Our First team played Bective Rangers in Dublin last Saturday in our first AIL fixture of the new year.  It was a disappointing day for our players and supporters as we went down by 29 points to 3. We played better than the score line suggests.  We were still in the game at half time, with Crescent behind by 9 points to nil, and we narrowed the gap to just 6 points with a successful penalty kick taken by Tom Cregan shortly after the restart. On several occasions, when we had Bective under pressure in their own half, some poor execution let us down and allowed them to relieve the pressure and get back up the field.  Bective were more successful with their incursions into the Crescent half and were able to come away with scores. Bective stretched their lead to 22 points to 3 with a converted try and two penalty kick, and late in the game they scored an intercept try to put the game beyond doubt. After this disappointment, our team must pick themselves up for their next AIL outing which is a crucial home game against Instonians in Rosbrien next Saturday.  Instonians lie just one place behind us in Division Two so a win is vital.

Our Under 21’s were to play Waterpark in their league last Saturday in Rosbrien but got a walkover as Waterpart failed to field a team.  Our Thirds were also due to have a game last Saturday which was called off, so they played a training game against the Under 21’s.  We have no report on who won.  Our Seconds game against Highfield scheduled for last Sunday was called off due to waterlogged pitches. 

In fixtures for next weekend, our Under 21’s play an important league match against UCC in Rosbrien at 1.00pm, and our Seniors take on Instonians in Rosbrien at 2.30pm in the AIL. 

Our Firsts played Nenagh Ormand in a friendly last Friday in our first evening game under our new floodlights.  While the floodlights were a great success, we lost the game by 27 points to 13.  While the game did prove a useful training exercise, we contributed to the loss partly by losing our shape through numerous changes of players, using a total of 26 players in the game.

Next weekend, our Seniors have a friendly against Middleton at home in Rosbrien at 2.00pm next Saturday. While our Under 21’s resume their League and travel to Musgrave Park to play Dolphin at 2.30pm next Saturday.

Old Crescent played our traditional Christmas fixture on St Stephens Day against Young Munster at home in Rosbrien for the Kelly Cup.  The Cup is in memory of Michael Kelly who was a stalwart of both clubs. The game was played in a very competitive spirit between two sides keen to work off their Christmas turkeys.  Both teams fielded a mix of experienced and young players, and it was good to see Shane Murphy back playing. The first half saw an exchange of penalties with Crescent leading by 9 points to 6 at half time. In the seconds half, Crescent scored two excellent tries, the first by Brendan Guilfoyle and the second by Jason Tonge.  Both tries were converted by Tom Cregan. Young Munster countered with two converted tries of their own to bring the Crescent lead back to 3 points again.  Crescent held out in an exciting finish to win by these 3 points with the final score Old Crescent 23 Young Munster 20. Tom Cregan and Darra Yelverton excelled in a fine all round team effort. Mick Kelly Jnr was on hand to present the Kelly Cup in memory of his father to the Old Crescent Captain Will Hanly. An added bonus to this festive fixture was the switching on of the brand new Old Crescent main pitch floodlights at half time.  The floodlights looked magnificent as darkness descended in Rosbrien.

Our Junior Cup side were in action against Mallow last Sunday in Rosbrien in the second round of the Munster Junior Cup. Crescent started strongly and put Mallow under severe pressure in the first half.  This pressure was rewarded to well taken tries by Rob O’Neill and Jason Tonge.  The converts were missed, leaving Crescent ahead by 10 points to nil at half time. Mallow upped their game in the second half but Crescent’s stout defence kept them scoreless into the last quarter of the game.  Unfortunately, Crescent suffered two yellow cards in quick succession and were down to 13 men for over five minutes.  Mallow scored a try in this period but missed the convert. As the game went into injury time, Crescent were desperately defending the five point with just 14 men.  The Mallow pressure finally told when they scored a second try by the posts.  The easy conversion gave them the vital two point margin which they held to the end. It was a gallant effort by our Junior Cup side who were unlucky to go out at this stage of the competition.

Next Friday evening at 7.30pm our Seniors take on Nenagh in a friendly under lights at home at Rosbrien.  Come out to the Club next Friday evening and see our Seniors and our new floodlights in action.

Old Crescent played Greystones last Saturday in Rosbrien in our final AIL fixture before the Christmas break. It was a disappointing game for players, management and supporters. We conceded two soft tries early in the game and spent the remainder of the game trying to overcome the deficit. Crescent started the game strongly in front of a large crowd of supporters and were applying pressure on Greystones in the early stages.  However, turnovers and defensive errors while attacking in the Greystones half allowed the visitors to run in two simple tries, one of which they converted, to go 12 points to nil up in the first quarter of the game. Crescent continued to press and had several scoring chances before, at the end of a well worked move, winger Graham O’Keefe scored a magnificent try.  The convert attempt by Shane Mullaly was wide but he was on target with a penalty convert on the stroke of half time, to leave us behind at the break by 12 points to 8. Shane converted another penalty seven minutes into the second half to put us just one point behind with a half an hour to play.  Our scrum was superb and we had the Greystones pack under severe pressure throughout the second half.  However, our comeback was halted when Greystones scored a breakaway try on 70 minutes which they converted. The pack fought hard and spent most of final ten minutes well inside the Greystones 22.  Unfortunately, the Greystones defence held out and our only consolation for all this late pressure was a converted penalty kicked by Tom Cregan to give us a losing bonus point. As we head into the Christmas break and the mid point of our AIL season, we can look back on a great start to the season before losing our way in our most recent games.

We lie in 11th place on the Division 2A table with 16 points (two more than we finished last season with). On the positive side, we have now played six of the current top seven teams in the division and with a strong young squad we can expect to finish the season much higher up in the table

Our Seconds played and lost to Nenagh last Sunday but will be hoping for better luck next Saturday when they take on Fermoy in the first round of the Munster Junior Cup at home in Rosbrien at 2.00pm. We would urge our supporters to come out next Saturday to Rosbrien to support our Junior Cup side. Please note the early kick off time.

Last weekend, our First team made the long trip to Belfast to play their AIL fixture against Queens University.  The match started well for Crescent with the benefit of the wind. Shane Mullaly landed three penalties over the course of the first half to give us a lead of 9 points to nil coming up to half time. However, near the end of the first half, Queens scored a breakaway try and converted it to put them just 2 points behind Crescent at half time. The second half was a war of attrition for Crescent now that Queens had the benefit of the strong breeze.  Crescent suffered a further setback when Shane Mullaly was sidelined for nearly ten minutes with a blood injury during the second half.  Queens scored an unconverted try and two penalties to put them 18 points to 9 in front.  Coming up to the final whistle, Crescent had an opportunity to secure a losing bonus point but Shane was just wide with a difficult kick into the swirling wind. All the focus is now on winning our remaining home AIL fixture before the Christmas break against Greystones in Rosbrien next Saturday.

Also, last Saturday, our Under 21 side entertained Young Munster in the South West Conference of the AIL in Rosbrien. Conditions were excellent considering the weather and worries that the match would not go ahead. Again, well done to our chairman of grounds, Dermott Mc Govern, for the excellent condition of our pitches.

The match started at a frantic pace and after 5 five minutes Munsters, playing up the hill, scored a very good try running from their own 22 to score in the right hand corner, the conversion was missed to leave the score 5-0 to Young Munster. 10 minutes later, we leveled the scores. A fine break from centre, Padraig Quinn, brought us into Munster’s 22. The ball was recycled and went through three pairs of hands for our prop Neil Darcy to score out wide. The difficult conversion was just wide by Kevin Meade. Playing down the hill and with the wind Larry Hanly got us into some great attacking positions with some excellent kicking out of hand. One of those kicks led to our next score. Young Munsters had a line out five yards from their own line but knocked on. We had the put in to the resultant scrum and put them under serious pressure. We drove them back over the line and John O’Dwyer touched down to put us ahead by 10 points to 5. Kevin Meade converted to give us a half-time lead of 12-5. At the start of the second half, Young Munsters came right back at us and earned a penalty just outside the 22. Their outhalf slotted it over to leave the score 12-8. We went back up into their half after a great clearance kick by Kevin Meade. Again, we pressured them at the line out and, from a knock on, we got a scrum just left of the posts. Our front row of Cormac O Connor, Kieran Murphy and Neil Darcy, turned the screw on their opponents, who conceded 3 penalties in a row. The referee had no choice but to award a penalty try which Kevin Meade converted to leave the score 19-8. With 3 tries on the board, we went in search of a fourth try to get the bonus point.  Again, Larry Hanly got us into the Munsters 22 with a penalty and from the resultant maul we gained a scrum short of Young Munsters line. After 6 scrum resets, and an injury to a young Munster player, we again got the nudge in the scrum. We drove over the line with John O’Dwyer getting the try. The conversion was missed. With five minutes remaining, Young Munster got a consolation try but missed the conversion to leave the final score Old Crescent 24 Young Munster 13. It was a fantastic result and great credit is due to the whole Under 21 squad as we used everyone on our bench. The pack, with our captain Kevin Doyle leading, were outstanding with our front row especially doing some great work in attack and defence. Our back line was excellent again, with Padraig Quinn and Larry Hanly leading the attack.

As mentioned already ready, our First XV have a very important home fixture next Saturday when they take on Greystones RFC in our final AIL fixture before the Christmas break.  The game kicks offs in Rosbrien at 2.00pm. Please note the earlier than usual kick off, which is to facilitate members and supporters who want to watch the Scarlets v Munster Heineken Cup game which kicks off at 3.40pm. The Munster game will be on the big screen in the Clubhouse.

This week began sadly for Old Crescent with the news of the passing of our former President, Anthony Murray, and also of John O’Brien, former Deputy Headmaster of Crescent College Comprehensive.  Anthony and John were well known and respected among the Crescent community and we extend our deepest sympathies to the Murray and O’Brien families.

Senior XV - AIL 2A: If ever a game could be described as ‘a game of two halves’, it certainly applied in Rosbrien last Saturday afternoon when the Old Crescent senior side staged an amazing come-back to win their AIL fixture against Belfast based Malone RFC.  The gale force wind blowing down the pitch was a major factor in the game.  Crescent won the toss and elected to play up the ‘hill’ and into the wind, prompting much debate on the sidelines. As expected, with the strong wind at their back, Malone dominated the first half.  Crescent did fight their way deep into the Malone half on several occasions but any error was punished by long ranging wind assisted kicks from Malone bringing them deep into the Crescent half.  Malone were awarded three penalties in the first half which they converted to lead by 9 point to nil after 30 minutes of rugby. Coming to half time Crescent supporters were confident that our team could turn around a 9 point deficit in the second half.  Unfortunately, a break away try by Malone, which they converted, and a further converted penalty just on half time, meant that Crescent faced a 19 point deficit going into the second half. Crescent set about the task of overturning the deficit in the second half, and were awarded an early penalty which Paul Loughran, making his AIL debut at No 10, converted.  However, Crescent’s comeback was halted when shortly afterwards Tavita Talitoia was yellow carded.  Fortunately, we did not concede a score while we were down to 14 men, and the come back resumed with a great try scored by Brendan Guilfoyle and converted by Paul Loughran to cut the deficit to 9 points with 20 minutes remaining. We cut the deficit by a further three points on 30 minutes when Paul again kicked a penalty, leaving us just 6 points behind with 10 minutes to go.  With Malone visibly fading and Crescent now dominant, and roared on by a large crowd of fervent supporters, our team pressed hard in the Malone half for the winning score.  With time running out, we finally got our break through when Tavita Talitoia emerged untouched from a ruck on the Malone 22 and scored a try by the posts, to leave us just one point behind.  Crescent supporters held their breathe but need not have worried as Paul Loughran slotted the conversion to give us an amazing victory by a single point. Congratulations our senior squad and our coaches for a great team effort in sticking to their task and turning around a 19 point deficit.  We must also mention and congratulate team members, Paul Loughran, Kevin Hadnett and Graham O’Keefe, who were making their AIL debuts for Old Crescent last Saturday.

In Under Age News, our Under 14’s overcame a well drilled Ennis side last week to win by 7 points after a hard fought up front battle. The Ennis pack seemed to have the edge in the first half, very good at the maul and very quick at the breakdown.  However Old Crescent were dominant in the lineout winning their own ball and quite a few against the head.  Old Crescent fell 7 points behind following a converted try in the 7^th minute.  Crescent replied in the 16^th minute with a try in the corner but failed to convert. As the battle upfront got more intense, Crescent were able to take advantage of the hill and breeze in the second half and scored a great forward try close to the posts adding 7 points and now leading by 5.  Ennis replied with an unconverted try leaving both sides level.  Then Crescent scored and converted the last try of the game with about 10 minutes to go, making it a tense final few minutes to win by 7 points. Congratulations to all who played and to the full Under 14 panel.  We had 29 in full kit and all would love to have had a chance on the pitch.  The coaches are very much aware of the need to give all playing time and are working to ensure that those who don’t get to play on League or Cup day will get match time on other games. Old Crescent U14’s are now top of the league with full points ahead of Bohs and Shannon who have one loss each.  We have two games left in the league, against, guess who?  Yes, Bohs and Shannon!  Both games will be at home in Rosbrien.

Fixtures next weekend: Our Firsts make the long trip to Belfast to play Queens University in the AIL next Saturday at 2.30pm. Our Under 21s have a league fixture against Young Munster at 2.30pm next Saturday in Rosbrien. In under age, our Under 14’s play Shannon at home next Sunday morning.

Last Saturday, our Under 21 side made the trip to the Mardyke to play UCC in the south west conference of the AIL.  A bright sunny day and with good conditions, it was set for a running game of rugby and both sides did not disappoint. The opening exchanges were very physical and we conceded a penalty after 10 minutes when we were offside from a ruck. UCC kicked the resulting penalty to go 3-0 up. Our response was good and within a few minutes we got an opportunity to level the scores. The kick was from the half way line and our full back, Kevin Meade, fancied his chances. He wasn’t far off and hit the post. UCC came straight back at us and scored a try and converted to leave the score 10-0 to UCC. We found ourselves under pressure again and went offside from a ruck on two more occasions and the UCC outhalf added a further two penalties to leave us trailing 16-0 as we headed for half time. With five minutes to the interval we went through eight phases of play between the backs and forwards to set up Larry Hanly for a try which was not converted. At half time we were trailing by 16-5. The half time talk seemed to have worked as there was a lot more urgency in our game. After 25 minutes of the second half, we forced ourselves into the UCC 22, and after a series of pick and drives, the ball was spun out to Larry Hanly who got tackled short of the line. The ball popped out and Kevin Meade showed great skill to pick up the ball at full tilt and sidestep two defenders to score close to the posts. He converted his own try to leave the score 16-12 to UCC with 15 minutes left on the clock. We pushed hard to try and get the winning score but the UCC defense held out leaving the final score, UCC 16 Old Crescent 12.

Our Seconds played Thomond last Sunday in Fitzgerald Park in the Seconds League.  Two last minute cry -offs due to a family bereavement and a player injury the previous day meant that we had to take the pitch with a makeshift team. We led at half time by 10 - 7 and were playing good rugby.  Unfortunately, two of our players had to leave the field at half time to go to work and as we had only one sub we played on with 14 men. With 15 minutes to go, a further Crescent player had to leave as he was now late for work, which meant we ended the game with 13 men on the pitch.  Thomond ran in two converted and one unconverted tries together with a penalty in the second half against 14 and then 13 players.  It was a pity to lose our players during the game as we could easily have won if we didn't have these forced defections.  An unfortunate sign of the times we live in.

Our Thirds played Richmond in Rosbrien last Saturday in the Gleeson League. We led 10-6 at half time but due to a shortage of subs we ran out of gas in the second half. Richmond capitalised on this later on in the second half and won by 17 points to 13.  There was some outstanding performances in our pack, with Simon Ryan and Odran Power looking very sharp.

In Under Age news, our Under 11’s entertained UL Bohs and Athy RFC last Sunday. We fielded two teams from a squad of 24 players. All matches were very competitive, we won two, lost two and drew one. There were some excellent displays, especially, from new recruits Daniel Twomey, Eamon Walsh and Sean Roche. Our "Samoan twins" David and Joe Rickard, were in the thick of everything as were Ben Davey, Darragh Fenton, Aidan Herbert, James O Donnell and Philip O’Toole. Special mention must go to Tony O’Sullivan who was immense in every game he played. Well done to everyone. Our Under 10 panel travelled to Ennis for a blitz hosted by Ennis RFC.  Also in attendance were Gort RFC and Young Munster RFC.  Old Crescent fielded two teams who did the Club proud by not conceding a match.  Against physically bigger opponents, the tackling was ferocious but the Old Crescent players showed great handling skills, consistently passing the ball out the line.  The matches were enjoyed by the many family and friends who travelled in support.

Next weekend, the AIL resumes and our Seniors take on Malone RFC at home in Rosbrien at 2.30pm.  We expect a large attendance of loyal supporters in Rosbrien next Saturday to see our senior team get back to their winning ways.  Our Thirds play Bruff in Bruff in the Gleeson League at 1.30pm next Saturday.

Last Saturday our Under 21 side travelled to play Waterpark in the South West Conference of the AIL. We dominated the scrums, lineout’s and territory in the first half but found ourselves 13 points to 5 down at half time. Our only score came from John O’Dwyer after some great work by our pack and in particular by Cormac O’Connor. The half time talk obviously worked wonders as we immediately got another score, a penalty by Kevin Meade, which was awarded after a number of phases and interplay between backs and forwards. That left the score at 13 - 8 to Waterpark. With 15 minutes left we got a try scored by Graeme O Keefe after some good drives by our captain Kevin Doyle and John O Dwyer. The conversion was missed so it was all square at 13-13 with 10 minutes remaining. Again, we put Waterpark under pressure in a scrum and won a penalty which was kicked by Kevin Meade to put us in the lead 16 - 13. We had to endure some pressure from a very good Waterpark side but our defense was outstanding and held out to the end. It was a brilliant squad effort as we used all of our bench. In the pack Neill Darcy and Kevin Doyle stood out, with Gavin Herbert winning 5 lineout’s against the head. In the backs, Padraic Quinn, Rob O Neill and Graeme O Keefe, were excellent in attack and defense. 

At short notice, a match was arranged for last Friday night in Rosbrien for our Seconds against a touring side from Newfoundland, Canada called Vandals RFC. Old Crescent scored first with a converted try leaving the score 7 points to nil and shortly afterwards Vandals scored a try under the post to leave the score 7 points each.  Scrums were uncontested due to the absence of a full complement of front row players and this allowed our lively back row to excel. The game was fast and furious with Crescent and Vandals both shipping a few injuries resulting in both Barry Gibbons and Will Cuddy having to leave the field which was a pity as both players were playing very well.  Crescent’s forward superiority, and basic knowledge and experience, enabled us to gain the upper hand and this resulted in our backs having a plentiful supply of ball to enable some exciting running rugby. The final score was 63 points to 7 in favour of Old Crescent with John Moore (a recent recruit) running in 4 tries!  A good social evening followed and Vandals were delighted with their visit to Old Crescent and with the experience they gained from the match.

Our Under 19’s made their way to Bruff on Sunday morning for a North Munster U19 league match, a brave performance for the team resulted in them leading Bruff for most of the match. But Bruff scored two try’s final ten minute to win the match 17 - 7.

Our First team played Dublin University (Trinity) in Dublin last Saturday in their AIL Division Two clash.  We had an excellent turn out of Dublin based members and supporters who came to College Park in anticipation of seeing the Club continue our good start in the AIL this season. Unfortunately, it was not to be and we went down to a good Trinity side who have lost only one game so far this season.  We played against the wind and a low blinding sun in the first half.  Trinity scored first with a converted try after seven minutes. Trinity went on to land two converted penalties before Crescent got on the scoreboard with a penalty kick converted by Tom Cregan.  We were still well in the game at that stage but an unconverted try by Trinity at the end of first half stretched their lead at half time to 18 points to 3. We competed well in the second half but ten minutes into the half we suffered a yellow card and Trinity converted the penalty that was awarded.  We were no sooner back up to 15 men when we were hit with a second yellow card.  This meant we were down to 14 men for half of the second half.  Trinity used their advantage to score a converted try during the second yellow card period. We did get a consolation try near the end of the game, scored and converted by Andy Brace.   Right at the end, we were also denied a second consolation try when Tevito Talitoia forced his way over the Trinity line, but unfortunately the ref decided he was held up and blew the final whistle. The losses to Seapoint and Trinity on consecutive weekends have taken a bit of the gloss off our otherwise excellent start to the AIL this season.  We now have a three week break in which to regroup and get back to our winning ways for our next AIL fixture at home to Malone on Saturday, 28^th November.

In other games, our Thirds played Thomond in the Gleeson League at home in Rosbrien last Saturday.  We started well and scored an early breakaway try. The try was scored by Paul McDonagh who also kicked the conversion.  Thomond scored two converted tries to lead at half time by 14 points to 7. In the second half, Conor McCarthy blocked down a kick and managed to hold onto the ball to score an opportunist try.  The conversion was again kicked by Paul McDonagh.  Unfortunately, we conceded two late Thomond tries to leave the final score Old Crescent 14 Thomond 26.

In fixtures next weekend, our Thirds play a Gleeson League fixture against UL Bohemians at home in Rosbrien at 2.30pm next Saturday.  Our Under 21’s are away to Waterpark in their Under 21 League at 2.30pm next Saturday in Waterford.

Seapoint RFC, from near Killiney in south county Dublin, made their first visit to Rosbrien last Saturday to take on our Firsts in the fourth round of the AIL Division Two.  Crescent went into the match undefeated in the AIL and we had high hopes of a win. Crescent attacked from the kick off and we almost had a dream start when our outhalf put a neat chip through for our winger to chase into the end zone only to be just beaten to the touchdown by the Seapoint full back. After that initial Crescent pressure, Seapoint were the first to score with a penalty after five minutes.  Crescent quickly leveled the scores with a penalty taken by Tom Cregan a few minutes later. Crescent followed this with a superb try scored by our Captain, Will Hanly.  The conversion was missed. Seapoint kicked a penalty, midway through the first half, and on the half hour they scored a try which they converted to put them back in front.  Coming to the end of the first half, Tom Cregan kicked another penalty for Crescent.  However, Seapoint had the last score of the first half, an unconverted try, to leave Old Crescent trailing at half time by 11 points to 18. Seapoint dominated for much of the first half of second half, and they went further ahead when they scored a third try which they converted. Now 14 points behind, the Crescent team upped their game and fought hard to get back into contention. After a series of scrum penalty awards to Crescent on the Seapoint line, the referee finally awarded Crescent a penalty try which Shane Mullaly quickly converted. With the match heading towards the final whistle and Crescent still 7 seven points behind, our team continued to go in search of a converted try that would give us a draw.  Deep in injury time, Brendan Guilfoyle crashed over for a try but unfortunately the conversion attempt drifted inches wide, leaving the final score Old Crescent 23 Seapoint 25. It was disappointing to lose so narrowly after the excellent start that our Firsts have made in the AIL this season.  It was also a game that we could have and probably should have won.

Our Thirds had a good away win in the Gleeson League when they beat St Senans in Shannon by 35 point to 17 last Saturday.

In fixtures next weekend, our Firsts travel to Dublin to play Trinity in the AIL. We hope to see all our Dublin supporters in College Park supporting our team.  Our Thirds play Thomond at home in Rosbrien in the Gleeson League at 2.30pm next Saturday, and our Under 21’s play Garryowen in a friendly also at home at 12.00 noon next Saturday.  Our Seconds play Young Munster away in Tom Clifford Park at 2.30pm next Sunday.

The major game played by an Old Crescent team in Rosbrien last weekend was our Under 21 South West Conference AIL clash against Dolphin last Saturday. The match was lucky to go ahead as there had been torrential rain falling for most of the morning. The referee deemed our main pitch unplayable but thankfully our second pitch had held up well and the match kicked off on that pitch about 15 minutes behind schedule. Great credit is due to our Chairman of Grounds, Dermot McGovern, who has done a fantastic job in ensuring our pitches are playable in all weathers. We played against a strong wind in the first half and spent most of those first 40 minutes inside our own half with Dolphin using the wind to their advantage, with clever kicks to the corners pinning us back.  However, through good discipline, we gave Dolphin only two penalty chances in the first half. They converted one of these to leave us trailing by 3 points to nil at the interval. Our defence was outstanding in the first half, superbly led by our back row of Kevin Doyle, Luke Malone and Sean Monaghan, and our back three of Sean Cunningham, Luke McNamara and Kevin Meade, who handled everything that was kicked at them. We started the second half brightly and gained a penalty just outside the Dolphin 10 metre line, which our full back Kevin Meade slotted over to bring the scores level. We got another kick at goal after great work from our centre partnership of Brian Murphy and Rob O’Neill, and again Kevin Meade kicked a superb penalty from wide out to give us a 6 - 3 lead. Dolphin came back strongly and had us under pressure. However, our defence was outstanding. In particular, our front five led by example and put in some ferocious tackles on their opposite numbers. We used our bench well and introduced Peter Murray, Joe Barrett and Graeme O’Keefe who all contributed when they came on. We finally got the try we deserved when, after a period of Crescent pressure, our scrum half chipped the ball over the Dolphin defence for Larry Hanly to slide in from 10 metres to score in the corner. Kevin Meade stepped up to convert from the touchline to leave the scores 13 - 3 to Old Crescent. With 15 minutes left, Dolphin came back at us but again our defence was outstanding and we kept Dolphin scoreless to the end. While we have mentioned a few players, it was a fantastic squad effort by all involved including our U21 backroom team led by Joe Nix. We would also like to thank the large number of supporters who turned up to watch the game in such wet conditions.

Our Thirds home game against Garryowen, due to be played after the Under 21 game, didn’t go ahead as the referee deemed there wouldn’t be sufficient light to complete the game due to the late start of the Under 21 game.   Our Seconds recorded a narrow loss to UL Bohemians in Annacotty on Monday evening.

Next weekend the Ulster Bank AIL resumes and our First XV host Seapoint RFC from Dublin who make their first ever visit to Rosbrien for a 2.30pm kick-off game on Saturday.  We would encourage as many as possible of our members and supporters to come to Rosbrien next Saturday to see our First XV hopefully continue their winning ways.  Our Thirds play their Gleeson League fixture against St. Senans in Shannon, also with a 2.30pm kick-off on Saturday.

Looking further ahead to our next away Ulster Bank AIL fixture against Trinity in Dublin on Saturday, 5th November, club member Michael Cunningham has kindly arranged a deal with Iarnrod Eireann for 20+ people at only €30 per head for a day return train trip to Dublin.  The plan is to leave Limerick Station at 9.00am and return from Dublin on the 6.00pm train.  Members interested in travelling with us to Dublin for the Trinity game on 5th November should contact Michael on 087 2571454 a.s.a.p. We may never get back to the good old days of the AIL, when Old Crescent and other Limerick clubs booked full trains for away games, but we do hope that as many members and their friends as possible will join us for a day trip to Dublin.

Finally, our Hon Sec, Dale Harrow has asked me to remind members that the first home game in this Seasons Heineken Cup takes place in Thomond Park on Saturday 12th November, and he still have some East Terrace Season Tickets available for each of the three home pool games.  He also has a few Cat A/B Stand Season Tickets available for the 6 RaboDirect Pro12 and 3 Heineken Cup home games in Thomond Park.  If interested, please contact Dale a.s.a.p. at 086-3447197.

After the long journey up north, Old Crescent took on City of Derry RFC in Derry in the AIL last Saturday afternoon. Crescent started well, putting the home side under pressure from the kick-off, and scored early with a try by winger Barry Gibbons which was not converted. Further hard work and excellent play by Crescent yielded two converted penalties by Tom Cregan and another unconverted try by Barry Gibbons.  Shane Mullaly kept the score ticking over coming up to half time with a well executed drop goal.  City of Derry’s only points in the first half came from a converted try, leaving Old Crescent ahead by 19 points to 7 points at half time. Crescent continued to apply pressure in the second half and this pressure resulted in a third try, scored by Andy Brace, and converted by Tom Cregan, to put Old Crescent ahead by 26 points to 7.  However, a number of enforced injuries midway through the second half limited Crescent’s options in the last 20 minutes. City of Derry came back strongly in this period and scored two tries, one of them converted, leading to a few anxious moments for the small band of travelling Crescent supporters.  They need not have worried as the Crescent defense was resolute right to the finish. This was epitomised by Niall Darcy, making his AIL debut at tight head prop, out-scrummaging his opponent and forcing a turnover and a relieving penalty kick to touch to end the game. Our senior team has had their best start to the season for many years and are unbeaten after three AIL games.  The spirit and attitude of our team is exceptional. Last Saturday, they secured four very valuable AIL away to City of Derry, a team that will cause problems for every visiting team for the rest of this season.

In Under Age News, our Under 8’s took part the first blitz of the season last Sunday, which was hosted by Garryowen. Participating teams were Garryowen, Presentation, Thomond, and Old Crescent. On a fantastic morning for rugby, we had a great turnout with approximately 30 children turning up hungry to get stuck in the action.  Crescent split into two teams so that everyone got a game. The first game was against Presentation. After we got over the try line for the first time there was no stopping our lads and they racked up a cricket score. Our second team played against Garryowen, and after the convincing win of their team mates, they too put in a superb performance to overwhelm Garryowen, to the extent that my informant lost track of the scores! With no further opposition, our two teams then played a match against each other to end a great day out for our Under 8’s and their parents.

Our Seniors played their first home AIL game of the season in Rosbrien last Saturday against Middleton RFC.  The game was played in wet and windy conditions which did not deter the good attendance of Crescent supporters who came with high hopes for an improved performance from the new look senior side. Middleton came to do business and had the better of the exchanges early on with the benefit of the wind at their back in the first half. Their pressure resulted in a penalty midway through the first half which they converted.  However, Crescent replied five minutes later with an excellent penalty conversion from out wide by our fullback Tom Cregan.  Middleton converted a second penalty to lead 6 points to 3 at half time. Crescent needed to up their game in the second half if they were to secure an opening home win.  Middleton were still competing strongly but the arrival of veteran prop PJ McLaughlin midway through the second half, replacing the injured Trevor Bowles, helped steady the Crescent scrum. The team as a whole played better fourth quarter and began to exert pressure on a tiring Middleton side. The stronger Crescent scrum resulted in Middleton conceding two vital penalties in their half which Tom Cregan converted to level the game and then put us in front.  Tom converted a final penalty just before full time to give us a hard won win by 12 points to 6.  There is still much room for improvement but 6 AIL points from our first two games is very welcome.

Next weekend our Seniors make the long trek up north to play City of Derry RFC in the AIL.

Our Thirds side lost 17 - 3 to St Marys in the Gleeson League. We conceded an early try but got back to 5-3 with a Paul McDonagh penalty goal. Our hosts scored another try from a rolling maul late in the half to leave the half time score at 10 - 3.  Our thirds put in a much better second half performance but we failed to convert our pressure into points. The only score of the second half was a breakaway try by Marys which was converted to leave the final score 17 – 3.

Our Thirds next play Shannon in the Gleeson League at home in Rosbrien at 2.30pm next Saturday.

Our Under 21 Squad opened their League campaign with an away fixture against Shannon in the South West Conference of the AIL. The team had trained well all week and confidence was high. After a bright start by both teams, Crescent began to secure dominance which resulted in three penalty’s being slotted over by Kevin Meade to give us a 9 point lead at half time. Our defense and tackling was excellent in keeping Shannon scoreless. Shannon came back strongly in the second half and scored a penalty and a try to bring them to within a point. Shannon got another try with ten minutes to go but missed the conversion to leave the score 13 - 09 in favour of Shannon. With only 2 minutes left on the clock, we got good field position thanks to a great kick for territory by Larry Hanly. We won a turnover ball 5 yards from the Shannon line and after a series of pick and drives by our forwards, our captain Kevin Doyle drove over to put us ahead by 1 point to leave the Scores 14-13 to Old Crescent. As it turned out it was the last play of the game. Our pack from 1 to 8 were outstanding, led by Sean Monaghan, and our backs looked dangerous all day and were superbly led by our half-backs Rob Fenton and Larry Hanly. Our replacements also made a great impact to highlight a great squad effort by all. A great win by a very good team, well done to all.

Old Crescent’s latest AIL campaign got underway last Saturday at a windy and wet Donnybrook where we took on Old Wesley RFC.  It was raining heavily when our team arrived in Donnybrook, and had been raining all night, leading fears that they game might not go ahead.  However, the rain finally stopped about an hour before kick-off and the pitch was declared playable. The fruits of the pre-season effort put in by Old Crescent rugby management, coaches and players, were on display in the good mix of experienced and new faces to be seen in the Old Crescent side ably led by our Captain, Will Hanly.

Crescent opened strongly and with urgency, and our pack soon had the Welsey forwards under pressure.   The early pressure led to the awarding of a penalty to Crescent which Shane Mullaly converted. Further Crescent pressure, particularly in the set pieces, forced a Wesley turnover from which the ball was moved quickly through the back line and finished with a try in the corner scored by Tom Cregan. The convert was missed, leaving Crescent ahead by 8 points to nil. Old Wesley finally got on the scoreboard with two converted penalties.  However, Crescent was to have the last word near the end of the first half when Shane Mullaly put over a magnificent drop goal to leave the half time score at Old Crescent 11 Old Wesley 6. Wesley tried hard to get back into the game in the second half and were rewarded with an unconverted try 15 minutes into the second half.  Crescent replied shortly afterwards with a well taken penalty from the touchline by Tom Cregan. Crescent suffered the loss through injury of our two props in quick succession.  The resulting uncontested scrums for the remainder of the game negated what had been until then a dominant Crescent scrum and allowed Wesley to play a more expansive game.   Crescent hung on grimly to their slender 3 point lead until Wesley got a penalty in the 78^th minute which they converted to leave the final score at 14 points a piece. Having being dominant for most of the game, Crescent players and supporters were disappointed not the win, but with Wesley finishing strongly, we should be happy with the draw and the 2 away points.

In other senior games last weekend, our Under 21’s beat Bruff by 21 points to 16, and our Thirds lost to Young Munster by 17 point to 10.

Looking ahead to next weekend, our Seniors play their first home AIL game of the season against Middleton RFC at 2.30pm next Saturday in Rosbrien.  We urge all Crescent supporters and followers to come out to Rosbrien next Saturday afternoon and see our new look Senior team in action.  Also, please contact Vincent Collins on 087 9756033 immediately if you wish to attend the pre-match lunch in the Clubhouse before the Middleton game.

Our Seconds play Shannon away in Coonagh at 7.30pm next Monday evening.  Our Thirds play a Gleeson League match away against St Mary’s at 2.30pm next Saturday, and our Under 21’s play Shannon again away in Coonagh at 2.30pm next Saturday.

Finally, would all members who are have sold IRFU Club Draw tickets please return ticket stubs and money immediately to Dan Gallery or Dale Harrow.

Our First XV kick off their AIL campaign this season with an away game against Old Wesley in Dublin at 2.30pm tomorrow.  We wish our Coach Mick Lynch, Captain Will Hanly, and the entire squad every success this season.  We ask that as many as possible of our members and supporters, particularly our Dublin based followers, make their way to Donnybrook to support our team next Saturday.

Meanwhile our Under Age Section has been up and running for some weeks, and our under 14’s were in action last weekend against Garryowen. 32 of our panel of 34 came to Dooradoyle to be part of the first league game of the new season.  With limited training and game time so far this season, everybody was a little nervous.  From the start, the Crescent pack were up for the occasion.  The set pieces went well, with a number of clean catches, spoiled opposition ball and good clean ups in the lineout.  Our pack dominated  the scrum, winning a number of balls against the head.  All 4 tries came from good forward supply to a very strong running backline.  Which was proof of the old saying ‘that forwards win the match, the backs decide by how much’!  3 of the 4 tries were well converted.  And for a lot of the game the difference in the score line was a conversion, showing the importance of having a good place kicker.. Our backline worked and communicated well together and experimented with some new moves. And the subs when made, made a valuable contribution.  The final score was 26:12 in favour of Crescent.

Our Hon Sec, Dale Harrow, asks me to remind Old Crescent members and supporters that tickets for IRFU Club Draw are available from any Committee member.  The prizes in this draw are fantastic and the proceeds of the draw will be invested in Old Crescent rugby so please support this very worthwhile fund raising effort.

The Old Crescent RFC Committee elected for the 2011-2012 season is: