Ballinasloe RFC celebrate on the double

What a glorious weekend it proved for Ballinasloe RFC as all eyes were on the Sportsground for the 2 Girls Connacht Cup finals on Sunday. First up was the U16 girls who faced a strong combined Portumna/Loughrea side. The game remained tight and scoreless for much of the first half with a huge defensive effort from Portumna/Loughrea but that wasn’t to last. After spending much of the half in Portumna’s 22, Ballinasloe’s Joann Curley powered over from a massive forwards drive to touch down for the first. Another try was added by Clodagh Powell to bring the score to 10 - 0 at half time.
The Ballinasloe girls picked up where they left off after the break with 2 more trys added by Avril Deely and a conversion by Joann Curley to finish 22-0. The win topped off a sensational undefeated season for these girls having already won the U16 League title. They were led by their management team of Dermot Frehill, Noel Gavin, Mike McCann, Mark Harrigan, Annmarie McCann & Sinéad Manning.

The U18 decider saw two sides meet in the culmination of a friendly rivalry stretching a number of years. Ballinasloe took on Westport RFC just a week after they also met in the U18 League final replay which was won by the Ballinasloe side and this game again lived up to the billing in an exciting game of free-flowing rugby. Ballinasloe went into a 12-0 lead with tries from Aoibheann Reilly and Alisha Manning, but true to form, Westport fought back with 2 tries to level it at 12-12. However, Ballinasloe was able to find another gear as Irish international Béibhinn Parsons ran in four brilliant tries, along with a try from Kate O’Meara while Alisha Manning also added her second. The scoreline was consistently added to from the kicking tee with another great performance from Meabh Deely. Westport never gave up, playing right to the final whistle and powered over for two more tries, but it was Ballinasloe’s day as they won out 50-24.
The girls' success is a testament to their management who have brought them up through the grades for the last 6 years. They are Stephen Reilly, Dermot Tierney, Gearoid Finneran, Ann Conlon, Andrew Mannion, Rita O’Hara, Fionnuala Reilly & Tommy Grehan.

Both teams were cheered on by a huge Ballinasloe contingent of family and loyal followers led by Ballinasloe RFC President Tom Horkan with cups and medals presented by Connacht Rugby President Mossy Moran.