Omagh Academicals Rugby Club

 

 

 

Latest News

 

3rds into Ravenhill Cup Final

 

Bangor 4ths 8

Omagh 3rds 10

 

Omagh made a remarkable come back in this thrilling encounter at Bangor as they trailed 8-0 just after half time.

Omagh travelled with several changes in their team due to injuries to Harper,Lagan and S.Monteith in the previous week's encounter with Rainey.

The first half was a close affair with Bangor aided by the wind in their favour .Their bigger and more experienced forwards were met head on by determined Omagh tackling by all Omagh forwards and equal determination from backs when danger loomed.

Omagh forwards got moving and mounted several drives towards opposition but could not get final thrust at crucial moment.

Omagh mounted a promising move when good passing by all backs saw Gary Irvine make several metres down the wing ,pass inside to Jeff Buchanan who on point of breaking through was ankle tapped as he looked to be set for a run to line.

Bangor ,were awarded a penalty on stroke of half time which their kicker converted for a 3-nil lead at break.

Bangor started the second half with a bang using their swift passing backline at every occasion stretching the Omagh defence to the limit.However one attacking move succeeded in piercing the defence and a try was scored leaving Omagh trailing 8-0.

This set stage for the renown Omagh fight back,backs and forwards mounted attack after attack but it took a major Bangor error to see Omagh score.

The home team's outhalf sliced a kick which bounced kindly over Bangor wing's head into the grateful hands of top try scoring Omagh wing,Richard Thompson who sped in near corner for an unconverted try

Omagh now sensed Bangor were tiring in the heat and the younger Omagh team mounted a series of attacks.David Ward on for Irvine who sustained a swollen eye quickly showed his promise with a fine run down wing and inside pass nearly got visitors in at corner.

The game was becoming punctured with delays to injured players but Omagh dragged themselves together to mount another forward drive and eventually the changes of direction saw Chris Elkin emerge with ball to get crucial touchdown and 10-8 lead.

Omagh withstood a Bangor last ditch effort and a penalty awarded to them drifted wide to relief of the very visible and much appreciated Omagh supporters and the players themselves.

A great win with all the players giving 100% but special mention to captain Les Monteith who put in some great cover tackles when danger loomed.

The final is this Saturday against Ballyclare and support again welcomed.

Details will be known at Club's AGM tonight (Thursday 8 th May @8..00pm)

A coach for supporters is under consideration.

3RD XV. Panel

M.King,G.Irvine,S.Beattie,J.Buchanan,R.Thompson,S.Ward I.Scott,C.Rainey,I.Bell,K.Alexander,A.Knox,C.Elkin,L.Monteith(capt),S.Lyons, R.Hemphill,

D.Monteith,L.Pollock,S.Robinson,D.Ward,A.Heaney

 

 

 

U16s Complete Unbeaten Season with Cup Final win

 

 

Instonians U16s 12

Omagh U16s 18

 

 

 

Several months of dedicated training and an undefeated league and cup campaign culminated in Omagh Accies Under16 XV lifting the R.B.Fleming Cup at Ravenhill on Saturday for the first time in the club's history. The Bell Lawrie sponsored youth cup triple header competition saw Omagh take on well drilled Belfast based club Instonians in a thrilling encounter.

Straight from the kick off the Omagh side was put under pressure due to the nerves of the occasion and they made some uncharacterised mistakes in attack and defence which the Instonians winger took full advantage of handing off four would be tacklers to score in the corner. From the restart the Omagh pack failed to close down the ball allowing the Instonians outhalf to kick a Garryowen which the Omagh backline failed to catch and a lucky bounce saw the ball swooped on by the opposition full back who raced under the posts to give them a 12-0 lead after just six minutes of play. This was the wake up call Omagh needed and they responded with some bone crunching tackles in defence and securing kicker ball in attack thanks to the hard work of props K McIlwaine and Grant. This possession set up the platform for second row Barbour who returned from injury just in time for the final to crash the ball up repeatedly creating space for outhalf Pollock to hit the gap with support from Dorrian who worked tirelessly all game. With the Omagh defence functioning well both wingers Cook and Eccles put in great cover tackles and tracked back for any kicks supporting fullback Crawford on his mazy counter attacking runs setting up good field position. A scrum inside the Instonians 22 saw No.8 L Whitworth execute a training ground move putting Pollock through to the line only to be held up, the resulting scrum saw a variation in the move this time feeding Taleni whose sheer power was enough to see him cross the line and provide the boast Omagh was looking for. A McIlwaine comfortably kicked the conversion.

With the Omagh lads finding form and structure it wasn't long until their usual style of continuity and forward runners came to the fore and really pinned Instonians in their half with a rolling maul being stopped just short of the line.Captain J Whitworth was on hand to be driven over by his troops to score just on the stroke of half time ,the conversion was unsuccessful to leave the sides drawn at 12-12.

Omagh started the second half as they finished the first attacking Instonians with everything they got to force Instonians to spend long periods in their own 22. Both of Omagh's centres Taleni and A. McIlwaine made good ground on every attack and put in some massive hits in defence with Taleni turning over the ball on several occasions.

With a penalty coming to the Omagh side for not releasing the ball A McIlwaine stepped up to calmly kick the three points giving his side the lead for the first time. Talisman L Whitworth carried the ball well always making ground with support from the tenacious Reid providing scrumhalf McConnell a solid platform to call the shots. He was always like a terrier on the opposition scrums to create turnover ball which Pollock took full advantage of as he punched holes in a tiring Instonians defence. Another penalty was conceded by the Belfast side which A.McIlwaine slotted over for a six point lead. With the final whistle looming the Omagh side was pinned on their line leaving an agonizing, nail biting finish as Instonians threw everything at Omagh in a bid to snatch victory but some resolute defence by hooker Shortt and Captain J Whitworth kept the door shut.

As the final whistle sounded there were jubilant scenes as the supporters invaded the pitch to congratulate their young heroes.

The Ulster Branch President Mr David Workman presented the trophy to captain Whitworth who hoisted it high to applause from the crowd.

Coaches Lee and Magee were extremely proud of the squad for the effort and commitment shown throughout the season and believe this will auger well for the future of the club.

A massive thank you to all supporters who travelled up to Ravenhill to watch an epic match and see the young Omagh team lift the cup. The team returned to the rugby club where the annual sevens tournament was being played where they were given a warm reception from officials, players, spectators and club members.

 

Team: D. Crawford, A. McIllwaine, Y. Taleni, A Cook, M. Eccles, A. Pollock, D. McConnell, C. McKernan, G. Shortt, K. McIllwaine, P Grant, I. Dorrian, J. Reid, J. Whitworth (cpt), L. Whitworth, M Barbour, C Conway, I Connelly, J Jomon, A McQuade, T Molley, M Arundell, A McKane, C Campbell

 

 

 

 

BASS OMAGH SEVENS

 

Dungannon made a welcome return to both the Bass Omagh sevens and winning ways when they claimed the Campbell Cup with a display of attractive sevens rugby throughout an efficiently run and well supported tournament.

Queens could not repeat their efforts of last year and defend the Campbell Cup which they won playing scintillating rugby in atrocious conditions last year, but managed to claim silverware in the guise of the Waterson cup presented to the winners of the second placed teams in each group.

The PJ Ryan Cup was won by the Jokers, a mixture of antipodeans with a tinge of Tyrone with several Omagh players sin the squad.

“We had excellent weather conditions, some very fine sevens and everything went smoothly”, revealed a happy Mervyn Beattie, main tournament organiser, before adding, “we are grateful to our sponsors Bass once again, our referees including Oisin Quinn, William Halliday, Douglas Tweed, David Kennedy, Bill Jennings and two long time sevens supporters and stalwarts, Terry McCartney and Shane Toolan”.

“The tournament was run like clockwork due to the undoubted efforts of Derrick Rainey, John Colhoun, Roy Ward, groundsman Jimmy Anderson and others, too many to mention, while we always are delighted to see all the teams, especially Stockport from England , Dublin sides Wanderers and Parkmore and for the first time, the Titans from Limerick .

The draw pitted several seeded teams apart and while there were always going to be several intriguing matches in each group, Group D which saw Queens, Wanderers, Omagh Academy making a very welcome return, Enniskillen and the Jokers together quick was recognised as the inherent “group of death”. Group C though proved to be the most exciting with several very close run encounters.

 

Dungannon quickly established themselves as the class of Group A winning their matches easily and with something to spare. Stockport were a tougher proposition than in recent years. Featuring Andy Loughlin, making his annual pilgrimage back to the Accies, the English side finished a reputable second while the titans, the Irish Rugby league side from Limerick entertained with their pre-match haka, albeit much less venomous and much more pastoral as they revelled in their gaiety. The Mexicans were rocked by scoring an early try and seemed to fall of the rails somewhat, though he crowd favourites still managed to entertain with some frolics on and off the pitch.

 

Group B saw senior side Ballymena claim top spot fairly comfortably though they were pushed all the way by an exciting Malone side comprising their under 21 starlets. Ballynahnch B took third spot in a keenly contested group with Parkmore just missing out, while the Omagh based Baa Baas took rivalled and may even have surpassed the veteran Mexicans in terms of squad numbers this year in a very wooly set up.

 

Ballynahinch A won group C, though there some fine tussles in this one, with Omagh Accies narrowly going down to the Ballymacarn men in a 38-31 thriller, while the next match saw Ballymungo heavyweights, featuring another ex-Omagh man, Alan Simpson pulling away from the plucky Replacements at the last minute. Omagh and Ballymongo fought out an entertaining draw while the replacements just would not be put down by Ballynahinch, registering three fine tries before being defeated.

 

A tough Group D saw to potential Campbell Cup candidates, Queens and Wanderers slug it out, and although the two sides could not be separated during their group match, the dunlin 4 outfit topped the group by virtue of tries scored. Omagh Academy battled hard in all their matches but came up sort with the Jokers pipping Enniskillen for the final knock out place.

 

PJ Ryan (Campese Cup)

 

The Titans pipped a gallant Ballymungo Heavyweights outfit, though there were several portly gentlemen on both sides, though these same players showed tremendous skill and ball playing ability with fine runs, deft touches and moments of genius to entertain a large crowd. The jokers were good enough to hold on to a five point lead in the other semi-final, the second of two cracking matches.

 

The final was tame in comparison with the larger Jokers squad proving much fresher and emerging victorious.

 

Waterson Cup

 

Omagh Accies had high hoped of a final appearance but were knocked out by Stockport who saved their best performance of the day for this game, while queens won the battle of the youngsters with a 26-12 win over Malone in a very pacy and tactical game played in great spirits with many very promising players on show from both sides.

The students had too much pace and power for a tiring, and somewhat older Stockport outfit in the final scoring a couple of early tries, though the team from England never gave up and scored 21 points of their own but it was match too far with the students, narrowly pipped in the group stages, claiming the silverware.

 

Campbell Cup

 

In a replica of the previous two tournaments, the semi-finals proved more exciting then the final. A conversion separated senior heavyweights Dungannon and Ballynahinch with the Tyrone men going through. In the other Ballymena had too much for Wanderers coming home by 24 points to 15 in a non-stop encounter.

Dungannon started the final the quicker and put some distance between themselves and the Braidmen, who stuck to their guns, but the Stevenson park man, featuring many of their first team squad including ex-Accies Martin Boyd and Neville Magee along with Mel Ferry, Andrew Gardiner and Dale Black too everything their opponents could throw at them with the match finely poised before they broke the cover to score two second half tries to win by 28-12 and claim the Campbell Cup for the second time in three years.

 

This brought the curtain down on another season at Thomas Mellon playing Fields giving the players and officials a well earned respite before pre-season training in July.

 

Scores

 

Group A

 

Dungannon 40, Stockport 5; Titans 38, Mexicans 5; Dungannon 57, Mexicans 0; Titans 12, Stockport 27; Mexicans 0 Stockport 54; Titans 5, Dungannon 52

 

Group B

 

Ballynahinch B 31, Baa Baas 10; Ballymena 19, Malone 17; Baa Baas 10, Parkmore 26: Ballymena 36, Ballynahinch B 17; Parkmore 19, Malone 38; Ballymena 34, Baa Baas 12: Malone 33, Ballynahinch B 24; Parkmore 7, Ballymena 40, Malone 52, Baa Baas 0, Parkmore 5, Ballynahinch 39

 

Group C

 

Omagh Accies 55, Replacements 5; Ballymongo Heavyweights 7, Ballynahinch A 48; Ballynahinch A 38, Omagh Accies 31; Ballymungo Heavyweight 20, Replacements 7; Omagh Accies 19, Ballymungo Heavyweights 19, Replacements 19, Ballynahinch 36

 

Group D

 

Omagh Academy 5, Jokers 31; Enniskillen 7, Queens 41; Omagh Academy 0, Wanderers 47; Enniskillen 12, Jokers 36; Queens 17, Wanderers 17; Omagh Academy 0, Enniskillen 36; Queens 19, Jokers 7; Wanderers 39, Enniskillen 5; queens 51, Omagh Academy 7; Wanderers 45, Jokers 0

 

PJ Ryan (Campese Cup)

 

Semi finals

 

Titans 28, Ballymungo Heights 24; Ballynahinch b 26, Jokers 31

 

Final

 

Titans 0, Jokers 48

 

Waterson Cup

 

Semi-finals

 

Stockport 24, Omagh Accies 5; Malone 12, Queens 26

 

Final

 

Stockport 21, Queens 43

 

 

Campbell Cup

 

Semi-finals

 

Dungannon 12, Ballynahinch A 10; Ballymena A 24, Wanderers 15

 

Final

 

Dungannon 28, Ballymena 12

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ravenhill Cup Quarter Final

 

Omagh 3rds 15

Rainey 4ths 7

 

This exciting game between 2 teams who had similar records in winning their respective Minor League sections was played with fire and passion throughout and entertained the good crowd of spectator present.

Rainey very sportingly agreed to the Friday night k.o due to the heavy demand on the Club's pitches for the following day's 7 a side tournament.

Omagh attacked right from the start using their forwards to make headway and then release ball to backs at appropriate time . When chances to open scoring looked on a breakdown in communications or poor pass led to Rainey clearing the danger.

Rainey indicated they had a useful back division and it took all of Omagh's defensive qualities to repel their attacks.

Omagh finally put points on the board when Ward slotted over a fine kick from far out on left and the team set about adding to their tally again with the forwards to fore,namely Harper,Lagan,Alexander,Knox,Hemphill,Elkin and both Monteiths who all had strong bursts towards the try line but could not score.

Rainey applied a lot of pressure bur strong tackling from Beattie,Buchanan,Ward,King,Irvine and Thompson kept their line intact.

Omagh had a break out of defence when Rainey dropped the ball and kicked it up the pitch and a Rainey forward was penalised for not releasing ball when he was tackled.

Ward hit a fine kick but it struck the post and Rainey cleared the danger leaving Omagh leading 3-0 at the break.

The second half started explosively with Omagh gaining possession and drove up field making many metres of ground leading to Harper emerging with ball making a strong burst and found Alexander at his side and take pass ,scatter defence a score a quality try ably converted by Ward for a 10point lead.

Rainey threw everything at Omagh but the magnificent defence repulsed their attacking moves,sometimes with great cover tackling by Scott, Beattie,Buchanan and Ward when looked likely that Rainey would score.

Having weathered these attacks Omagh went on offensive ,using their backs to stretch visitors defence and ball being carried on by forwards allowed the backs to pass crisply left to right to Thompson on wing who powered over for fine try.

Rainey mounted a flurry of back play and eventually skilled passing found a gap in Omagh tackling to score a converted try to narrow lead to 15-7.

The cushion of 2 scores clear saw a determined Omagh finish game strongly and on attack when referee called full time.

A great win built around attacking flair,strong tackling and great team spirit now sees squad travel to a semi-final against Bangor3rdxv. A coach will depart Clubhouse a 11.30 am for long trek to Bangor,supporters welcome.

3RD XV. Panel

M.King,G.Irvine,S.Beattie,J.Buchanan,R.Thompson,S.Ward I.Scott,S.Harper,J.Lagan,K.Alexander,A.Knox,C.Elkin,L.Monteith(capt),S.Monteith, R.Hemphill,

C.Rainey,S.Robinson,S.Lyons

 

 

 

 

Results - Sat 26th April 08
Team Opponents L/C H/A F A
1sts          
2nds        
3rds Rainey 4 Home C 15 7
u18s          
u16s Instonians Away C 18 12
u14s          
minis          

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fixtures for Sat 3rd May 08
Team Opponents H/A L/C Time
1sts        
2nds        
3rds Bangor 4 Away C 2.30
u18s        
u16s        
u14s        
minis        

 

 

 

Omagh Accies Golf Fundraiser

 

 

At Omagh Golf Club

 

On Friday 30th May 2008

 

 

The golf competition will take the form of a four ball team event (Any combination ladies or gents). The entry fee per team is £200 and includes dinner afterwards.

Sponsor a hole for £100

We need your support

 

To book a tee time Please contact Nigel Pollock

 

08444773503 (B)

82247368 (H)

nigel.pollock1@btinternet.com

 

 

 

 

 

Club Subscriptions are now due!

Playing Members - £90

Vice-presidents - £60

Non-playing Members - £40

Students - £25

Lady Associate Members - £15

Exiles - £5

Payment to Raymond Crosbie or Steven at the Club Bar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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