Club and Community Finals Programme Mar 3rd

Bank of ireland j1b & j1a league Finals
Sunday, 3rd march
at dexcom stadium
Sponsored by Bank of Ireland

fáilte go dtí
dexcom stadium
Connacht Rugby and Dexcom
announce historic naming
rights partnership

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2022/23 Snapshots

Club and Community
A word from Head of Club and
Community, Joe Gorham
Finals Day at the mecca that is
Dexcom Stadium is the pinnacle
of our Club and School players’
ambitions. It is a day of celebration for
the whole of Connacht Rugby.
It is truly a memorable occasion for all
concerned which, undoubtedly, will
be a source of conversation with your
teammates in the many years ahead.
The sport of rugby allows for all our
players to realise the limits of their
ambitions, it allows us to create lifelong
memories, however, most importantly,
it is the maker of lifelong friendships.
There is no better feeling than to lift
a Cup, Plate or Bowl alongside your
teammates while representing your
club or school. It is all about People and
Place.
Sport also reflects life, in that, with
every cup final there must be a winner

and a loser. Regardless of winning
or losing, the hope is that everyone
involved on Finals Days will have a
quality experience on their big day.
The advent of the new pitch at
Dexcom Stadium has allowed Club
and Community the opportunity to
host additional Cup and League Finals
(male and female/Club & school)
this season. In fact, we are hugely
excited to host over 40 Club & School
finals over the course of the next few
months.
Volunteers, Coaches and Managers
to get you to this day. Volunteers
are the life-blood of our sport and it
would be remiss of me, on this day of
celebration, not to say a huge thank
you to each and every Club & School
Volunteer for the magical work you
put in day in and day out for the cause
that is rugby in Connacht.
Finally, we at Club & Community
rugby wish all our finalists and their
loyal supporters the very best of luck
on the day.
On Finals Days, we must never
forget the huge amount of work and
personal sacrifice put in by all the
Connacht Abú.

J1B League Final
Referees: Cathal Roddy, Kenneth Loughrey (AR1), Mark Callanan (AR2)
ballinasloe rfc

J1B League Final
Referees: Cathal Roddy, Kenneth Loughrey (AR1), Mark Callanan (AR2)
Buccaneers rfc 2nds

Ballinasloe rfc MANAGEMENT
NOEL MANNION
Team Manager
CONOR HIGGINS
Forwards Coach
STEPHEN REILLY
Backs Coach
KEVIN HOGARTY
Kit Manager
AARON LOHAN
Physio

uccaneers RFC MANAGEMENT
Martin Staunton
Head Coach
Niall Harney
Team Manager
Eoin Slevin
Assistant Coach
Conor Moran
Assistant Manager
Martin Webster
Assistant Manager
Trevor Thompson
Assistant Manager

J1A League Final
Referees: Jason Cairns, Gerry Geraghty (ar1), michael smith (ar2)
Connemara rfc

J1A League Final
Referees: Jason Cairns, Gerry Geraghty (ar1), michael smith (ar2)
Creggs rfc

Connemara rfc MANAGEMENT
Ambrose Conboy
Head Coach
Mike O’Toole
Backs Coach
Joe O’Connell
Team Manager
Rory O’Toole
Team Administrator
Gerard Faherty
Kit Manager
Alan daly
Physio (Back in Motion)

creggs RFC MANAGEMENT
Kolo Kiripati
Head Coach
Sean Adamson
Coach
Mike Diffley
Coach
Kevin O’Rourke
Team Manager
Sean Brandon
Assistant Manager
Pat O’Brien
Kit Manager
JJ Kennedy
Assistant Manager
Katlyn Gilleran
Physio

J1B Standings:
J1A Standings:

J1B League final
ballinasloe rfc message
“Wishing all players and management the
very best in today’s fight for promotion to
J1A – Hoping you can take us back to where we
belong!“
Buccaneers rfc message
“On behalf of all our club members, we wish
the best of luck to our lads in today’s J1B final
against our neighbours in Ballinasloe. Here’s
hoping for an entertaining and injury free
game and a win for Buccs!”
J1A League final
connemara rfc MESSAGE
“We at Connemara RFC are Wishing our J1a Team
and Management the best of luck in their league
Final against Creggs RFC!“
creggs rfc MESSAGE
“we at Creggs RFC are wishing our J1A team the
very best of luck in their League Final against
Connemara!”

finals preview
This Sunday, 3rd March sees the next
day of Bank of Ireland Club and Schools
finals in Dexcom Stadium. The J1B
League Final will take place at 1:00 PM
followed by the J1A League Final at
3:30 PM.
The first final of the day is the Bank of
Ireland J1B League Final which will see
Ballinasloe RFC take on Buccaneers
RFC 2nds. These two teams are no
strangers to each other, having faced
off in Round 2 of the J1B League where
Buccaneers won 23-18 and then again
in the Bank of Ireland Junior Cup
Quarterfinal just last weekend where
Buccaneers came away with a 22-15 win.
The J1B League competition proved
to be a thrilling one with many close
contests, including Ballinasloe’s Semi-
Final against Corinthians 2nds where
they came out with a 38-33 win to see
them into the final against table-toppers
Buccaneers. Ballinasloe have proven to
be a strong side, making the J1B final
after winning the J1C final last season.
Buccaneers only fell to Sligo RFC 2nds
in their League campaign this season
and topped the table with many
impressive displays of rugby. These two
sides are both incredibly talented and

equally matched. Sure to be an electric
atmosphere, this match is not to be
missed. The Bank of Ireland J1B League
Final is at 1:00 PM on Sun, 3rd March in
Dexcom Stadium.
The second, and last, final of the
day will see last year’s J1A League
champions Creggs RFC face three-time
champions since 2014/15 Connemara
RFC in the Bank of Ireland J1A League
Final. One of the most enjoyable
competitive rivalries of the season,
this final is going to be a thriller with
both teams well-versed in what a final
entails. Also having met in the Junior
Cup Quarterfinal last weekend, Creggs
will be looking forward to the rematch
after falling just short of the win.
Creggs’ near-perfect record in the
League was blemished only by a loss
in Round 3 by Connemara themselves
who beat the home side 21-10 on that
occasion. However, Creggs breezed
through their Semi-Final against Tuam
RFC with a decisive 37-7 win and are
ready to face the All-Blacks again in
Dexcom Stadium where they will
surely be a team with a clear mission of
bringing home the trophy. The Bank of
Ireland J1A League Final is at 3:30 PM on
Sun, 3rd March in Dexcom Stadium.
Fans are encouraged to buy their tickets
in advance as all 2024 finals will be
cashless.
Tickets can be purchased here.
Coming into the final, Connemara have
impressively swept the board with their
closest win being against the University
of Galway in Round 2 of the League
competition where they edged the
college side by just 2 points. Their clean
record saw them straight into Sunday’s
final.

Upcoming Finals
WEDNESDAY, 6TH March
11am: Junior Girls schools League Final
1pm: senior Girls schools League Final
WEDNESDAY, 13th MARCH
11am: Junior boys a schools cup FINAL
1:00pm: senior boys C schools cup FINAL
3:30pm: senior boys b schools cup FINAl
6pm: senior boys a schools cup FINAl
SUNDAY, 24th MARCH
11am: Men’s Junior Plate FINAL
1:30pm: MEN’S Junior Cup Final
Sponsored by Bank of Ireland