Club and Community Finals Programme April 14th

Bank of ireland girls u16, u14 & u18 cup finals
Sunday, 14th april
at dexcom stadium
Sponsored by Bank of Ireland

fáilte go dtí
dexcom stadium
Connacht Rugby and Dexcom
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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.

girls’ u16 Cup Final
Referees: katie kilbane, ruaridh Allen (ar1), michelle jessop mclaughlin (Ar2)
ballinasloe rfc

girls’ u16 Cup Final
Referees: katie kilbane, ruaridh Allen (ar1), michelle jessop mclaughlin (Ar2)
westport rfc

Ballinasloe RFC MANAGEMENT
Gearóid Finneran
Head Coach
stephen goode
Backs Coach
Alec Farrell
Assistant Coach
Brendan O’Sullivan
Medic
Siobhan Turley
Medic

westport RFC MANAGEMENT
David Conway
Head Coach
Des Reidy.
Assistant Coach
Kayla Conway
Ball Girl
Biddy Hughes
Team Manager
Cohan O’Grady
Ball Boy

girls’ u14 cup Final
Referees: Sarah o’rourke, ruaridh Allen (ar1), michelle jessop mclaughlin (Ar2)
ballinasloe rfc

girls’ u14 cup Final
Referees: Sarah o’rourke, ruaridh Allen (ar1), michelle jessop mclaughlin (Ar2)
tuam/oughterard rfc

Ballinasloe RFC MANAGEMENT
stephen goode
Head Coach
Lyn Donnelly
Backs Coach
Brendan O’Sullivan
Medic
Rebekah Condon
H2O

tuam/oughterard RFC MANAGEMENT
Andrew Antonio
Coach
Sean Higgins
Coach
Owen Lydon
Coach
martin irons
Coach
norman tierney
Coach

girls’ u18 cup Final
Referees: siobhán daly, david watterson (ar1), pietro bonanno (Ar2)
ballina rfc

girls’ u18 cup Final
Referees: siobhán daly, david watterson (ar1), pietro bonanno (Ar2)
tuam/oughterard colts rfc

Ballina RFC MANAGEMENT
Stephen lacken
Head Coach
Declan Murphy
Assistant Coach
Deirdre Whyte
Team Manager
Oisin Quinn
Assistant Coach
Stephen lacken
Medical/Physio

tuam/oughterard RFC MANAGEMENT
Shane Collins
Coach
martin irons
Coach
owen lydon
Coach
norman tierney
Coach

finals preview
This Sunday, 14th April sees the next round of
Bank of Ireland Club and Schools finals in Dexcom
Stadium with the Youth Girls Cup Finals. The U16
Girls’ Cup Final will take place at 11:00 AM followed
by the U14 Girls’ Cup Final at 1:00 PM and the U18
Girls’ Cup Final at 2:30 PM.
the table, they progressed to the League final in
Dexcom Stadium after beating Creggs RFC 35-14 in
their home semi-final. The Ballinasloe side ended
their league final against Ballina RFC in a draw,
meaning that whoever scored the first try won the
match which was Ballina on this occasion. Driven
by this, Ballinasloe came back firing in the Cup
The first final of the day is the Bank of Ireland u16
Girl’s Cup Final which will see Ballinasloe RFC take
on Westport RFC. For some of these players, this
match-up will be familiar as the two clubs faced
each other in the Bank of Ireland U14 Girls’ Cup
Final last year at Dexcom Stadium. In that instance,
Ballinasloe came away with a 3-point win. Both
teams have had impressive performances this
year. Ballinasloe recorded no losses during their
U16 League campaign and only 1 draw against
Westport in Round 6 of the competition. Topping
competition holding a clean record and overcoming
Ballina in their thrilling semi-final rematch with a
38-33 scoreline to secure their place in the final this
coming Sunday. Westport RFC only lost to Ballina
in Round 7 of their league campaign as well as in
the semi-final in two close contests but recorded
brilliant wins against Tuam/Oughterard Colts and
Sligo RFC along with a draw against Ballinasloe. In
the Cup Campaign, Westport continued to grow and
recorded wins over Claremorris RFC and Buccaneers
RFC in Pool C meaning they faced Creggs once again

in their Semi-Final. Creggs gave them a strong
contest, but Westport eventually secured the win
with a scoreline of 10-7. These two teams will be
more than ready to face off this Sunday, so be sure
to get your ticket. The Bank of Ireland U16 Girls’
Plate Final is at 11:00 AM on Sun, 14th April in
Dexcom Stadium.
Girls’ Plate Final last year when Ballina came away
with a 14-10 win so are no strangers to each other.
Both Ballina and Tuam/Oughterard had a few losses
in their League campaign this season with both
falling just short in their Semi-Finals. However, they
both came back strong in their Cup Campaigns
with clean sheets. Ballina claimed the victories
against Claremorris RFC, Buccaneers RFC, and
The second final of the day will see Ballinasloe
RFC take on Tuam/Oughterard RFC in the Bank of
Ireland U14 Girls’ Cup Final. Winners of last year’s
U14 Girls’ Cup final, Ballinasloe will be looking
to defend their title against a strong Tuam/
Oughterard side. In their Cup campaign, Ballinasloe
claimed victories over Castlebar RFC and Westport
RFC, seeing them face off against and impressive
Dunmore RFC in their home Semi-Final. A thrilling
contest, the game ended in a draw with the winner
decided over who scored the first try meaning
that Ballinasloe will face Tuam/Oughterard in the
Ballinrobe RFC seeing them into an away Semi-Final
against a strong Creggs RFC team. After a thrilling
game of rugby, Ballina came away with a 28-19
win seeing them into the final this Sunday. Tuam/
Oughterard also progressed through their Cup
campaign without a loss, seeing wins over Corrib
RFC, Corinthians RFC, and then Westport RFC in
their home Semi-Final. This is sure to be a fabulous
game of rugby by the two sides in what will be a
hotly contested final. The Bank of Ireland U14 Girls’
Cup Final is at 1:00 PM on Sun, 14th April in Dexcom
Stadium.
final this Sunday. Tuam/Oughterard also stormed
through their Cup campaign and into the Semi-
Final where they faced Creggs RFC at home. A
decisive win, they came away with an impressive
Fans are encouraged to buy their tickets in advance
as all 2024 finals will be cashless. Tickets can be
purchased here.
27-14 win. Two very exciting young teams who are
sure to show amazing displays of rugby, Sunday’s
final is a game not to be missed. The Bank of
Ireland U14 Girls’ Cup Final is at 1:00 PM on Sun,
14th April in Dexcom Stadium.
The third, and last, final of the day will see Ballina
RFC take on last year’s U18 Cup winners Tuam/
Oughterard RFC in the Bank of Ireland U18 Girls’
Cup Final. These two teams faced off in the U16

Club Well-Wishes!
Ballina rfc message
“Congratulations and our very best wishes to our
wonderful U18 Girls on their Cup Final Day in Dexcom
Stadium. Thank you to both players and coaches for all
your hard work and dedication. A very proud day for
you as players, coaches and your families. Enjoy ladies
and we will be there on the sidelines cheering you on.“
- President Adrian Bourke
Ballinasloe rfc message
“We at Ballinasloe Rfc wish our U16 girls the best of
luck against Westport in the Connacht Cup final - a
great achievement and we are very proud of you all.”
“We at Ballinasloe Rfc wish our U14’s girls the very
best of luck against Tuam/Oughterard in their second
Connacht Cup Final a great achievement and we are very
proud of you all.”
tuam/oughterard colts MESSAGE
“Tuam RFC are delighted to have 2 teams involved in 2
finals today and wish Tuam/Oughterard u14s & u18s
girls the best of luck in both games. We are so proud of
all the girls for getting this far and hope to see them
lifting the cups after the games.“
Oughterard Rfc are delighted for both our u14s and
u18s reaching the cup finals. we are very proud of them
and it‘s a great privilege and occasion for the girls to
get to play in dexcom stadium. it‘s days like these that
keep the girls playing rugby.“
Westport rfc MESSAGE
“Everyone at Rugby Club are incredibly proud of the
journey this group of players and coaches have been
on this season. It’s a young team, many of whom only
made the move up from U14s in September. There is a
great team spirit and comraderie amongst everyone
involved, on and off the pitch. We wish them the very
best of luck in what will be a hard fought battle v
Ballinasloe RFC in the U16 Cup final. Hon the Port!”

Upcoming Finals
sponsored by bank of ireland
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 Boys School a league Final
12:30pm: Junior Boys c school cup final
2:30pm: junior Boys b school cup final
SUNDAY, 28th APRIL
11am: Bank of Ireland u13 boys cup final
12:30pm: Bank of Ireland u15 boys cup final
2:30pm: Bank of Ireland u17 boys cup final