Club and Community Finals Programme April 7th

Bank of ireland women’s plate & cup Finals
Sunday, 7th april
at dexcom stadium
Sponsored by Bank of Ireland

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

#NEVERSTOPCOMPETING
Bank of Ireland is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

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.

Women’s plate Final
Referees: cian hough, peter mccarthy (ar1), sean og duffy (Ar2)
creggs rfc

Women’s plate Final
Referees: cian hough, peter mccarthy (ar1), sean og duffy (Ar2)
westport rfc

Creggs RFC MANAGEMENT
Dave Purcell
Head Coach
Micheál Glennon
Coach
Andrew Boyle
Coach
Siobhan Purcell
Team Manager
Ann Hynes
Team Manager

westport RFC MANAGEMENT
Mark Walsh
Head Coach
Michael Ryder
Forwards Coach
Katie Hogan
Physio
Bernie Nolan
Team Manager
Virginia Conway
Team Captain

Women’s cup Final
Referees: siobhán daly, jason craughwell (ar1), ruaridh Allen (Ar2)
tuam/oughterard colts rfc

Women’s cup Final
Referees: siobhán daly, jason craughwell (ar1), ruaridh Allen (Ar2)
university of galway rfc
(C)

Tuam/oughterard colts RFC
MANAGEMENT
owen lydon
Coach
martin irons
Coach
norman tierney
Coach
barry ruane
Coach
ken o’grady
Coach
natalie fox
Team Manager

university of galway RFC
MANAGEMENT
Diarmuid Codyre
Head Coach
Jayden Murphy
Assistant Coach
Clare Cole
Team Manager

finals preview
This Sunday, 7th April sees the next round of
Bank of Ireland Club and Schools finals in Dexcom
Stadium. The Women’s Plate Final will take place at
1:00 PM followed by the Women’s Cup Final at 3:30
PM.
Cup campaign where they claimed a victory over
Sligo RFC at home with a thrilling 37-22 scoreline.
Despite going on to lose to a strong University of
Galway side, their previous win against Sligo was
enough to see Creggs into the Plate Final at Dexcom
Stadium this coming Sunday. Only in their first year
The first final of the day is the Bank of Ireland
Women’s Plate Final which will see Creggs RFC
take on Westport RFC. These two teams first met in
the Bank of Ireland Invitational Cup in September
where Westport came away with a 15-10 win after
an early-season contest. An impressive showing for
the Creggs side in their first year as an adult team,
they’ve gotten to gel since as a team. After a few
tough losses in the Bank of Ireland against more
experienced sides such as Tuam/Oughterard Colts
and the University of Galway, Creggs bounced
back with force in the Bank of Ireland Women’s
as an adult team, this Creggs team is one to watch
for the future. Westport RFC faced Sligo RFC, Creggs
RFC, and Tuam/Oughterard Colts in the Women’s
Invitational Cup where they won once and lost
once against Sligo, beat Creggs, and fell to a strong
Tuam/Oughterard side. The Invitational Cup got
them warmed up for the Bank of Ireland Senior
League where they hit the ground running with
an incredibly close 5-point loss to the University
of Galway after which they went on to beat Sligo,
Creggs, and OLBC before falling just short in a 17-12
loss against Tuam/Oughterard Colts. These results

saw them into the League Semi-Final where they
once again faced the University of Galway. They
unfortunately just missed out on the final after a
15-12 loss. In the Bank of Ireland Women’s Cup,
Westport recorded two wins against OLBC and
Ballinrobe RFC (in their first year as an adult team)
and one close loss against Tuam/Oughterard Colts
in the campaign. Like Creggs, their 2nd place finish
in their group meant they had booked a place in
the Plate Final at Dexcom Stadium this Sunday.
Sure to be an electric atmosphere and a great
rematch, this final is not to be missed. The Bank of
Ireland Women’s Plate Final is at 1:00 PM on Sun,
7th April in Dexcom Stadium.
Oughterard Colts came away with a 19-5 win. The
University of Galway also had a strong start to their
season, having performed impressively the whole
way through the Women’s Senior League with their
only loss being against Tuam/Oughterard Colts in
Round 2 of the campaign and then again in the final
of the league. In the Women’s Cup, the University of
Galway side put away two convincing wins against
Creggs and Sligo, seeing them through to the
Cup Final in Dexcom stadium. The way this season
has gone for both sides, it will be a close contest.
The University of Galway are no strangers to the
Women’s Cup Final and last year’s runners up will
be ready for the challenge against a staggeringly
impressive Tuam/Oughterard Colts side. With the
The second, and last, final of the day will see
Tuam/Oughterard Colts take on the University of
Galway RFC in the Bank of Ireland Women’s Cup
Final. Both teams have had a strong season with
Tuam/Oughterard Colts being the first team from
Connacht to make the Women’s All-Ireland Junior
Cup final, the University of Galway winning the
University SSI Tier 2 Cup Final, and both Tuam/
two sides not having met since the Women’s Senior
League, they will surely both have tactics up their
sleeves and will be ready for the final. The Bank of
Ireland Women’s Cup Final is at 3:30 PM on Sun, 7th
April in Dexcom Stadium. The Women’s Cup Final will
be live streamed by StreamSport with commentary
by Galway Bay FM. Find more information and
purchase the stream here.
Oughterard Colts and the University of Galway
going unbeaten in their Women’s Cup campaigns.
Tuam/Oughterard Colts saw a clean sweep in their
Bank of Ireland Women’s Senior League matches
Fans are encouraged to buy their tickets in advance
as all 2024 finals will be cashless. Tickets can be
purchased here.
with their closest results being against University
of Galway in Round 2 and Westport in Round 7.
Once again, when it came to the Bank of Ireland
Women’s Cup campaign, Tuam/Oughterard Colts
displayed impressive rugby with another clean
sweep on the board. Westport once again brought
them closest with a 12 point game where Tuam/

women‘s plate final
creggs rfc message
“All at Creggs RFC wish our Senior Womens Team the best
of luck in their Senior Womens Plate Final on Sunday V
Westport RFC. A great achievement in reaching the plate
final in their first year and we look forward to this team
continuing to develop in the coming seasons.“
westport rfc message
“We at Westport RFC would like to wish our senior
women’s team the very best of Luck in the plate final
against Creggs RFC. We would also like to thank the
team for their hard work and commitment throughout
the season. One more job to do Ladies Bring home the
silverware!!”
women‘s cup final
tuam/oughterard colts MESSAGE
“All at Tuam Rugby club would like to wish the Tuam/
Oughterard Ladies all the best in the cup final v NUIG
Ladies. You have done us proud all year and best of luck
in todays game.
We at Oughterard Rugby couldn‘t be prouder of our
ladies in what they have achieved in our second year
as a ladies team and wish them the best of luck in the
final. From all at Oughterard RFC.“
university of galway rfc MESSAGE
“I would like to wish the UG Women the very best of
luck this Sunday against Tuam/Oughterard Colts. It
has been a very positive season for the girls, winning
the SSI tier 2 cup final and reaching the final of the
Connacht senior women’s league. Everyone in UG is
very excited to see the girls push one step further this
time, and capping off what has been a very impressive
year for the club.”

Upcoming Finals
sponsored by bank of ireland
SUNDAY, 14th APRIL
11am: Bank of Ireland u14 girls cup final
12:30pm: Bank of Ireland u16 girls cup final
2:30pm: Bank of Ireland u18 girls cup final
SUNDAY, 21st APRIL
11am: bank of ireland U14 Boys Cup FINAL
12:30pm: bank of ireland U16 Boys Cup FINAL
2:30PM: bank of ireland U18.5 Boys Cup FINAL
WEDNESDAY, 24th APRIL
11am: u14 Boy’s School a league Final
12:30pm: u14 Boy’s School B league Final
2:00pm: u14 Boy’s School c league Final
3:30pm: Junior Boys’ c school cup final
5:00pm: junior Boys’ c school cup final