first 10 minutes, when with their first forrage into the Wicklow half, Barnhall's Darragh O'Neill kicked a sweet penalty from 35 meters to take the lead. Wicklow were quick to respond with their own 3 pointer very soon. This was the story of the first half, with Barnhall going into half time 9_6 up after a Leo Quinn drop goal and a Rob Murphy drop goal. Towards the end of the first half the Barnhall pack had started to take control with some terrific picking and driving and they started the second half where they left off. It wasn't long before Ben Harrison scored the first try of the game with a driving maul from a line out, converetd by Leo Quinn, taking the young Bulls to 16_6. Wicklow pinched another 3 pointer before the Barnhall skipper scored his second try of the game after a period of pressure on the Wiclkow line, where backs and forwards combined and battered the Wicklow defense until it cracked with Ben Harrison diving over and taking the score to 21_9. Barnhall were now in charge and starting to strangle the Wicklow defense. The pressure was starting to tell when the Wicklow winger tried a desperate quick throw from touch in their own 22 after a probing kick from Leo Quinn to the corner. Paul Flaherty, the tall left winger for the young bulls was having an outstanding game and intercepted the throw to score a great touchdown in the left corner taking the lead to 26_9. This was the final score of the game where the young bulls, once again showed their class to take the spoils from the reigning all Irealnd champions.
Next up for the young bulls is Guinness in the semi final of the Metro cup scheduled for Wednesday 30th April venue TBD.

Team:

1) Ben Harrison (Capt )
2) Tony Bracken Kennedy
3) Ray Dufficy
4) Alan O'Reilly
5) Peter Hall
6) Padraig Beatty
7) Ben Moore
8) Sam Hare
9) Ray Flynn
10) Leo Quinn
11) Paul Flaherty
12) Eamon Daly
13) Rob Murphy
14) Connor O'Sullivan
15) Darragh O'Neill
16) Keith Moran
17) Rian Glynn
18) Kevin White
19) Colin Smyth
20) Flan Brennan
21) Mark Gleeson
22) Diarmuid Feeney

3rds Call for your Support 9th April 2008

Barnhall J3 Captain/Coach Martin Dwyer has called on the Blue Bull supporters to come along on Sunday and help the J3's progress in the Moran cup Entry is free and kick off is at 3pm.

Under 16s all set for Melrose Sevens 9th April 2008

This Thursday sees a ten player squad selected from our Under 16s fly off to Scotland to play in the Melrose Sevens. As part of their 125 th anniversary celebrations Melrose are holding a youth tournament to compliment the main competition. There is also a vets. tournament which will see Ulster compete with a strong side led by Andy Ward.
Barnhall's team are injury free and go into the tournament with a mixture of anticipation and confidence. The draw has been made with the Blues facing three Scottish teams in the group stage with their first match against Selkirk RFC. The strength of the opposition is a complete unknown but Barnhall have every chance with a strong squad which is full of excellent ball handlers. Whatever the outcome the experience will be a huge milestone in these young players careers.

Under 18 Leinster Cup Semi Final, 5th April 2008

In the Leinster cup semi final, the Barnhall U18's played against a big and abrasive Dundalk side who were out to prove a point, however it was the young Bulls that played all the rugby. Dundalk to their credit came at Barnhall with everything thing they had but the performance of the blues, in defence as well as attack, was well worth the spoils on the day. The brand of rugby played by Barnhall was total with backs and forwards combining well and showing they have learned the lessons of their recent trip to Toulouse ...more

Brief Reflections on Relegation from the President
1st of April 2008

Saturday March 29 th 2008 was a dark day for Barnhall. We felt the pain of relegation for the first time. We will not be feeling it again.
Great effort, lead from the front by our Captain Jim Nolan fell short in keeping intact our Division 2 status.
The commitment of Eddie Fitzgerald, Ian Morgan, Denis Bowes and all of the 1st team squad in battling to maintain this status has been herculean. We can take nothing but pride from this commitment. I feel privileged to have seen it at close quarters.

"We felt the pain of relegation for the first time. We will not be feeling it again."

There should be no underestimation of the task now at hand. The 3rd division will be a harsh environment for the unprepared. We will not be numbered among those. It will take youth, heart and head to chart our way back. No-one should doubt our endowment of all three.
Nothing goes in a permanent straight line. Six promotions in a dozen seasons suggested an inevitable setback at some point. That point is now here. Our response will tell us as much, if not more about our club than the great successes of the past. We will not be found wanting.

I know this, because I know you all.
Let us look forward in renewed expectation,

Yours in Barnhall,

Jack Looby
President: 2007/2008