Corinthians round off terrific season with big home win

Rob Murphy

CORINTHIANS celebrated their promotion into the second tier of Irish club rugby with a 58-10 home victory over Seapoint at the weekend. It was a run of the mill win played out in front of a big home crowd who were in party mode. The club are on a high like never before in this competition and work will already have begun on planning for next season.

Having already clinched promotion by virtue of their win over UCC in their previous outing, Corinthians rounded off a progressive campaign in style by putting visitors Seapoint to the sword last Saturday. Tries from Cian Begley (2), Aaron Conneely (2), Kevin O’Byrne (2), Finlay Bealham, Bryan Dixon and Stephen Bruce were the highlights of an emphatic success.

Galwegians finished their first season in the third tier with a bonus point 26-10 victory over Highfield in Cork on Saturday. Doran McHugh, Colin Conroy, Anthony Ryan and Darragh Leader all scored tries in the facile win for a team that will feel they underperformed during the campaign with five defeats from 16 outings.

Losing three of their first four was key to their failure to bounce straight back to the second tier, and it is a scenario that is all the more frustrating, when you consider the high point they reached back in November with the derby win over promoted Corinthians.

What’s clear, however, is the club still has a huge amount of talent and potential judging by the quality of their under 21s and Juniors, and integrating them into a changing squad will be key next season. The drop to the third tier is a culture shock for some clubs, 15 games, with very little room for error.

However, after a decade of mediocrity in Division 1b where they didn’t win more than half their games in any season, they’ve changed that trend at least and don’t be surprised if Wegains join their Connacht rivals in the second tier by the end of next season.

The major low point in the club season from a Connacht point of view is Connemara, their demotion to the Junior ranks after 12 seasons in the senior ranks is a big blow to the game in the west. The Clifden club are a flagship team for the province and a hugely popular rugby outpost for senior clubs across Ireland.

Regrouping won’t be easy. Ballina were demoted in 2005 and while they have been a top four club every season since, they are yet to win a Junior league or cup since that relegation from the AIL. It takes time to regroup and Connemara have the added challenge of a depleted squad with a need for rebuilding. All involved have a big summer ahead.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.