Saturday 14th April was a historic day in the life of Virginia Rugby Club when their talented U 15 team were crowned Ulster League Champions in Banbridge, Co. Down after a titanic battle with Carrickfergus RFC ,the Kingpins of Ulster Rugby.

Despite a season where Virginia went through the league competition unbeaten in 14 games and progressed to the Cup final in Ravenhill on Saturday 5th May, nobody expected them to turn over this talented Carrickfergus side. Indeed so confident were the Carrick side they had their post match luncheon plans published prior to the game. Virginia on the other hand worked quietly in the background training regularly and intensely, taking each game in their stride. Having topped the league in a tough group and gone through the quarter and semi finals with hard fought wins against Banbridge and Rainey, Virginia now only had Carrick to stop their march to becoming Champions of Ulster.

A large crowd of Virginia supporters made the journey to Banbridge RFC for an early 11am kick off. On arrival Carrickfergus were already going through their paces in anticipation of disposing of Virgina’s very talented team. Ground conditions were perfect in Banbridge and staff there must be complemented for the condition of the pitches and surrounds and their welcome to Virginia players, management and supporters. Representing Ulster Rugby Willie Latimor was most welcoming and showed great respect and admiration to Virginia RFC and all involved.

The game began with Carrickfergus piling the pressure on Virginia and in the first ten minutes Virginia were penalised on a number of occasions for not releasing, such was the pressure and speed to the breakdown of Carrickfergus. Indeed this eventually lead to a Carrick try under the posts when Virginia were caught napping, the early start and bus journey perhaps taking its toll.

As the game progressed Virginia grew in confidence and began to soak up anything Carrickfergus threw at them. Forwards led by Captain Niall Farrelly put huge pressure on in the scrum and Carrick found it hard to compete. Some moments of indiscipline from Carrick gave Virginia advantage on a number of occasions. Virginia were strong in the line out with good throwing from Josh Kinkade and great work and hands from Darren Brady and Niall Yore meant that we not only won our own lineouts but turned over a lot of Carrick’s as well. Virginia backs were starting to stretch Carrick with some great running and with Daire Mc Enroe, Brendan Argue, Jason Mc Mahon and Jack Faherty all in top form, Carrick were on the back foot on numerous occasions. Eoin Sommerville at full back was hugely confident and assured under the high ball and despite being drafted into this position at the last minute due to an injury to regular full back Andrew Geraghty, Eoin’s performance over the entire game was outstanding.

7 – 0 down at half time Virginia now had all to play for and after a rousing team talk from Managers Hughie Brady and Douglas Kinkade, Virginia went into the second half assured they could turn this game.

Ben Conaty at no 12 took the kick off out of the sky to gasps of amazement from the huge crowd and tackled and chased like his life depended on it. Carrick were now beginning to crack and decisions began to go Virginia’s way. Following good rucking on the Virgina 10 meter line , Ben Conaty made a dramatic run for the line and jubilantly touched down under the posts to enormous applause from the Virgina crowd. A perfect conversion from Jason Mc Mahon left the score at 7 – 7 and it was now game on.

Carrick now threw everything at Virginia and made a number of substitutions to try and turn the game but every Virginia player put their life on the line to make those big tackles and turn over possession. A dramatic turning point in the game was when Carrick’s huge no 8 on a surging run for the line was sent into Carrick’s dugout by Ben Conaty who was now looking like man of the match. Carrick went ahead again10 –7 with a penalty and with 15 minutes left Virginia had to dig deep to regain control.

This they did with a huge drive to the line with a quick ball from Jason Winterlich who had a fine game sending the ball into the hands of the backs and with great hands from Jason, Brendan and Daire, Carrick were now stretched. The final pass from Brendan Argue found Jack Faherty on the far line and coming at speed burst through the Carrick defence and touched down for a brilliant try in the corner. A tough conversion attempt by Jason Mc Mahon went just wide and at 12 – 10 Virginia had five minutes to hold out. Carrick threw everything they had at Virginia but great defence by Niall Farrelly and Darren Brady and great work from Ross Curran, Michael Novak , Michael Faherty and the powerful Evan Doughty prevented Carrick from making progress.

With every minute like eternity the referee called for last play on a Carrick lineout on the Virginia 22. Desperate pressure was applied by Virginia and the ball spilled to Niall Farrelly who sent it almost back across the border to finish out an epic game to the delight of huge Virginia support making a historic day for Virginia RFC. The scenes of joy and excitement will live long in the memory of anybody there. The medal presentation and speech from Willie Latimore was a perfect end to a perfect day. The team and supporters then travelled on to Cookstown to support the u17 team who gave an exhibition of perfect rugby to win the final of the u17 Ulster Bowl competition.

Great praise must go to the supporters from Virginia who have travelled long journeys throughout the season to cheer on this team and who on the day were impeccable in their conduct and appreciation of this great victory.

Thanks to the managers Hughie Brady and Douglas Kinkade who have put in so much time and effort in bringing the team to this level , now u15 Ulster League Champions.To the entire team who have worked so hard to get to this day, they are a wonderful group of young lads and a credit to their club. This has been an outstanding performance and every single player has contributed on the road to this success and should be proud. We now look forward to the Cup final in Ravenhill on May 5th in the knowledge that we can compete at the very top level of Ulster rugby.

The team returned to a great reception at the clubhouse where they were met by family supporters and club officials and a rousing speech by Carl Sherriff, Club President.

The U11s travelled to Naas last Saturday for the annual Joe Moran blitz to pit their skills against some of the best teams in the country. The squad was made up of:
Ibykan Ajetummobi, Ronan McKeown, Sorcha Higgins, Cai Walker, Evan Charters, Amanda McQuade, Enda Maguire, Finn Lotscher, Aaron Mannion, Aaron Kierans, Rebecca Snell, Robert Lochaden, Niall Branagan, Jason Henderson, and Louis Reeves.

It was a tough day as no one was there to make up the numbers. Virginia started with a good win over the hosts, but then fell to close defeats against John Hayes club Bruff of Limerick and Gorey from Wexford. Their best performance of the season was to come though when they took on an all conquering Old Belvedere team from Dublin, and become the only team on the day not only to hold out for a draw, but to keep them pinned in their own half for most of the match. Their final game was against Cill Dara, but again they fell to a narrow defeat.

The team and supporters were complimented at the end of the day by the organisers for their sportsmanlike play and attitude- they were a true credit to the club and Ulster Rugby.

The U11s travelled again to challenge some of the top Leinster clubs when they visited Navan last Sunday. Our Development Team kicked matters off against Barnhall, and soon found themselves behind, going into the break 3-0 down. They rallied a bit in the second half, with the forwards in particular gaining a little more possession. Rebecca Snell, Killian Collins, and Robert Lochaden all worked hard in the loose, allowing Ibykan Ajetummobi to pull a try back. Barnhall however proved too strong and two late trys gave them a 5-1 victory.

The longer serving players took to the field next against an extremely well drilled Navan 1st team. The hosts started strongly quickly establishing a 2-0 lead, but some great work off the back of the scrum by Amanda McQuade allowed Virginia to pull one back before the break. The visitors started the 2nd half the stronger, but despite great work up front by Sorcha Higgins and Ronan McKeown they couldn't break the Navan line. Navan scored twice more at the close to win 4-1.

It was looking like being a tough day for Virginia as the Development Team lined out against Navan, and again found themselves 3-0 down at half time. However the Cavan team rallied after the break, and took the game to the hosts. Niall Branagan was ferocious at the breakdown, snatching every loose ball. Half back Louis Reeves made the most of the extra space he had, freeing up Jason Henderson for a scorching run up the line to allow Ibykan over for his second of the day. Tiernan O'Reilly and Conor Hetherton tackled for their lives, preventing Navan from getting any go forward ball, and before long the forwards had once again set up a platform for Ibykan to score again. Virginia pressed the line looking for an equaliser, but heartbreak came when Navan scored a breakaway try just before the whistle to win 4-2.

It was left now for the more experienced players to see if they could snatch a win from the day against Barnhall 1sts. You could see from the start that Virginia were really up for this, showing much more agression at the breakdown, and with a determination to get the ball wide. They were soon 2-0 up with trys from Cian Doughty and a 2nd for Amanda. If they thought it would be plain sailing however they were proved wrong when Barnhall snatched one back, but Virginia wouldn't lie down and an Aaron Cooke try meant they went into the break 3-1 ahead. Barnhall were rattled now, and after the break Virginia produced some of their best play of the season. Great rucking by Cai Walker set up Evan Charters to crash over for a try. Then some superb running from Finn Lotscher and Aaron Kierans set up the forwards again, Evan and Cai releasing Enda Maguire to make it five. A third try of the day for Amanda made the final score 6-1 to Virginia.

A tough day against some very good sides, but all the Virginia players proved they could mix with the best, with our new recruits really starting to flourish.

Virginia RFC - 22
Rainey Old Boys - 5

Virginia U15's departed from Virginia Club House at 7.30am on Saturday morning to make the long journey to Magherafelt to compete #in the Ulster semi-final of the U15 League competition. Their opponents were Rainey Old Boys who had also powered their way to the semi final and who Virginia knew were not to be taken for granted.

Conditions while cold were quite good and the game commenced with a sustained period of pressure from Virginia. Strong forward play set up nice ball for the Virginia backs who caused problems for Rainey and eventually team captain Niall Farrelly picked up a ball from the back of a 5 metre scrum and powered over for an early try under the posts which was duly converted by the new Ronan O' Gara of Virginia - Ben Conaty.

Virginia continued to impress and Darren Brady went over for the second week in a row only to be denied by the TMO.

Virgina were now gaining in confidence and prop Ross Curran showed both strength and pace in his ball carrying.

A slick passing movement by Ben Conaty to Ross set up Niall Farrelly on the halfway line and he powered through for a touchdown under the posts for Virginia's second try which was converted by Ben. A penalty inside the 22 converted by Ben Conaty brought Virginia to a lead of 17 – 0 at half time.

From the restart a great run and off load by Darren Brady sent Ben Conaty in for Virginia's third try. Unfortunately the conversion dropped short. Brendan Argue was confident and assured at full back .Jason Mc Mahon gave a display of exemplary kicking gaining Virginia some breathing space and terriority on a number of occassions. Eoin Somerville made some brilliant tackles and was ably assisted by Jack Faherty and Daire Mc Enroe who were both shaking off the effects of the flu.

Rainey did go over for a try after some missed tackles by Virginia, but Virginia than battened down the hatches and held out for the final 15 minutes.After some excellent scrummaging by Virginia's front row they managed to turn over some excellent scrums inside their own 22 to hold off Rainey once more. Jason Winterlich at scrum half was on top of his game as was Michael Nowak in the front row until injury resulted in his removal from the game. Second row Niall Yore and Míchael Faherty worked hard at the breakdown while on the flanks at number 7 Evan Doughty put in some huge hits throughout the game. Substitute Ian Goldrick laid down a marker for management with an excellent performance and with a strong bench still remaining including Peadar Doughty, Dale Smith, Karl Golden, Eric Shekleton, Sean Ward, Daniel Faulkner, Maliej Stolowski, Robert Mc Cabe and Remi Ivaskevicius, competition for places will be strong.

Virginia now look forward to their first Ulster U15 final in the clubs history, on the 10th of March with venue yet to be announced.

VRFC U11s travelled to Skerries last Sunday for a friendly fixture which is now a regular part of the calendar. They played four fixtures against the hosts in what was a pulsating day’s rugby.

The first match saw Virginia start like a hurricane. Cai Walker opened the scoring, and before long two tries each for Cian Doughty and Evan Charters, and one from Ronan McKeown meant the visitors went in 6-0 up at half time. Skerries hit back after the break with two quick tries, but the forwards soon excerpted their dominance again though Sorcha Higgins and Killian Collins, and two more tries from Cian followed before Skerries replied again. Virginia's backs were now in full flow and Enda Maguire and Tiernan O'Reilly added tries after some great work involving Jack Osbourne. The game finished 11-3 after Enda charged down to score with the last move of the game.

In the second match it was Virginia who were on the receiving end of a fast start, quickly finding themselves 2-0 down. Aaron Kierans pulled one back, but another Skerries try meant the hosts went in 3-1 up at the break. Virginia worked hard in the second half and tries from Emmet Boylan and Conor Hetherton brought them level. Skerries struck back though to take the lead again, and despite intense pressure led by Rebecca Snell and Robert Lochaden, the host held on to win 4-3.

Match three saw Virginia take the early upper hand, with Cian Doughty, debuting at scrum half, grabbing two more tries to take his days tally to six. Virginia led 2-0 at half time. Skerries though really stepped up their defence, and after pulling one try back, then got two breakaway tries from their own half to lead 3-2. Virginia weren't to be beaten though, and after continuing to pressure the Skerries line equalised at the death when Enda Maguire drove over, final score 3-3.

In the last match of the day there was a more even start to the match. Tries from Aaron Mannion and Aaron Cooke meant that the sides went in 2-2 at half time. Skerries cut loose in the early part of the second half and before long were 7-2 up, and things were looking bleak for the visitors. Virginia dug deep though. The forwards turned the tide with Niall Branagan starting to dominate in the loose and Michael McKeown-Boyle securing possession at almost every line-out. Michael dove over to make it 7-3, and then the backs started to run some great lines off some great passing by Ryan Galligan. Two tries from Aaron Kierans, and one apiece from Emmet and Conor brought the scores level, before Aaron K broke the line to complete his hatrick and a fantastic 8-7 comeback victory for Virginia.

A big thank you to Skerries RFC for their hospitality on the day, and we look forward to welcoming them in the near future.

On Sunday last 12th February Virginia Rugby Football Club showcased their Youth volunteer coaching program to representatives from Cavan Sports Partnership, Ulster development coaches and Cavan GAA.

The scheme came about due to a lack of volunteers in rugby and to meet recommended player to coaches’ ratios. The volunteer coaches for this program came from Virginia’s successful under 17s team with players taking on leadership and coaching roles under the guidance of The Mini’s coaches/managers. Each of the Mini’s teams has two to three of the youths assigned to them. The volunteer coach’s consult with the manager’s and agree the skills required for the particular age group they are coaching. The volunteer coaches then plan the drills for the skills suitable for the age group they are assigned. All participants will receive a coaching seminar, first aid briefing during the program and be awarded a certificate of volunteering when successfully completed.

On training mornings the volunteers have an early meeting with the managers to discuss the planned drills, set the training areas up and then head out with their Mini’s team to commence the training session. At this stage the coaches will communicate their drills to the players, demonstrate the technical aspects of skills such as tackling, rucking, passing and team work. The mini’s players then perform the skills with advice and instruction to an acceptable and agreed standard from the youths. After the training both volunteers and managers complete a feedback and assessment forms to ensure high standards are achieved.

In last Sunday’s training session all mini’s age groups with youth volunteers in action were positively reviewed and applauded. The youth volunteers demonstrated good leadership and coaching techniques. The real success of this program can be gained from the manager’s approval and the enjoyable experience of both the youth volunteers and mini’s players alike. Managers Sean Doyle (u9s), John Fitzpatrick (u10s), Conor Walker and (u 11s) and Dave Warren (u12s) have all expressed positive opinions and a wholesale endorsement of this volunteer program.

The youths volunteers have rose to this challenge and have received plaudits from parents of mini’s players and all within the club. Three weeks ago these u17s volunteers played a very competitive and tough game against Portadown scoring a try in the last min to win the game. The next morning the same players came out sore and bruised to volunteer their time coaching the Mini’s teams. These players are a credit to their families, club and community. Volunteer coaches are the following. Dylan McAleer, Cillian Cahill, Oliver Lotscher, Shane McManus, Don Mullen, Ciaran Cooke, Liam Gordon, Padhraig McManus ,Killian Smith, Seamie Cunnigham, Tommy Whitly, Eoin O Connell, Jamie Rourke, Cillian Goldin and Jamie McDerrmott.

The Virginia Mini’s teams train and play every Sunday from September through to April. The teams range in age from under 9s to under 12s consisting of 80 plus players. All the teams have played competitive games enjoying more successes than defeats across North Leinster. Virginia RFC have recently started a Girls tag rugby team enrolling 20 new members ranging in age from 12 – 15.The girls are under the management of Leona McNally and Dessie Higgins and have already recorded numerous victories in their travels.

The players in all age groups including youth teams appear to form very strong bonds and friendships within the respectful sporting environment of Virginia Rugby Football Club. The commitment of the parents to encourage their children into sports is much admired and well respected within the club as they travel in from areas such as Oldcastle, Mount Nugent, Castlerahen, Crosserlough, Lavey, Killinkere, Bailieboro, Cootehill, Kingscourt, Mullagh.

As clubs go, Virginia Rugby Football Club is punching way above its weight having recorded wins against much bigger AIL clubs across Ulster, Leinster and Connaught this season. This can be partly attributed to the dedicated coaching and management input and also to the very talented crop of players of which Liam Gordon, Don Mullen from Under 17s have been selected to play for Ulster. Virginia presently field three successful youths teams at 13s, 15s and 17s involving 80 players. Every September see a new influx of talent largely down to a rolling development policy of primary schools coaching and positive word of mouth.

Virginia rugby club want to acknowledge and thank Cavan Sports Partnership and the Ulster Branch Rugby Union for their support. They also extend thanks and appreciation to local councillor Paddy McDonald and Ulster development coach Alistair Brown for their review and support last Sunday.

This sporting game proved to be a very competitive with both teams having spells of dominance. Dundalk forwards made several attempts in the first half to gain yardage but Virginia’s forwards stood up well to the challenge with some excellent tackling. Shane Doughty had his game of the season to date supported well by Gerry Flynn and Ben Brunton. It was Virginia’s backs which proved the difference on the day with some excellent passing and running. On 5 min James Smith scored a very good try from a turnover ball which was converted by Adrian Rogers. Dundalk targeted Virginia’s rucks with blitz defence and counter-rucking of a high standard which made it difficult for Adrian Rogers however he overcame the obstacles Dundalk created to set up good back moves. Lee Burdis scored another good try in the corner on 13min.Micheal Gordon scored a great forwards try after several phases to squeeze in for Virginia 3rd try on the stroke of half time. This was converted by James Smith to leave the score 19 – 0 for Virginia at half time.

The second half proved a dogged affair with Virginia making several substitutions. Dundalk’s excellent No 7 tested Virginia’s defence on several occasions, peeling off scrums and taking on loose ball into contact however these penetrating runs were held up by a great team defence. There were several turnovers of pocession for either team and once again it was Virginia’s Captain Lee Burdis who capitalised on this to score his 2nd and Virginia 4th try which was converted by Nathan McCabe to end the game with a score line of 26 -0 for Virginia.

Squad: G.Flynn, L.Sherrif M.Gordon, O.Kiernan, , R.Smith, C.Reilly, J.Smith L.Burdis, R.Patterson, R.Browne, C.Farrelly. L.Maquire, A.Rogers, N.McCabe, S.Doughty, J.Cummins, P.Nulty. B,Brunton, D.Kiernan, D.Costello, J.Sheckleton,

Virginia U15 Rugby Squad competed in the quarter final of the Ulster U15 league on a bright and perfect morning for rugby on Saturday last. The Deerpark grounds and clubhouse looked splendid and everyone there enjoyed another great performance from the ever improving U15 squad.

From the off Virginia piled on the pressure and Banbridge found themselves pinned inside their own 22 for the first 10 minutes. Constant pressure from the forwards ably led by Niall Farrelly and with superb tackling from Darren Brady eventually led to superb ball to the backs with Ben Conaty setting up the pacy winger Dáire McEnroe for Virginia’s first try.

A strong scrum from the Virginia Pack again set up the McEnroe/Conaty combination with the speedy Conaty darting through for Virginia’s 2nd try which Jason McMahon converted. McMahon at out half was very effective for Virginia and his kicking was causing all sorts of problems for Banbridge. Indeed one of these kicks set up Bailieboro man Brendan Argue for a great 3rd try for Virginia which was again converted by McMahon.

Virginia continued to pressure Banbridge and some fierce tackling by Eoin Somerville and Darren Brady on the flanks kept them on the back foot.On the wings Dáire McEnroe was dangerous as ever and Jack Faherty made some huge breaks along the line and also put in some huge tackles when necessary. Andrew Geraghty under the high ball at full back was as safe as ever and ran at the Banbridge defence with great confidence.

In the scrum Virginia were as solid as ever and Hooker; Dylan Farrelly, Props; Evan Doughty and Michael Nowak with Second Row; Niall Yore and Michael Faherty drove Banbridge off the ball on numerous occasions. In the line out Darren Brady was outstanding not only in the home side line outs but also in stealing from the Banbridge lineout with ease. Indeed Darren ran in a great try after Virginia had withstood a sustained period of pressure from Banbridge without conceding a score.

Good ball from Scrum Half Jason Winterlich and kicking from Jason McMahon resulted in a huge hit by Ben Conaty bringing Virginia back into the Banbridge 22. Good work from Props, Evan Doughty and Michael Nowak set up Niall Farrelly for a powerful run in under the posts after which Brendan Argue easily converted. Virginia then introduced Eric Shekleton and Remy Ivaskevicius to the fray and both settled in quickly to the game. Ian Goldrick, Peadar Doughty and Tristan Lotscher then stepped in and worked hard to help Virginia close out the game.

This convincing win sets Virginia u15s up for an Ulster appearance and a huge opportunity to make an Ulster Final for the first time. On the line Virginia still had a very strong bench to call on including Daniel Faulkner, Maliej Stolowski, Sean Ward, Dale Smith, Karl Golden and Robert McCabe.

Special thanks must go to the referee Fergal Brady who despite his years managed keep up with and keep the game flowing. Mentors Hughie Brady and Douglas Kincaide can only be happy with the work rate and attitude of this young side and will look forward to the Ulster Semi Finals next weekend.

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Virginia U9´s travelled to Balbriggin on Sunday last 5th Feb. It took the visitors only six minutes to score their first try, complements of James Kelly, this was followed shortly after by a second from Malachy Walker , which was created by fine linked play from Patrick Sheirdan and Nathan Tobin. Virginia were on top form at this stage and were rewarded with their third try thanks to Harry McQuade, which could not have been achieved if it were not for some fine running and sharp passing by Luke Doyle and Oisin Rourke, assisting Harry in getting the third try of the game.

As Virginia knows from previous encounters with Balbriggin it is never a good idea to “count your chickens before they hatch”, and Balbriggin began a comeback of sorts by breaking through a gap in the Virginia defence to score their first try of the game, however, Virginia extended their lead back to three with a fine try from James Kelly who ran the length of the pitch to score, followed shortly by Virginias fifth try complements of Oisin Rourke. Balbriggin managed a consolation try before the final whistle but it was the visitors who went home the happier with a convincing score line of 5 trys to 2.

This was a fine team performance by Virginia Under 9’s who are developing into some of the clubs finest representatives, the coaches were very impressed by the effort put in by all, and in particular James Kelly for an outstanding performance and great tackles.

The Team:
D.Maguire, H.Maguire, J.Kelly, P.Sheirdan, M.Walker, L. Doyle, E.Caffrey, O.Rourke, N.Tobin, JW.Duffy, C.Delaney and K.Duffy.

Virginia RFC would like to thank our hosts Balbriggin RFC for their hospitality, and all the Virginia parents who travelled to this away fixture.

The U11s travelled to Dundalk on Saturday morning for a hastily arranged fixture after the cancellation of their match against Portadown. Virginia started the match well with their pack being led by Rebecca Snell matching Dundalk up front. The visitors had all the territory and much of the possession but it was Dundalk who scored first with a breakaway try. Virginia again pressed the home side’s line, and clever play from Jason Henderson nearly put Tiarnan O'Reilly over but Dundalk held out. As the half approached the hosts gained more territory, and despite some brave defence from Sorcha Higgins and Robert Lochaden, they snuck over in the corner to lead 2-0 at half time.

The second half saw Louis Reeves and Conor Hetherton come on as subs, and Virginia really stepped up the pace at the breakdown. Cai Walker pressured every loose ball, and set up Ronan McKeown to pull one back for Virginia. The extra possession and space allowed Enda Maguire to set the backs free, and a great run up the wing by Aaron Kierans soon levelled the match. Virginia now were really on the front foot, and before long further trys from Michael Mckeown-Boyle and Amanda McQuade gave them a 4-2 lead. Dundalk regrouped though and broke away again to bring them back to within a score, but Virginia ended strongly, and after having one try disallowed, Evan Charters went over the line again to score, giving the visitors a deserved 5-3 victory.

Longford RFC Auld Blacks - 22

Virginia RFC Vikings - 5

This fixture is the second memorial match in memory of Derek Belton. Derek was an outstanding servant to Longford RFC, he captained the team through the 2000-2001 campaign and was at the heart and soul of all that was great about the club. The Derek Belton Cup is a fitting tribute to Derek, and all players from both Longford RFC and Virginia RFC were honoured to be associated with this great occasion.

The weather and condition of the pitch did not bide well for a good game, however, the Vikings started the stronger and had been given a chance for an early lead when they were awarded a penalty on the Longford twenty-two, but due to a combination of very strong winds and soft ground under foot they failed to capitalise. The Vikings continued to push for an early try when Longford had a turnover followed by a good spell of pressure of their own finishing with a well worked try in the corner. From the kick off the Vikings found themselves yet again camped in their own twenty-two and the Auld Blacks were rewarded again for their pressure with the second try of the game, this well drilled Longford team could have scored a number of other opportunities if it weren’t for the sterling defence of the vikings.

The Vikings came out in the second half motivated by wise words from Conor Shaffrey, this seemed to work as the backs started to move the ball more freely and the forwards hit rucks with a new sense of urgency, they were finally rewarded with a well worked try finished off by Malcolm Johnson. The second half was a much tighter affair with some fine rugby played by both sides, even though the conditions did not allow. It looked as though the game was going to go to the final whistle when the Auld Blacks broke the Vikings line and regained their two try lead, this seemed to drain the spirit out of the Vikings and the Auld Blacks again found themselves inside the Vikings twenty-two where they finally secured the victory on the final whistle.

Virginia RFC and the Vikings would like to thank Longford RFC for their invitation to this special occasion and for the hospitality shown. We look forward to a return match in Virginia.

TEAM:
1 Ned Locknan
2 Ken Campbell
3 Carl Sherriff
4 Peter Skelly
5 Chris Corrie
6 Tommy Mc Quade
7 Malcolm Johnson
8 Conor Shaffrey
9 John Reilly
10 Huge Brady
11 Ronan crawley
12 Jimmy Mc Quade
13 A Another
14 Rory Sheran
15 Kevin Cunningham

A very enthusiastic large squad of players showed up for a dreadful Sunday morning for Virginia. With 24 players available for Virginia, North Meath agreed to play two matches even though they only had 13 players available. In the first game Virginia won by 3 tries to one. It was an impressive display and excellent all round performance but a special mention must go to Owen Doyle for some superb Rucking and Mauling and 4 steals of which Sean O’Brien would be proud of. Try scorers were Gareth Mannion who scored two and Ben Smith who sealed the win with a nice composed finish.

TEAM:
Paul Donoghue, Niall Preston, Owen Doyle, Craig Daly, Jason Cunningham, Seán Warren, John Cooke, Ben Smith, Gareth Mannion, Peter Smith and Edward Deveraux.

The second match started on the same vein again with some impressive rucking and mauling from the forwards with Luke Lawless and Oisin Cullen being particularly impressive. The back line tried to pass the ball in difficult conditions and Lisa Mullen, Euan Henry and Mantas Ivaskevicius made some great breaks and set up some excellent scores. Virginia went on to win this match 3:1 with try scorers being Mantas, a cheeky try by Lisa Mullen from the back of an attacking scrum and finally a great run and try by Aaron Cummins.

TEAM:
Conor Mulligan, Luke Lawless, Fionn O’Reilly, Jamie Davidson, Oisin Cullen, Lisa Mullen, Euan Henry, Mantas Ivaskevicius, Mark McSherry, Aaron Cummins, Sean Trainor, Luke Brodie and Sean Erricson

A great performance by all the lads augurs well for the future, with the intensive training in the last few weeks really paying off. Finally we would like to thank North Meath for travelling on such a bad day and playing two hard games with only one team.

The U11s travelled to Ashbourne for their first match of 2012. The game was played in the teeming rain on the hosts astroturf, Ashbourne made a strong start running up a 3-0 lead. The pack led by birthday girl Rebecca Snell withstood early pressure, and along with Killian Collins, Robert Lochaden and Louis Reeves were soon holding their own. Aaron Mannion and Finn Lotscher gamely led the line along with Jack Osbourne, Ryan Galligan and Tiernan O'Reilly but Ashbournes running game was tremendous, and despite ferocious tackling by Michael McKeown-Boyle and Niall Branagan the hosts reached half time 6-0 up.

Half time saw some substitutions, and Virginia really stepped up their rucking to gain more possession. Aaron Cooke, Sorcha Higgins, and Cai Walker began to boss the breakdown, and great distribution from scrum half Jason Henderson meant Virginia were soon closing the gap. Two trys apiece from Enda Maguire and Emmet Boylan had the hosts rocking. Evan Charters then barged across bringing half the Ashbourne pack with him to close the gap to one. A great move started by fly half Enda, saw the ball pass through Conor Hetherton and Cian Doughty to Aaron Kierans, who ran up the line to level the scores- great handling given the atrocious conditions. Virginia were looking for the win, but a breakaway try from the hosts put them back in front. Virginia came back again though and Ronan McKeown capped a great performance by levelling the scores at 7-7 at the death. A courageous performance by all 22 players.

Virginia U15's travelled to Portadown on Saturday last. The side were missing a few regulars on the day but still got off to a fine start with a hat-trick from Brendan Argue who finished off some nicely worked moves by the whole back line. Portadown fought hard but couldn't get into the game as they were no match for the strong Virginia side. Ben Conaty and Niall Farrelly added a try each to the tally as the game progressed with Daire Mc Enroe adding two more. The game finished on a scoreline of 37 - 0 and this win keeps the squad on track for finishing top of their section of the League. Virginia U15's are away to Armagh next weekend.

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Virginia RFC youths travelled away to Portadown RFC and completed a white wash of results over their opposition last Saturday. Virginia’s 13s and 15s had resounding wins yet the game of the day must be credited to Virginia’s 17s. They eclipsed arch rivals in the league in an enthralling sporting game by scoring a try in the last minute.

Virginia rfc U13s V Portadown.28.01.12

Vrfc U 13s continue their unbeaten run with another good display winning 42 - 0. Virginia’s forwards pressurised Portadown keeping them pinned in their own half for the first 20 mins. Virginia backs capitalised on this with some great running and passing moves. Conor Farrelly and Ronan Patterson scored two tries apiece. As the first half closed Lee Burdis scored a good individual try along the touch line and Gerry Flynn scored following progressive phases by a workman like Virginia forward pack. Both James Smith and Adrain Rogers completed 100% of their conversion kicks with 3 each.

During the second half Virginia made substantial changes introducing a complete new back row. New comers Evan O Reilly Algerdas Mockus and Josh Cummins got immersed in a tough second half and displayed good composure in a more competitive game. Portadown’s defence managed to prevent Virginia from scoring several more tries with some robust tackling. Virginia’s team work deserves a mention as they maintained the pressure on Portadown until the final whistle.

Squad: G.Flynn, L. Sherrif, C.Cahill, M.Gordon, O.Kiernan, N.McWeeney, R.Smith, C.Reilly, N.McQuade, J.Smith, A.Mockus, L.Burdis, R.Patterson, R.Browne, C.Farrelly. L.Maquire, A.Rogers, N.McCabe, S.Doughty, J.Cummins, E.O’Reilly, P.Nulty. B,Brunton, D.Kiernan, O.Rahill, D.Costello, J.Sheckleton, L.Kieran, E.O’Connell, D.O’Leary.

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Ulster will travel to play Munster in the quarter-final of the Heineken Cup on the weekend of 6/7/8th April...

In the rest of the quarter-final match-ups, Leinster will host Cardiff Blues, Edinburgh are at home to Toulouse and Saracens will entertain Clermont Auvergne.

At stake for either Munster or Ulster is a "home country" semi-final against the winner of Edinburgh v Toulouse, while the winner of Leinster v Cardiff will travel to England or France to play the winner of Saracens v Clermont.

Ulster made the knockout stages of the tournament last season, for the first time since lifting the tournament in 1999 but lost out to Northampton Saints at the stadium:mk. Ulster Coach Brian McLaughlin will be looking to go one better this season.

At this stage there are no confirmed details on ticketing arrangements - we will work with both Munster and the ERC once we know the date and KO time, however Ulster will take up our allocation and 2011-12 Season Ticket Holders will get first option to purchase.

Virginia U15's played Cavan at home last Saturday on a bitterly cold morning that saw many balls spilled and knocked on by cold hands on both sides. Virginia were first to score with tries from Ben Conaty and Niall Farrelly and a conversion by Daire Mc Enroe. However Cavan rose their game and responded well with a nicely worked try of their own when they caught the Virginia backs napping and slipped in to score in the corner. They failed to put the conversion over but at this stage the game appeared to be set up for a good competitive clash. Unfortunately however, Cavan's challenge died down and this was to be their only score on the day. Virginia ran away with the game from here on scoring eleven tries in total, running out easy winners on a scoreline of 59 - 5.

Try scorers on the day were Ben Conaty (4), Niall Farrelly (3),Daire Mc Enroe (3 tries and 1 conversion), Jason Mc Mahon (1try and 1 conversion)

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Virginia U9's had their first Home Match of the year against Coolmine on Sunday last. Virginia were outclassed in the first half by Coolmine who scored 3 trys without reply, their Rucking, Mauling and Passing was far superior to Virginias, however, a half time team talk by Cialian Cahill saw Virginia go out for the second half with more determination. Donal, Patrick, Oisin and Eli were singled out by the coach to take the game by” the scruff of the neck “and turn it around. Virginia responded with 3 trys but Coolmine finished out the game stronger and won by 5 trys to 3. Virginia’s overall play was very good. Congratulations to Coolmine and we look forward to the return visit in the near future.

The Virginia Team: D.Maguire, H.McQuade, J.Kelly, D.Filby, P.Sheirdan, M.Walker, E.Caffrey, O.Rourke, N.Tobin, JW.Duffy, G.O’Sullivan, C.Delaney, A.Goldrick, G.Goldrick and K.Duffy.

With qualification for the last eight already in the bag thanks to Friday nights turn of results in Galway and Gloucester, Ulster's target was now to get the victory which would place them atop of Pool Four and secure a Ravenhill quarter-final. All but one of the starting XV charged with doing so were those who had started in the fifth round demolition of Leicester, the only change seeing Ian Whitten take over from the injured Darren Cave at centre.

Ulster did more than hold their own in the first period, carving out the best two try-scoring opportunities, and should have run in at half-time at least three points ahead.

Clermont, whose own progression to the next round hinged on victory in the tie, started at 100 miles per hour, but Ulster did well to weather the storm in the opening five minutes. However, with Dan Tuohy sinbinned on 10 minutes for an early tackle on Morgan Parra after the scrum-half's quickly-taken tap-penalty, they were right back under the cosh. Parra kicked his team ahead as a result of Tuohy's misdemeanour, but Ruan Pienaar equalised moments later after Johann Muller had been illegally taken out at the line-out.

Parra helped himself to another penalty on 20 minutes, and with Tuohy back in play with only a three-point deficit incurred during his absence, Ulster came so very close to taking the lead, Craig Gilroy latching onto an errant Aurelien Rougerie pass and only prevented from crossing the whitewash thanks to a last-ditch tap tackle from Lionel Faure. More disappointment followed for the visitors, Pienaar's long-range penalty just before the half-hour mark spinning narrowly wide of the posts.

Ulster, now controlling the tie, again only just failed to grab a try two minutes later, with Andrew Trimble held up in the right-hand corner and John Afoa similarly halted with the recycled ball, but Pienaar slotted over a subsequent penalty for obstruction, and the tie sat precariously at Clermont 6 Ulster 6.

Then, after another narrowly off-course Pienaar penalty, Stefan Terblanche brought the half to a close with an audacious long-range drop goal attempt which saw the ball drop literally inches short of the Auvergnian crossbar.

Half-Time Score Clermont 6 Ulster 6

The second half opened with the award of two Ulster penalties from successive scrums, the second of which Pienaar elected to kick for goal, shunting his side into their first lead of the match at Clermont 6 Ulster 9. However an Ulster lapse in concentration let Parra straight back in with a penalty of his own to restore parity.

As the hour mark approached and Clermont began to show signs of frustration, Pienaar dispatched a 55th-minute penalty, and Ulster made sure the lead lasted a little longer this time thanks to dogged defence against persistent Clermont pressure. When the try did come on 63 minutes, through replacement forward Ti'i Paulo after multiple phase play, Parra kept his nerve to convert and edge his side four points in front at Clermont 16 Ulster 12.

With the Frenchmen penalised again for popping up early in a 70th-minute scrum, Pienaar kept up his excellent kicking return and reduced the arrears to a solitary point, but this was neutralised moments later by another penalty from his opposite number.

The score sitting at Clermont 19 Ulster 15 with three minutes to go, Ulster launched a final attack in a last attempt to secure a Ravenhill quarter-final, but this evaporated as Rory Best's put-in from a 79th-minute line-out was adjudged not to be straight.

Ulster's losing bonus point, then, sees them finish the group stage on 20 points together with Clermont, who top the pool thanks to their superior try-scoring record. The quarter-final, therefore, will be played on the road, with the exact destination only to be determined after tomorrow's final Round Six matches - and a quick return to the Parc Des Sports Marcel Michelin not out of the question.

Full-Time Score Clermont 19 Ulster 15

Ulster: (15 - 9) S Terblanche; A Trimble, I Whitten, P Wallace, C Gilroy; I Humphreys, R Pienaar; (1 - 8) T Court, R Best, J Afoa, J Muller (c), D Tuohy, S Ferris, C Henry, P Wannenburg; Replacements (16 - 23): A Kyriacou, C Black, A Macklin, L Stevenson, W Faloon, P Marshall, N Spence, A D'Arcy

ASM Clermont Auvergne: (15 - 9) L Byrne; S Sivavatu, A Rougerie (c), W Fofana, J Malzieu; D Skrela, M Parra; (1 - 8) L Faure, B Kayser, C Ric, J Pierre, N Hines, G Vosloo, J Bardy, J Bonnaire; Replacements (16 - 23) T Paulo, V Debaty, D Kotze, J Cudmore, A Lapandry, K Senio, B James, R King

Virginia U13s utilised the full strength and depth of their squad this week against Cavan. The talent in this squad is beginning to manifest itself with tremendous performances and the result this week did not disappoint their supporters. Virginia won by 39 – 0 scoring 7 tries and 2 conversions. This result can be put down to the excellent coaching from forwards and backs coaches Andy O’Neill and Brian O’Donoghue and to the great attitude of the squad.

The game itself took place in strong windy conditions with Virginia backs displaying some very good passing moves from the start. Nathan McQuade was at the base of every ruck and maul supplying quick ball to scrum half Nathan McCabe and centers Liam Maguire and David Costello. Wingers Daragh Kiernan, Algirdas Mockus and Conor Farrelly made some menacing runs at Cavan backs and credit to Cavan’s No 15 who made some fine tackles to prevent a landslide score for Virginia.

However the dominance of Virginia’s forwards was the difference on the day. All tries scored came from the forwards. Notable tries were scored by Peter Nulty from the back of a maul and Conor Cahill who refused to be stopped to score the final try of the day. Other forward scorers were “galloping” M.Gordon (1), “crusading” G.Flynn (2), “Quiet Man” O.Kiernan (1) and “the Bolt” R.Smith (1). Niall McWeeney in at no 6 made some good defensive tackles and with Charlie Reilly supporting numerous good phases of play. Out half Nathan McCabe scored 2 excellent conversions in very difficult conditions.

In the final 10 minutes Virginia emptied their bench which led to more open play from their replacement backs Lee Burdis, James Smith, Adrian Rogers and Luke Sherriff to see out the game with an excellent team performance.

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Virginia RFC under13’s - 38

Dromore RFC under13’s -5

After an extended winter break due to adverse weather conditions Virginia’s U 13s got back to winning ways with a convincing win over Dromore in Deer Park Virginia. The game started with Virginia’s forwards dominating play. An excellent break on the blind side by James Smith forced a line out on Dromore’s 5 yard line. Oisin Kiernan turned over the resulting line out to score a good try. Virginia front row forwards Conor Cahill, Shane Doughty and Luke Sherriff had an excellent first half supported well by their back row Niall McWeeney Charlie Reilly and Jason Sheckleton. Good breaks by David Costello at No 11 and Conor Farrelly at full back kept Dromore pinned back in their own half. Further Tries by Ronan Patterson (2) Lee Burdis (1) and Oisin Kiernan (1) with conversions by James Smith (2) and Adrian Rogers (1) saw Virginia go in at Half time leading 31 – 0.

Virginia emptied their subs bench x 7 to start the second half. This led to a more evenly fought game with Dromore getting in for their only try of the game early in the second half. Outstanding performances by Virginia No8 Charlie Reilly, Rory Smith No 5 and Ben Brunton enabled Virginia regain a firm hold of the game. Quick ball from Nathan McQuade back in at scrum half and Nathan McCabe at out half set up good running moves from backs Josh Cummins, Liam Maquire and Darragh Kiernan. This led to score of the day by Captain Lee Burdis who picked the ball up at the back of a ruck on the half way to score under the posts. Nathan McCabe converted to end the game 38 -5 for Virginia.

Good work all round and more to come from this determined and skilful team.
Squad: S.Doughty, L.Sherriff, C.Cahill, O.Kiernan, R.Smith. N.McWeeney, C.Reilly, J.Sheckleton, A.Rogers, J.Smith, L.Burdis, R.Patterson, D.Costello, C.Farrelly, N.McQuade, N.McCabe, R. Brown, O. Rahill, B. Brunton, L.Maguire, D.Kiernan, J.Cummins, D. O’Leary ,A.Moctus, E.O’Reilly, M.Gordon, G.Flynn, P.Nulty, E.O’Connell, L.Kiernan.

Virginia U15's played at home last Saturday in a top of the table clash against Dromore. Once again this proved to be a very tough encounter with both teams playing some fine rugby on the day. Dromore were first to score but they failed to convert. This seemed to be the wake up call that Virginia needed to up their game and after some fine running by the Virginia backs it was Brendan Argue who scored Virginia's first try. This left the team’s level at half time.

The second half continued at the same blistering pace with both teams trying to get the upper hand but once again it was Dromore who scored the first try. With Virginia now trailing by five points the pressure was on but with the help of the home support Virginia threw everything they had at this strong Dromore team and they eventually broke through with team captain Niall Farrelly scoring a great try which was converted by Ben Conaty to rapturous applause from the home support. This put the home side two points ahead and proved to be the winning score on the day. At the end of the bruising encounter Virginia eventually emerged victorious on a scoreline of 12-10, the tightest margin to date. This was another great team performance by this unbeaten Virginia side.

Team:Remigijus Ivaskevicius, Dylan Farrelly, Michael Nowak, Michael Faherty, Niall Yore, Darren Brady, Eoin Sommerville, Niall Farrelly, Jason Winterlich, Jason Mc Mahon, Daire Mc Enroe, Ben Conaty, Evan Doughty, Jack Faherty, Brendan Argue, Eric Shekleton, Peadar Doughty, Ian Goldrick, Dale Smith, Andrew Geraghty, Maliej Stolowski, Tristran Lotscher, Sean Ward, Karl Golden

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On Saturday last, Virginia were hosting Londonderry YMCA in the Kukri Qualifying League 4 competition. With the memories of the trouncing received in the reversed fixtures still vivid in their heads the Ramor men were keen to prove themselves against tough opposition.

On a windy but dry afternoon Virginia started the game very well and put the visitors under pressure from the off. The Derry men resisted well in the opening minutes of the game until they were put under strain by fly half Chris Tully . Making the best of the wind behind his back Tully dished out a clever kick in the opposite corner. The Derry full-back poor return kick was gathered by hooker Gary Daly who kicked and chase. Once again YMCA's rear guard couldn't deal with the bounce of the ball. Daly who followed his own kick, managed to squeeze an old toe-poke to push the ball into the try zone and crashed down to ground the ball ahead of a scrambling defender. Tully added the conversion to bring the score to 7-0.

After a good start Virginia maintained the pressure on the visitors. The locals' upper hand in the set pieces meant a steady flow of ammunitions for their back line. Unfortunately they didn't manage to convert domination into points. And only 5 minutes after conceding a try, the visitors managed to be back level. The Londonderry men were awarded a scrum on Virginia 5 metres line after being held up. Despite their domination at scrum time the Virginia front row was outsmarted; the scrum was wheeled by YMCA pack allowing their number 8 to pick up the ball and crash under the post. The easy conversion was scored. 7-7 after YMCA only visit near Virginia's try line.

Nothing else was score until half-time. Despite great ball possession and territory advantage Virginia couldn't add to their score tally. The lack of score was mainly due to poor discipline at ruck time allowing the Derry men to get themselves out of difficult situations. At the break coach Brady stressed that the second win of the season was there for the taking with a bit more concentration and improved discipline.

Early on in the second half the hosts retook the advantage after Chris Tully kicked a penalty just right of the post to bring the score to 10-7. With the strong wind now behind them the visitors tried to kick their way into the game. But smart play form Virginia's back three of McDermott, McLoughlin and McNally denied YMCA any opportunities. Strong running from the forwards in general were tiring away YMCA's pack. They were consuming to many bodies at ruck time and gaps were starting to appear in their defensive line.

From one of those gaps came the second try for the home team. From a line-out on the right hand side of the pitch the ball travelled through the hands of the back line to found 1st centre Patterson. He fixed his defender and passed to John "the bull" McCabe who ran past the YMCA defense like a hot knife in butter. McCabe took the ball at full speed, with 20 meters left to the try line. He burst through the first two tackles, resisted a last charge from the full-back and crossed the line. Great score after great work from the backs. Against the strong wind the conversion was missed. 17-7.

At that stage of the game both team were aware of the importance of the next score. But Virginia had a real firm grip on the game. Virginia defense was well in place, Captain Pienaar relentless tackling was annihilating any hope of a score for the visitors. The host were putting the Derry team under huge pressure at ruck time with clever counter-rucking. The Derry line-outs were targeted too. Good jumping by lock Ben Gilmore allowed him to harvest few balls on opposition throws. And from one of them stolen balls came the next score. Gilmore disrupted the Derry throw and the ball was fumbled by their jumper, it was caught by Fintan O'Reilly who ran at the YMCA line. Following a couple of rucks the ball went through the hand to find winger Jamie McDermott. Mc Dermott flirted with the touch line but remained on the pitch, and following a good dive he scored in the corner. The difficult conversion was missed but Virginia were now 15 point ahead, 22-7.

The last try would come only few minutes before the final whistle following a quick penalty played by prop Damien Agasse. The French front row tapped quickly for himself on the half-way line and as props do, ignore the 5 men overlap on his right hand side only to run and crash in the nearest opponent. Sacrebleu! Nevertheless, the play bounced few times on the left hand side to end up once again on McDermott's wing. The youngster was eager to redeem himself, since he had been sent-off in Derry for an alleged "dangerous" tackle. He didn't disappoint and once again whizzed down the touch-line to score in the same corner for his second try of the day. No conversion, 27-7 final score.

A good start of the year for the Virginia team. Even though there is still a lot of room for improvements the team displayed great commitment and effort on the day. They were well rewarded with 4 tries and an enjoyable game!

Training as usual on Wednesday and Friday night 8pm, good number expected to prepare next week difficult fixture away to Ballyshannon.

Virginia RFC Ist XV - 3

Civil Service NI Ist XV - O

There was no shortage of drama for the patrons who made their way to watch Virginia 1st XV as they welcomed Civil Service NI to Deerpark on Saturday on a wet and windy day. This was the 2nd time these teams have met this season with Service winning the reverse fixture 39 – 5 five weeks previous. Virginia still without a win in qualifying league 4 started the game very positively. After receiving the kick off Virginia set it up a kicked downfield, from the resulting lineout, on the away teams 10 metre line, the home teams forwards managed to get their hands on the ball with some excellent lineout play from Brian Murtagh. The ramor men retained possession and through the backs moved towards the visitors 22, some strong running lines from number 8 Fintain O Reilly and Hooker Sam McQuade forced Civil Service to concede a penalty inside their own 22. Virginia Captain Werner Pienaar opted to go for the posts however the tight angle and windy conditions meant the kick from fullback Daniel McNamee was pushed just to the right of the posts.

Virginia remained on top and it wasn’t long before they were back in the Belfast men’s 22 again. Some more strong running from Virginia forwards prop Thomas Owens and 2nd row Wesley Martin led to quick hands from the Centres Ben Gilmore and John McCabe and winger Tony McLaughlin thought he was over in the corner, however the referee brought the play back for a forward pass in the move a decision a few of the Virginia players and supporters wouldn’t have minded being referred to the TV match official. The remainder of the first half was evenly contested with defences coming out on top in a tough bruising encounter. Civil service did apply some pressure with a few minutes left till the break however some good defence from the men in black and some particularly good scrums kept the try line safe. However the visitors were awarded a penalty in which captain Ben Scott decided to go for the posts. Once again conditions came into play and the kick was brought by the wind to the left of the posts.

Half Time Virginia 0 – 0 Civil Service
The home side who were now wind assisted for the 2nd half felt confident from their play so far that they could go on and win the game. However Civil Service had other ideas and started the 2nd half well with some good tactical kicks which were dealt with well by Daniel McNamee and winger Paul Daly. However as the first half proved scores were going to come at a premium and when Civil service missed a long range shot at goal in the 20th minute it looked like it may have been a stalemate.

Nobody could have envisaged the drama that was to come in the final ¼ of the game. Virginia began to get on top and were pushing their opponents back into their own half with time running out it increasingly looked like a one score game. Virginia outhalf Christopher Tully had two drops at goal both going wide of the posts. With 10 minutes left Civil Service Had possession on their own 22 and tried to clear their lines, Virginias tenacious number 7 Enda Brady blocked the ball down and as it bounced towards the Service try line he managed to get his hands on it and get over the line in what looked like the opening try of the game. Once again the referee, who was fair and consistent throughout, decided not to award the try on the grounds the ball was knocked on. From the resulting scrum Civil Service worked their way up past half way and were awarded a penalty for not rolling away. Some ill discipline from Virginia led to the loss of ten yards and Service decided to have a kick at goal with 3 minutes remaining. The kick started straight but began to fade as it approached the goals and dropped just wide of the posts the home team thought they were out of jail however some less than steady hands led to a knock on and 5 metre scrum to Civil Service. Virginia forwards gave a massive push and an under pressure service pack were forced to give away a penalty which scrum half Cian Wogan took quickly and ran 40 metre down field. The support from the Virginia players got there and they retained possession.

After some scrappy rucks the referee awarded Virginia the put in to a scrum and announced it was the last play of the game. On the half way line and the game a 0-0 the home side knew it was going to take something special from here. Another good scrum led to clean ball for the backs who crashed it up through centre Ben Gilmore. The forwards secured the ball and took it forward with some strong running and good hands from front rower Garry Daly. After a number of phases Virginia were awarded a penalty on the Service 22, 10 metres from the left hand side of the field. Captain Werner Pienaar once again signalled for the posts in what was to be the last kick of the game. Christopher Tully took the kick which looked to be going over but was fading fast as it dropped towards the posts no one knew where it would end up, at the very last second it dropped and bounced off the crossbar. As some stood in shock watching winger Tony McLaughlin who had raced after the kick managed to catch it as it came of the bar, Virginia players managed to secure the ball and popped it out to Fintain Reilly who was stopped yards from the line. Scrum half Wogan whipped the pass out to outhalf Tully who kicked a dropgoal and sparked mass celebrations from the Virginia players and supporters.

Civil Service who had been so close to winning the game were extremely gracious in defeat. Virginia will be happy to finally get a win under their belts and will have felt they should have won without so much drama.

Virginia RFC U13's 42

Portadown RFC U13's 0

Virginia rugby Under 13's continued their winning streak with another convincing win, scoring 42 points without reply in this one sided game. This is their second 40 plus point victory in a row. Virginia u13s had a similar result beating Cavan 42 -0 last week in Swellen Pk. The u13s has a 30 strong squad most of which is a result of Virginia’s successful Mini’s rugby development.

The Portadown game started well for Virginia with their forwards dominating all the scrums, rucks and procession at the break down. Notable displays were by Gerry Flynn (1 try), Oisin Kiernan (3 tries) and Conor Cahill. The backs also played their part with good passing moves resulting in three well deserved tries by James Smith (2) and Ronan Patterson (1). Virginia cleared their bench at half time giving a welcome start to new comers Josh Cummins, Evan O Reilly and Robert Brown all of whom played well.

Squad: G.Flynn, L. Sherrif, C.Cahill, M.Gordon, O.Kiernan, N.McWeeney, R.Smith, C.Reilly, N.McQuade, J.Smith, A.Mockus, L.Burdis, R.Patterson, R.Browne, C.Farrelly. L.Maquire, A.Rogers, N.McCabe, S.Doughty, J.Cummins, E.O’Reilly, P.Nulty. B,Brunton, D.Kiernan, O.Rahill, D.Costello, J.Sheckleton, L.Kieran, E.O’Connell, D.O’Leary.

Virginia RFC - 26

Portadown RFC - 0

Virginia U15's played Portadown at home on Saturday last December 3rd on a very cold morning. Portadown were a much changed team from the previous fixture causing Virginia plenty of problems in the early stages of the game . The team was very slow to start with the backs spilling a lot of ball due to cold hands. However, when Virginia eventually got their act together there was no stopping them and they took control of the game from there out. This allowed the home side to use their full panel of players giving everyone a game.

Virginia are away to Armagh on Saturday next December 12th. Hopefully we can continue our good run of form for the remainder of the League and qualify for knock out stages of the competition.

Virginia ran out winners on a scoreline of 26 - 0. Try scorers on the day were:
Daire Mc Enroe , Niall Farrelly , Ian Goldrick and Ben Conaty. Conversions were by Jason Mc Mahon (2) and Daire Mc Enroe (1).

Our First team out which was led by Caolinn mcCormack played Dundalk. In the first few minutes we had our first try which Amy Whitley got in and over the line to touch down from a beautiful pass from Megan Higgins. Next try came from a pass from Tara O'Leary right out to Ciara Byres flying up the wing to touch down. Our second game saw us facing our good old rivals Navan. Nicole Filby intercepted a pass and straight up the line for a fine try. Next try came from Ellie Smith.

Then it was the turn of our Second team which was led by Edith Lynch who were faced with the formidable boyne. There were some fine scores from Clara Lynch, Megan Brodie and Rebecca Warren to go with some sublime runs. Megan Grimes had a fansatic off load to Sara Whitley who ran the whole length of the pitch and popped the ball up for Ciara Browne coming in from behind to touch down for a wonderful try.

Scores on the day were: Amy Whitley, Ciara Byres, Ellie Smith, Caolinn McCormack, Tara O'Leary, Nicole Fibly, Edith Lynch, Sara Whitley, Rebecca Warren, Clara Lynch, Megan Brodie and Ciara Brown.

We had a great day out and it was toped of with both teams taking 1st and 2nd in the blitz. Watch this space for the next outing in the new year. Thanks to all the girls for their hard training during the year. Next training Sunday 11th december at 10.30am

Virginia under 10's travelled to Balbriggan on Sunday last the 20th of November . After two cancelled games the previous week the lads were really up for a game . First up was the hosts Balbriggan within one minute Paddy Nagle crossed the line for the 1st try from some great rucking from Conor Fitzpatrick and Dylan Turner, Sean McEvoy scored another try. The 1st half was finished off with a try from Adam Sherriff .The second half didn't go all Virginia's way with Ballbriggan scoring a couple of trys only for some great tackling from William Burke and Jack Ryan ........they might have scored more it finished 6 - 4 to Virginia.

In game two Virginia took on Clondalkin who were physically a big side ,but in true Virginia fashion the boys got stuck in .Paddy Nagle struck straight from the start with a try, with Micheal Reilly , Joey Tyers and Luke O 'Sullivan all tackling well Clondalkin were not getting through. Just before half time John Dolan ran the lenght of the pitch to score .The second half started with Conor Nulty scoring he ended up with 3 trys in the game . Jack Ryan and Cormac Brown linking up to provide a nice passing for Adam to score in the corner .Virginia did not let their opponents in for a score with great rucking and tackling from Tadigh Hagan ,Zachery Cummins and Gary Goldrick

Virginia U15's were away to Cavan last Saturday. In spite of the wet conditions the side managed to run in seven tries and convert two of them to emerge winners on a scoreline of 39 - 0. Virgina dominated this game from start to finish due to the fact that they were a physically bigger and stronger side. Cavan tried hard throughout the game but were no match for this Virginia team who are playing very well at the moment.

Try scorers on the day were:
Ben Conaty (2), Niall Farrelly (2), Andrew Geraghty, Darren Brady and Jack Faherty (1) each.

Team:
Jack Faherty , Andrew Geraghty, Brendan Argue, Ben Conaty, Daire Mc Enroe, Jason Winterlich , Jason Mc Mahon, Remigijus Ivaskevicius, Eric Shekleton, Michael Nowak, Niall Yore, Evan Doughty, Darren Brady, Eoin Sommerville, Niall Farrelly, Peadar Doughty, Tristan Lotscher, Dylan Farrelly, Daniel Faulkner, Dale Smith, Michael Faherty, Maliej Stolowski, Robert Mc Cabe, Karl Golden

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Virginia U15's travelled to Dromore last Saturday November 15th for a top of the league clash with the home side. After travelling a long journey the game started on a beautiful morning for rugby. The home side started the strongest with Virginia having to weather a huge storm for the first fifteen minutes before they managed to get the first score of the game with a try scored in the corner by Evan Doughty which was duly converted by Ben Conaty. This helped the Virginia team to settle and adjust to the pace of the game. However this wasn't to last long as Dromore came right back at Virginia scoring a try of their own, but they failed to convert which left Virginia two points ahead. At this stage both teams were fighting hard to get the upper hand which made for a great display of rugby from both sides. It was Virginia who managed to score next with a penalty scored by Ben Conaty which was awarded after a passage of great play by the Virginia forwards who were starting to get to grips with their opponents. This left the half-time score at 10-5.

The second half started with Virginia still in control and after some slick passing in the backs Ben Conaty slipped in for a try in the left corner. As Virginia were still celebrating their try Dromore immediately retaliated with a fine break-away try of their own touched down under the posts and easily converted to leave the score at 15-12 to Virginia. The game swayed back and forth for the remainder of the second half with both teams trying to get control .Virginia were forced to make a number of try saving tackles before Ben Conaty managed to break away and score his second try of the game. Dromore fought back hard but couldn't find a way through the Virginia defence as time ran out and the game ended with Virginia ahead on a scoreline of 20-12. This was the Virginia squads best performance to date with every player leaving the field exhausted after giving one hundred percent effort for the sixty minutes of play.

Virginia are away to Cavan on Saturday next November 19th.

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The Virginia Forest 5k run was held on Sunday last and a large crowed turned out on a beautiful Autumn morning. Runners and walkers of all levels participated and many of the local GAA and running clubs were represented.

Results

In the Under 18's category:

In first place with a time of 20.11 was Patrick Murphy
In second place with a time of 27.50 was Darren Brady
and in third with a time of 27.51 was Brendan Argue

Mend Under 40's:

In first place with a time of 18.56 was Derek Croal
In second place with a time of 19.20 was Sean McDaid
and in third with a time of 19.21 was Killian Heery

Men's Over 40's:

In first place with a time of 18.43 was Shane Boyle
In second place with a time of 21.28 Padhraig Smith
and in third with a time of 21.31 was Donal Briody

Ladies Under 40's:

In first place with a time of 21.07 was Eimear Mc Govern
In second place with a time of 24.00 was Clare Mc Crystal
and in third with a time of 25.33 was Ann Lynch

Ladies Over 40's:

In first place with a time of 23.50 was Maureen Getty
In second place with a time of 26.16 was Marie Smith
and in third with a time of 27.07 was Kathleen Connors

The committee and members of Virginia RFC would like to thank all the runners and walkers for their participation in this event, and for making it such a wonderful day

Click here to view full results.

Virginia Rugby Club, Under 14 girls tag team headed off for their first blitz tournament last Saturday. It a was very successful start to the day with a win in our First game against Navan, with scores from clara lynch, ellie smith and great runs from Amy whitley and Tara o'leary.

The Second game saw us up agenised Ratoath and with impressive runs from Edith lynch, Meagan higgins and Sara whitley and scores from Caolinn mccormark, Ciara brown,Rebecca warren, we notched up our second win of the day.

Our Third game of the day put us up agenised Dundalk which ended up a draw game, this was a very tough game there was some very impressive passes all round and some fine skill from Nicole fibly, Megan brodie and Megan grimes & Ciara Byers.

In our Fourth game we met Navan and overcame them by 5-2, this left us well ahead in the tournament and the final in our sights. Virgina ladies under 14’s went on to beat Ratoath in the final by 6-4 with scores from Tara, Clara and Ellie, they also played Dundalk again with a win 5-4, In a very tough game.

There was a brilliant performance from ALL our girls. We travel to dundalk on the 3rd of december for our next blitz.

Back: Edith lynch, Dessie Higgins, Ellie smith, Ciara Byres, Amy Whitley, Rebecca Warren, Nicole fibly, meagan Higgins, Ciara brown, Caolinn McCormack, Leona McNally. Front: Clara lynch, tara o'leary, Sara Whitley, Meagan grimes, Meagan Brodie.