A fair fought match, with visitors Castlebar coming out on top. Westport did it's best, but fell just short of a cup winning performance. This was the last match of the season and now players and supporters alike will settle down for a well earned rest. See you in September

Great to see Westport back to it's winning ways after a few matches that were damp squibs and failed to ignite Five tries scored, with Kevin Corcoran scoring three and Danny O'Toole and David Keane scoring the other two.. Westport's set scrums and defence worked well, with the pack and center's playing well, but the line out needs a bit of work on the training pitch, as it was a little wobbly be-times.Young Pat Hoba and Calum Southgate are both maturing into fine players with great futures in 1st team rugby.Both spectators and players will be looking forward to the contest against Corrib next Monday 5th April

The Westport U15 cruised to a big win over Connemara at Carraholly on Sunday in the quarter finals of the Connacht Cup. The Bulls were slow to start with only a great tackle by Ruari Keating at one minute saving a definite try for the visitors. However, Westport found themselves 7 points down after three minutes when Connemara number 11, Brian Holmes broke from a five metre scrum and crashed over. Westport woke up and from the restart, the Galway side were penalised for holding on in the tackle. The quick penalty from scrum half Ciaran McNally was transferred to Dwayne Corcoran who ran thirty yards to touch down under the posts for an excellent try. Corcoran easily added the conversion to leave the score, 7-7.

Following the restart, the Bulls gained good ground into Connemara territory and at the breakdown were awarded a penalty for offsides. Corcoran's kick floated wide of the posts and was caught by a Connemara player. Kieran Nolan following up quickly caused a fumble and Paddy Glavey was on hand to touch down for an opportunistic try. Corcoran converted to leave the score 14-7.

The All Blacks were rattled and from the the kick the Bullls gained possession and set up a ruck. McNally fed Sean Tobin and slick passing through the back line found full back Keating who took off on a strong run along the touchline before touching down behind the posts. A missed conversion left the score 19-7.

The Bulls had their tails up now and were moving the much heavier Connemara pack around the pitch. On 20 minutes, hard-working Rory Ludden took a pass from Tobin and drew the cover to send Ian Duggan up the touch line to score a wonderful try. Corcoran converted briliantly.

Connemara responded with some good passages of play but were finally bundled into touch with a try saving tackle by Corcoran. From the line out Westport secured possession and kicked down field where the chasing Glavey got the breaking ball and made great yards through many tackles and was finally high tackled for a penalty. The quick penalty was fed to Cormac Groden charging forward and with the help of his pack behind him crashed over for another converted try for the home side leaving the half-time score, 33-7.

The second half saw the Bulls playing into the breeze. They gained possesion from the restart and from the ruck, McNally fed out half Tobin who passed inside to Keating taking a great line and sprinted a full 70 yards for a superb try which he converted himself. Westport kept up the pressure and a storming run from number 8 Michael O'Grady brought him to within 3 yards of the line. Eddie Dunning took the ball over the line but was held up giving a five metre scrum to Port. Number 8, O'Grady picked and drove on but was penalized for failing to release. Cnnemara kicked the penalty to touch and from the lineout Niall McCarthy latched on to the loose ball and made a great run to the line and though was well tackled he got over and touched down, only to find he was penalised by the referee for double movement.

Connemara kicked the penalty to touch and won the resulting line out. They were making ground but a smashing tackle by Zach O'Toole caused a turnover and from the ruck the ball was fed to Keating who ran nearly the full pitch for an excellent try and again converted himself leaving the tally 47-7.

The Westport management brought on a number of substitutes and showed the strength of the squad with great tackling by Nigel Mortimer and Killian Browne. The homeside were reduced to 14 men following the sinbinning of Glavey and Connemara took full advantage by scoring two tries and one conversion.

When Glavey returned he showed his determination by running nearly the length of the pitch for an excellent try under the posts. Tobin converted. Connemara were all at sea now and from the restart, Tobin gathered the ball out near the wing and ran in from half way to score a well deserved try which he again converted leaving the final score, Westport 61 Connemara 19.

Westport: Ruari Keating, Paddy Glavey, Dwayne Corcoran, Ian Duggan, Sean Tobin, Ciaran McNally, Aiden Shovelin, Niall McCarthy, Cormac Groden, Eddie Dunning, Kieran Nolan, Kieran Coughlan, Michael O'Grady, Eoin Long,

Dunmore increased it's win total to three matches this season, when it added Westport's scalp to it's belt, in a hard fought contest in Carrowholly last Sunday. Westport played well with the breeze in the first half. but could not crack the hard nut of Dunmore's defence and looked ring rusty when it came to attempting to cross the opposition's white line.

In the second half Dunmore's efforts were rewarded with a try ,at ten minutes to go, this plus the three earlier penalties was enough to win the day and take the match. Westport will need to work on the basics before it's next match if it is to put some more scores on the doors this season.

After a nip and tuck match, Westport were beaten by Ballina in the league match last Sunday. Westport had over 60% 0f the play for most of the match and were again unlucky to not come out on top after leading Ballina by two points until 10 minutes before full time.A good kicking game from Westport's Briam Keane

Pleased to report that after a nip and tuck match, Westport beat Corinthians in the league match last Sunday, which was some small consolation for their narrow loss in extra time against the self same Corinthians the week before in the Junior Cup. It was a close match for both sides with Westport having set scrum advantge for the first 50 minutes of the match, plus a strong drift defence which was needed when it had to absorb and counter the strong Corinthian attacks.

It's a long long way from there to here. Yes It's a long long way from there to here, especially when your playing away to Buccaneers, who with a home fixture, no A I L match this weekend and a bit of judicious regrading managed to improve from one win in four matches, to 2 wins in 5 matches. This was most surprising, as they were unable to field a team against Tuam and had no team sheet submitted when played against O. L. B. C. Still I'm certain that today's result is all down to hard work and training on their behalf.

Tommy Durkin was Westport's man of the match in this hard fought match, played away to Portumna, with try scorer Alan Bourke a close second. Westport indeed led at half time by 10 points to 7, but fourth in the league table Portumna had a strong second half ,overhauling Westport and going over for a try in the final minutes of the match, to put a cherry on their victory cake.

Castlebar & Westport Rugby clubs are pooling their talent at U19 level to form the West Mayo Lions. Both clubs have experienced a shortage of players in this new youth category.The first league took place in Headford on Sunday against the Corrib U19 team.

The lions looked by far the better team in the scoreless first half during which they spent most of the time in the Corrib half of the pitch. However they failed to convert possession into scores. The nearest opportunity came with a penalty kick midway through the half which Alan Durkin narrowly missed.

At half time Richard Quinn replaced the injured Ronan Molloy at wing forward while shortly into the second half Adam Bourke replaced the injured Diarmuid Hughes. In this half Corrib were more organized in their attack and the play spent an even amount of time in each half. Corrib kicked a penalty in the 18th minute. The Lions had a player sin binned for a perceived infringement in a scrum. This weakness allowed Corrib to kick another penalty in the 32nd minute.

Substitutions were also made at flanker of Fintan Geraghty for Patrick Mortimer, winger Sheridan Neuva for David O’Malley and center Jonathan Walsh for Alan Durkin. While the Lions were chasing a try to steal the game, Corrib managed to turn the tables and force a try in the corner, which went unconverted despite a great attempt.

TEAM :- O.O’Malley, W.Keaney, A.Durkin, S.Conway, D.O’Malley, C.McGreal, D.Hughes, E.Morahan, J.Gill, T.Dever, B.Morley, P.Mortimer, R.Molloy, S.Wooton, Subs: R.Quinn, F.Geraghty, A.Bourke, S.Neuva, J.Walsh

Sligo were the justified victors in the JD1 League match in Carrowholly on Sunday, but Westport have the consolation that they played their best rugby this season and with a rub of the green, it could have been a whole different story. In the pack fixed exchanges it was very much even Stephen's, with Westport probably having the slight upper edge, although the Westport line out was not as crisp as it could have been .

Sligo's back division excelled, were fast on the break and a danger to Westport for the entire match, and a couple of missed tackles by Westport at vital moments combined with a strong Sligo drift defence ensured a creditable win for the visitors on the day.

Westport's premier kicker Eddie Walsh had an unfortunate bounce back off the post from a penalty attempt in the first half and several times Westport put together good flowing moves in Sligo's danger zone, which on another day could have been the winning of the game.

Westport's fist team are improving by the week and although top honours will not be within their grasp this season they have the talent to come in third place in their league if they maintain their commitment and hunger to win.

Our second team put on a good display with a sixteen point victory over Ballinasloe at Carrowholly on Sunday. The score does nor reflect the hard work that Ballinasloe put in on the day and the match was far from one sided, but this win puts the Westport team back in the loop and if it maintains it's progress it can

Credit in large proportions must be given to player manager Simon Fabby and his stalwart team who although constantly short of a full squad of players to fulfil a fixture, still travel and play to ensure that Westport fulfil their league obligations. Again this week, pivotal third team players such as Tadgh Cannon were seconded to second team duty and leaving only 11 to travel to Ballinrobe. This state of affairs must be very trying for the lads and I for one am impressed that their spirit still unabated and they are anxious to play. I hope that we can remedy this situation over the next week and ensure that we can get a full 15 players and a couple of subs out for their next match against Ballina away.

Westport's first team continued it's winning ways with 20 to 13 victory against O L B C in Galway on Sunday.11th October. The triple try count, scored by Westport's " Cosy " Joe O'Malley, Owen Joyce and Alan Cusack, plus one coversion and a penalty goal, was the winning formula, against a try, conversion and two penalty's from OLBC. The final score indicates that Westport did not have this match all their own way as O L B C, in typical fashion, attacked and defended on it's own turf and gave the visitors a tough time and a few scares before the final whistle was blown. Westport have now moved up the league total to fifth place and look forward to their match next weekend with league leader Sligo at home ground in Carrowholly.

Loughrea away, was Westport's second team's Waterloo last weekend as it went down by 25 points to three in a disapointing game, which showed up the visitor's deficencies in set scrum and line outs. You can't play rugby if you ain't got the ball, so dominance or at least parity in the set pieces is vital and on the day Westport just did not have the mind set or skill to keep up with a strong Loughrea. The match was concluded seven minutes early due to an injury to Westport's young John Durkan, but we are told that he was feeling better after a trip to casualty and he appears to be OK according to informed reports. A weeks hard work should solve a lot of problems, so next weekend against Buccaneers at home will be the tester

Fintan Moran was the only Westport player to score against Sligo, when a depleted Westport went down with a bang to the visitors by a painful margin of 32 points, in a 37 to 5 defeat on home turf in Carrowholly. The match was conceded by Westport before kick off, due to a two player shortfall but with a loan of two lads from Sligo, a sporting match was played and that's the attitude that makes rugby enjoyable at this level. Westport's rugby committee must be wondering at this stage if it's decision to field three teams this season was a little foolhardy, as the last two weekends have shown, the club has found it hard to get three full teams out on the one day and it has been the club's Junior North 2 League team that has suffered. Westport had a number of senior players retire at the end of last season and it appears that only a few injuries tips the balance at this stage but next weekend it's Ballinrobe away for Westport's Junior 2 North League players, so the race will be on to get players back from injury and out on the field. Time will tell !

A resurgent Westport put Sunday week last's, disappointing result behind it and rattled up a respectable 17 points to nil score against Ballinrobe at Carrowholly on Sunday. Watching the slick passes and rehearsed moves of the first ten minutes the spectators were sure that Westport was going to town in this match, but solid defence and hard tackling from a determined Ballinrobe put a stop to that particular gallop and match quality declined slightly to enjoyable yet unremarkable rugby.

Ballinrobe were unlucky to be denied a try by an injudicious foot in touch on the run in to ground the ball, but this young side continued to probe for an opening in Westport's drift defence for the entirety of the match. Westport's pack were the stronger, particularly in loose play and again this week the rolling maul and accurate line ball were the making of their three try victory.

Westport did miss a couple of try conversion shots and veteran Eddie Walsh was unlucky when his drop goal attempt bounced back off the crossbar. Both teams are still on a learning curve this season, with young players still finding their feet but the " Robe " always starts slow and then come good and Westport are getting sharper with every match. Westport away to OLBC next weekend.

Westport's 2nd team put Carrick on Shannon to bed with a couple of early trys in this JD2 match and an put up an enviable 25 to eleven point victory in Carrowholly on Sunday. After a bit of a drubbing last weekend, this team bounced back and coach Dessie and manager Pete will be pleased at this performance and looking forward to their trip to Loughrea next Sunday .

Twenty five points to nil was Castlebar's winning margin in this match and it was a fair reflection of the game which saw Westport struggle to keep up with a feisty Castlebar. Westport who were playing three matches on Sunday had to leave their JDN team shy of a couple of players due to injury in the entire Westport panel so a contra result was not unexpected but not to be desired for all of that. The lads who played had a good match and all look forward to a stronger team for their clash with Sligo at home next weekend.

Westport's Development team played it's first League match this season, when it met with Connemara in Carowholly on Sunday 27th September. This contest originally, scheduled a home match for Connemara at Monastery Field, was moved to Carrowholly due to pitch redevelopment in Clifden.

Westport went down to a disappointing 39 to 5 defeat on the day and Connemara, who did all the damage, due to sterling work in the centre, start their league campaign with a confidence boosting victory. Half time had seen the teams at 10 points to nil, Connemara using the stiff breeze to keep the play mostly in the Westport half, but in the second half Westport were unable to emulate the Galway men's example and slipped slowly towards an inevitable very ring rusty defeat.

Westport's line out worked well and the set scrums were boosted to satisfaction level after Mick O'Brien moved into the front row, but loose play, with the exception of our rolling mauls, was defiantly loose and with missed tackles and Connemara's superior centre play, holes were opened up in the defence that could not be plugged.

Westport scored a consolation try in the second half and were in with a good shout for trys on the line, on two further occasions, but enthusiasm was met with determined defence and all came to naught. Back to the drawing board for Dessie and the team before next weeks home contest against Carrick.

in Crowley Park. Reports suggest a close enough contest, which was marred for Westport by a dodgey call by the ref, when he disallowed a perfectly good try after a sneaky hand went under the ball after it was grounded and he was on the wrong side to observe the sleight of hand and called no try when he moved round to observe the situation. The team were not happy with this and also their own performance, this let down will help them strive to put things to rights when they play Ballinrobe next weekend.

The first semi serious venture into competitive rugby for our second team took place on Saturday evening over in Castlebar, when we took on the Castlebar 2nd team in a friendly match under lights. on Sat. 19th Sept. This first meeting this season was to be a league match played on Sunday 20th, but the powers that be, in their mysterious way, changed day , venue and fixture. No harm it was an exciting and competative match regardless. Honours even in what was three 20 minutes of change about rugby.

and I would have a sneaky regard for that opinion. True Castlebar did have the gusty wind advantage in the first half and played determined, commited rugby, they led at half time 6 points to three, but they never looked like winning. Westport on the other hand played with flashes of class rugby and the commitment and self belief was there from the first whistle. Trouble was in the second half, although we scored two unconverted trys, we just lacked the polished edge to finish the job and rack up a few more points. Should have, could have, but it just didn't fall in to place.

Castlebar were unfortunatley bedeviled by injury and a nasty calsh of heads sent a player a piece off the pitch for for stiches and one unlucky Bar player hurt his neck and was whipped off to Castlebar General , we all hope he is Ok.

Both teams went for a trip to Ballina on Sunday for a couple of friendly matches, with our buddies from Ballina rugby club. It was the hottest September Sunday on record (well very hot anyway) and both teams aquitted themselves well, one won, the other nearly won, so it was even Stephens honours for our day out.

Hard to play rugby when it's not pouring with freezing rain and blowing a gale, but the Westport men adapted well, this was despite Mark Walsh's wedding celebrations the preceeding evening, which all the team members attended out of a spirit of fillial duty. Some lads took this duty more seriously than others,so a slow amble, more than a run up the pitch or a profusion of sweat and stopping to tie the boot laces was the result, but this was hardly noticed on the field of play, except to the more experienced and jaundiced eye.

Next week we all get serious and our first and second teams start their respective league campaigns of this new season matches to be played at home base in Westport. Be there if you can but if not I'll keep you posted.