Shannon prepare for another busy season
2nd Sep - 2010
ANDREW McNAMARA kicks off the Shannon RFC news updates for the coming season:
IT'S that time of the year again when the kids face the rigours of school and the evening light begins to noticeably fade away, so the inevitable conclusion is that the rugby season is upon us once more.
Summer is gone, and the West Clare migrants return from the seaside with rugby on their minds. Thankfully were immediately back into action on the playing field, but as usual the work has been almost constant off the field in preparation. A less than straight forward off season is something we have become accustomed to in Shannon, but after a few bumps and diversions we are ready for the season ahead. Whilst we look forward with great anticipation and confidence for a good year it would be remiss not look back on the season past and remind ourselves of the lessons that we as a club, members, players and supporters alike must take from our difficulties last season. The responsibility lies with all of us to ensure that Shannon RFC hit the headlines for positive rugby stories that give a true and accurate reflection of the standards on and off the field we uphold. Codes of ethics, disciplinary committees along with other measures will be implemented this season throughout the club to ensure our focus can remain on rugby. Its not perhaps the most positive note to begin the season’s notes but it must once again be reiterated that all match officials , at every level be afforded the utmost respect at all times from players, coaches and of course from the terraces.
Whilst on the subject of referees, John Cole has asked to mention that any aspiring referees are welcome to attend a recruitment course on the 11th of September in Mallow GAA pitch from 10 am. Further details can be obtained from John himself on 086 8441870.
On the field there’s plenty to look forward to with the AIL League beginning in early October, but before al that we will have plenty of action which all kicked off last Friday evening in Rosbrien. The Charity cup is always a good way to kick off the season and thankfully our seniors have began the year on a winning note when they accounted for Old Crescent by an impressive 44-13. Conditions were near perfect and the preseason training regime was evident as our lads looked very coordinated and played a well structured game. The familiar faces were once again prominent with Davey Quinlan and Stephen Kelly crossing for tries in the first half and then it was one of our promising younger players on the other wing, Luke O’Dea who added to the tally with an excellent try before the break. Dave O ‘Donovan showed no ill effects of his Australian adventure and knocked over 2 conversions and a penalty to give us a relatively comfortable 22-6 half time lead. Old Crescent took advantage of a 7 man Shannon pack and were awarded a penalty try soon after the restart, but they couldn’t follow up with any notable momentum and we took control of the game for the remainder. Three more excellent tries in the second half reflected the overall performance of the side, but it was our two wingers that grabbed the glimmering limelight with another try apiece while Ritchie Mullane rounded of the six try victory. So a good start to the new season, but the old adage of two swallows don’t make a summer come to mind. A work in progress would be an apt description of the seniors at the moment and further progress can be made this Saturday in Coonagh when we play Bruff in the semi finals of the competition.
Coonagh itself is looking resplendent as usual at this time of year, but with all the relatively recent works carried out we can certainly expect the playing conditions to remain very good throughout the year. Again it’s the hard work of Current clubman of the year John Galvin and our Secretary Tadhg Crowe that ensures that Coonagh can cater for the rigours of the season. Thankfully they have been joined on their daily routine by Frankie Conway who has contributed enormously to the upkeep of Coonagh over the summer. Again we appeal for anyone with some time on their hands to give the lads some assistance. There’s no need for a big commitment, just a few hours when time is available. The biggest asset in Coonagh this season will undoubtedly be the new floodlit pitch which is just reaching maturity, and will be ready to be played upon in the coming weeks. We ask everyone for their continued patience and please stay off the new pitch (including wandering around for look) until we are given the go ahead from the contractor. The provision of the new pitch means that the seemingly nomadic wanderings of our underage sides will be reduced dramatically this year. Again we thank the coaches, players and parents for their patience in moving to different venues for training over the last few years.
Underage training is all set to commence in full this Sunday and with the largest number of registered underage players in the Munster region last season, we must be doing something right. We can expect another influx of new and eager players over the coming weeks along with all those returning to the throes of action.
On Sunday week next, 12th September our underage committee will be hosting an open day in Coonagh to welcome new players and indeed parents to Shannon. Some of our senior players and our Munster and International players are expected to be in attendance so pass the word around to anyone from U/7 to U/19.
The Executive committee along with our underage committee are going to place a big emphasis on integrating every player in Shannon into the whole club this season. With almost 600 registered underage players we would also hope to see a large number of parents to get involved in some small way over the season, be it financially, coaching or any way that they feel they can assist. For any new players or parents looking for information they can contact Underage chairman Vinnie Leonard @ leonardv@bloxham.ie .
I make a personnel apology to all our members regarding our website which has not been updated as regularly as it should have been. We are currently in the process of revamping the site to make it more interactive and user friendly and the new version should be live before the month is out, but in the meantime we will ensure that all the important news is updated on the current website www.shannonrfc.com.
Our ladies have also been training hard over the summer months and as usual would welcome any new players , both senior and underage and contact details can be found on www.shannonrfc.com/info.htm
International tickets are available to our members for the autumn internationals and the pricing structure can be viewed on the website. Once again international tickets will have potential disastrous financial consequences for the club if we are left with large quantities unsold, so it’s critical that we dispose of these tickets through our members. Unfortunately the IRFU don’t provide a sale or return policy for their constituent clubs , which in effect means it’s a sink or swim scenario , not only for Shannon , but all other clubs. Members may well ask why do we get these tickets, and the simple answer is that if a club fails to take their allocation for the Autumn internationals, then the IRFU will reduce the clubs allocation for the traditional crowd pullers , The Six Nations. It’s a very difficult and onerous task to manage, and we ask all our members to assist us in this regard. It may well come to stage in the future that the decision is made in the interest of the club that we reduce our commitment to purchasing all tickets in order to minimise Shannon’s potential losses. Anyone with orders can contact Tadhg Crowe on 087 6524958.
Keeping with finances, and we ask all our members to return their subscriptions in a timely manner. For the last number of years the Executive committee have taken cognisance of the straitened times we live in and have maintained the subscription fees and not imposed an increase.
Finally we take this opportunity to wish all our players, members and supporters an enjoyable and successful season.
IT'S that time of the year again when the kids face the rigours of school and the evening light begins to noticeably fade away, so the inevitable conclusion is that the rugby season is upon us once more.
Summer is gone, and the West Clare migrants return from the seaside with rugby on their minds. Thankfully were immediately back into action on the playing field, but as usual the work has been almost constant off the field in preparation. A less than straight forward off season is something we have become accustomed to in Shannon, but after a few bumps and diversions we are ready for the season ahead. Whilst we look forward with great anticipation and confidence for a good year it would be remiss not look back on the season past and remind ourselves of the lessons that we as a club, members, players and supporters alike must take from our difficulties last season. The responsibility lies with all of us to ensure that Shannon RFC hit the headlines for positive rugby stories that give a true and accurate reflection of the standards on and off the field we uphold. Codes of ethics, disciplinary committees along with other measures will be implemented this season throughout the club to ensure our focus can remain on rugby. Its not perhaps the most positive note to begin the season’s notes but it must once again be reiterated that all match officials , at every level be afforded the utmost respect at all times from players, coaches and of course from the terraces.
Whilst on the subject of referees, John Cole has asked to mention that any aspiring referees are welcome to attend a recruitment course on the 11th of September in Mallow GAA pitch from 10 am. Further details can be obtained from John himself on 086 8441870.
On the field there’s plenty to look forward to with the AIL League beginning in early October, but before al that we will have plenty of action which all kicked off last Friday evening in Rosbrien. The Charity cup is always a good way to kick off the season and thankfully our seniors have began the year on a winning note when they accounted for Old Crescent by an impressive 44-13. Conditions were near perfect and the preseason training regime was evident as our lads looked very coordinated and played a well structured game. The familiar faces were once again prominent with Davey Quinlan and Stephen Kelly crossing for tries in the first half and then it was one of our promising younger players on the other wing, Luke O’Dea who added to the tally with an excellent try before the break. Dave O ‘Donovan showed no ill effects of his Australian adventure and knocked over 2 conversions and a penalty to give us a relatively comfortable 22-6 half time lead. Old Crescent took advantage of a 7 man Shannon pack and were awarded a penalty try soon after the restart, but they couldn’t follow up with any notable momentum and we took control of the game for the remainder. Three more excellent tries in the second half reflected the overall performance of the side, but it was our two wingers that grabbed the glimmering limelight with another try apiece while Ritchie Mullane rounded of the six try victory. So a good start to the new season, but the old adage of two swallows don’t make a summer come to mind. A work in progress would be an apt description of the seniors at the moment and further progress can be made this Saturday in Coonagh when we play Bruff in the semi finals of the competition.
Coonagh itself is looking resplendent as usual at this time of year, but with all the relatively recent works carried out we can certainly expect the playing conditions to remain very good throughout the year. Again it’s the hard work of Current clubman of the year John Galvin and our Secretary Tadhg Crowe that ensures that Coonagh can cater for the rigours of the season. Thankfully they have been joined on their daily routine by Frankie Conway who has contributed enormously to the upkeep of Coonagh over the summer. Again we appeal for anyone with some time on their hands to give the lads some assistance. There’s no need for a big commitment, just a few hours when time is available. The biggest asset in Coonagh this season will undoubtedly be the new floodlit pitch which is just reaching maturity, and will be ready to be played upon in the coming weeks. We ask everyone for their continued patience and please stay off the new pitch (including wandering around for look) until we are given the go ahead from the contractor. The provision of the new pitch means that the seemingly nomadic wanderings of our underage sides will be reduced dramatically this year. Again we thank the coaches, players and parents for their patience in moving to different venues for training over the last few years.
Underage training is all set to commence in full this Sunday and with the largest number of registered underage players in the Munster region last season, we must be doing something right. We can expect another influx of new and eager players over the coming weeks along with all those returning to the throes of action.
On Sunday week next, 12th September our underage committee will be hosting an open day in Coonagh to welcome new players and indeed parents to Shannon. Some of our senior players and our Munster and International players are expected to be in attendance so pass the word around to anyone from U/7 to U/19.
The Executive committee along with our underage committee are going to place a big emphasis on integrating every player in Shannon into the whole club this season. With almost 600 registered underage players we would also hope to see a large number of parents to get involved in some small way over the season, be it financially, coaching or any way that they feel they can assist. For any new players or parents looking for information they can contact Underage chairman Vinnie Leonard @ leonardv@bloxham.ie .
I make a personnel apology to all our members regarding our website which has not been updated as regularly as it should have been. We are currently in the process of revamping the site to make it more interactive and user friendly and the new version should be live before the month is out, but in the meantime we will ensure that all the important news is updated on the current website www.shannonrfc.com.
Our ladies have also been training hard over the summer months and as usual would welcome any new players , both senior and underage and contact details can be found on www.shannonrfc.com/info.htm
International tickets are available to our members for the autumn internationals and the pricing structure can be viewed on the website. Once again international tickets will have potential disastrous financial consequences for the club if we are left with large quantities unsold, so it’s critical that we dispose of these tickets through our members. Unfortunately the IRFU don’t provide a sale or return policy for their constituent clubs , which in effect means it’s a sink or swim scenario , not only for Shannon , but all other clubs. Members may well ask why do we get these tickets, and the simple answer is that if a club fails to take their allocation for the Autumn internationals, then the IRFU will reduce the clubs allocation for the traditional crowd pullers , The Six Nations. It’s a very difficult and onerous task to manage, and we ask all our members to assist us in this regard. It may well come to stage in the future that the decision is made in the interest of the club that we reduce our commitment to purchasing all tickets in order to minimise Shannon’s potential losses. Anyone with orders can contact Tadhg Crowe on 087 6524958.
Keeping with finances, and we ask all our members to return their subscriptions in a timely manner. For the last number of years the Executive committee have taken cognisance of the straitened times we live in and have maintained the subscription fees and not imposed an increase.
Finally we take this opportunity to wish all our players, members and supporters an enjoyable and successful season.
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