PRIOR to the World Cup showdown between Ireland and New Zealand on Saturday night, there’s a local derby that will whet the appetite for any rugby enthusiasts south of the viaduct.
Skibbereen RFC will be hoping for a big turnout on Saturday evening as they take on local rivals Bandon in the first round of the Munster Junior League Division 1 campaign. The game kicks off at 6pm.
Skibb manager Mark Hogan hopes for a big turnout as the club showcases their new and improved floodlights.
‘It will be our first game with the new floodlights on Saturday so we’re hoping to have a good crowd at it. It will showcase our games in a different light which wasn’t possible in days gone by as the games would always have been on a Sunday. Now we have the benefit of playing in the evenings where people can come out and socialise with a few pints at the game,’ Hogan explained.
The Skibb boss spoke of how a lot of his team is made up of college students and how the work done behind the scenes was to help them.
‘The whole dynamic of rugby has changed recently compared to years gone by. A lot of our younger guys are committed to third level college and the distances they travel midweek back down to Skibb from UCC and MTU is going to be a bit of a challenge for us but we’ll try to make life as easy as possible for them. That’s why we’ve got the floodlights set up,’ he said.
Some notable players Skibbereen will be able to call upon this year are the Benn brothers, Jonathan and Christopher, Rory Byrne, Jamie O’Driscoll, Kieran Shannon and Lorcan Carey, who will all play a big role if they are to have success this year. After the derby this weekend, they face two tough away fixtures against Kilfeacle and Richmond before returning home to play Clanwilliam.
Bandon and Clonakilty will clash in a local derby in January 2024.
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‘It’s an exciting time to be involved,’ says Bandon RFC’s manager Niall Mahony ahead of kick-off on Saturday.
‘We’ve put in a really good pre-season. We’re about eight weeks into it now at this stage and the numbers have been brilliant. There is a lot of optimism around the club this year for both our junior sides’.
With a new head coach this season, Mahony is enthusiastic about what fresh ideas are brought onboard.
‘Our new head coach is Darragh McNamara, who was an assistant coach last year. He has a great rugby brain, so we’re looking forward to working alongside him and seeing what he brings to the team this year,’ Mahony said.
After a positive showing last year in Division 1 that saw Bandon fighting for the league title, the club is hopeful for some more success this season.
‘It was a decent season last year for both teams. The firsts finished third in the league, so we’re hoping to improve on that again and get a better run in the Junior Cup too,’ Mahony outlined.
‘Our seconds had a good league campaign last season as well and they’ve started off strong this year, retaining the Dennehy Cup by beating Cork Con. That’s definitely a huge positive for the club when your second team is going well. In regard to the goals for the first team, we’d like to push on again in the league this year and challenge for silverware in both (the league and the Junior Cup)’.
Scott Kingston returns as captain of the Bandon side this year accompanied by club stalwart Tom Ferguson. New import Nico Fernandez from Argentina, who played in Portugal last year, will be pulling the strings at out-half. Some of the younger members of the team that will be called upon are Zach Allen (who has represented Ireland in 7s), Aaron O’Reilly and Conor Ryan.
Bandon start off their season this Saturday travelling to Skibbereen in the local derby under lights. It’s then back home to face Clanwilliam before hitting the road again to face Sunday’s Well.
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As Clonakilty begin another season in Division 1, manager Alfie Acheson has lauded the work done by Clonakilty’s underage system that has given him the players capable of testing the very best in the grade.
‘The club has been very progressive the last few years. We’ve brilliant numbers this year; 48 adult senior players are registered. That’s being fed by our brilliant underage set up here in Clonakilty. Bar a few new lads, 95 percent of our team all came up through the ranks with Clonakilty,’ Acheson explained.
Looking ahead to this season Clon will be eager to build on their strong finish to last season’s campaign.
‘Building on experience from last year is crucial for us. We’d a good season last year, exceeding our expectations. Up until December we were lying in the bottom three and we were getting very worried. Then all of a sudden, with a few lads coming back from injury we turned things around and finished in the top half of the league. We’ll want to continue that now into this season and that starts with Thomond on Sunday,’ Acheson said.
Clon will look to call upon the experience of Colin and Olan Deane, as well as the youthful exuberance of Cathal O’Regan and Eoin Downey. This year will also see a couple of familiar faces return to the fold in Shannonvale.
‘Philip Poillot and David Jennings are back with us this season. They had a lot of success here underage and now they’re back and they really do strengthen our pack,’ Acheson added. Clon start their campaign with a tough challenge away to Thomond at 2.30pm on Sunday. Then it’s back home to Shannonvale for a home clash against Kanturk the following week.
