Castlebar R.F.C.

Castlebar Rugby Club Under 11’s squad visited the home of Connacht Rugby, the Sportsground in Galway on Friday night last to witness the Connacht team secure a bonus point win over Olympus Rugby Madrid in the opening game of the Amlin Challenge Cup. Connacht scored 8 tries in total with Michael Swift and Fionn Carr grabbing two apiece. Tiernan O’Halloran crowned his competitive debut with a try in what was overall an impressive display by Connacht to leave a final score of Connacht 46 : Olympus 6.

The Castlebar U11 players formed a guard of honour for the Connacht squad and the visiting team at the beginning of the game. The Castlebar team played an entertaining and exciting game against Creggs at half time in front of the large crowd in attendance. To the amazement of the crowd and careful management by the coachs, Castlebar succeeded in playing all of their 32 man squad in the 10 minute game. The game was a fast, thrilling affair with Creggs asserting early pressure on the Castlebar defence but some fine defence work and tackling from the Castlebar backs on their try line ensured that Creggs could not find a way across the line. Finally, after some terrific passing and team work, the Castlebar team secured a memorable win with Diarmuid O Malley getting over for a well deserved try with a great team performance. Both young teams received a tremendous round of applause from the appreciative large attendance at the game for their spirited and entertaining display of underage rugby.

Full credit to the Connacht players at the end of the game who took no issue in posing for photographs and signing autographs for their young fan base.

Photo 1 shows – Diarmuid O Malley getting across the line to score the winning try for Castlebar.

Photo 2 shows – The Castlebar U11 team with coaches Liam Whyte and Gerry Melly.