The end of the season was almost upon us, but before tired bodies and minds could relax for the summer there was

one last match to be played, the final of the NE League.  The opponents were Dundalk whom Ashbourne only played recently

and Ashbourne came out on top that day by a healthy scoreline, however everyone knew that would not be the case today, as

Dundalk came here looking for revenge for that heavy defeat.

There was a very strong wind blowing right down the pitch which Dundalk played with in the first half, and as a result they

camped in the Ashbourne 22 for almost the entire first half. Ashbourne were guilty of conceding too many penalties three

of which were in kicking range, fortunately all three were missed by Dundalk.  The Ashbourne lads were defending very well

snuffing out anything that Dundalk threw at them, but they also rode their luck a few times as with numbers on the outside

Dundalk were guilty of some knock on’s when it looked like they might get in. The half time whistle eventually came with no

scores registered for either team.

Half Time Score  Ashbourne  0  :  0 Dundalk

Ashbourne now had the wind at their backs hopefully they could get more out of it than Dundalk did in the first half.

Ashbourne outhalf Ben Stewart was using the wind well kicking deep into Dundalk territory. It was from a line out

in Dundalk’s 22 which resulted in the first score of the match. Dundalk won the line out but Ashbourne put serious

pressure on the outhalf who offloaded to his centre, he tried to clear his lines but the kick was blocked and Ashbourne

centre Scott Crowley pounced on the loose ball to dive over the line, Stewart put over the conversion.  This seemed to

spur Ashbourne on and the second try came soon after, again from a line out about 15 yards out, this time won by Ashbourne

captain Sean McKeown. The pack worked the ball to the back of the maul to hooker Marcus Duff, after a super drive to the try line

Duff dived over the Dundalk line untouched, Stewart slotted over the conversion from the touch line.  Ashbourne now looked in

control, but Dundalk had other ideas. Ashbourne had influential flanker Jake Wall sinbinned, and with one more on the pitch Dundalk

scored a good converted try, and this really gave Dundalk a boost.  Minutes later Ashbourne were down to 13 when Crowley was

sinbinned, Dundalk made them pay by scoring their second try which was also converted, score now 14 all with 5/6 minutes left.

Wall came back on the pitch Ashbourne now only one man down, this team never knows when its beaten and pushed into Dundalk

territory and won a penalty, Stewart had a pop at the posts but was short with his effort. It was nip and tuck now for the last few

minutes, Ashbourne then won another penalty on the ten yard line, up stepped Stewart again this time he made no mistake the ball

sailing over the bar, to the sound of final whistle.  Ashbourne victorious again and finished the season with two trophies, the Leinster

League and the NE league and semi finalist in the Leinster cup, all in all a great season for players, coaches and supporters alike.

A well deserved break for everyone now over the summer, again well done to everyone associated with this brilliant team, particularly

the four coaches Niall, Niall, Dave and “4 4 2″ aka Des.

Final Score  Ashbourne  17  :  14  Dundalk

Team  Eoghan Hayes Marcus Duff  Dean Mc Dermott Tim Higgins Daniel Skelly Sam Kenna Jake Wall Sean Mc Keown ( Captain )

Cody Keogh Ben Stewart Luke Lehane Jack O’Brien Scott Crowley Kaan Matthews Daragh Walsh

Subs Craig Mahon Conor Meehan Matt Connolly James Dervan ( Injured today )

This season the U13’s made the transition to playing on a full sized pitch. It was also our first season taking part in real competitions at North East andLeinsterlevels.

We started the season in early September with the addition of several new players, Ian Battersby, Dylan Cassidy, Dylan Bissett and Darragh Carroll who boosted our panel of players greatly. Later we were joined by Mark Keavney and Christopher Markam and a welcome return of Jordan Wilkes.

After a period of shuffling positions we settled into a set pattern which  produced good results consistently.

The boys really found their feet on the big pitch and were always pumped up for the big occasion matches.

Before Christmas we were going really well in theLeinsterleague with an unbeaten run of games. The North East league was going pretty good as well although we were beaten by “Heavy hitters” Navan andDundalkand also slipped up with a narrow defeat to Rotoath. The culmination of this was a mid table finish.

In Leinsterwe had a crunch match with Old Wesley on a wet Sunday in January (both teams were unbeaten). The boys played the match of the season to come home with a win and intimately claim victory in that competition. We contested the Leinster Plate getting to the 2^nd  round where we were beaten by a strong Coolmine outfit.

Between all the games there was also time for a Trip to the K2 adventure centre at Killery inGalwaywhere we had a fantastic weekend in summer like conditions.

We finished the season last week with a Barbeque and awards evening at the Clubhouse.

The following awards along withLeinstermedals were presented.

Player of the year           Neil Dignam

Most improved player   Aaron Murphy

Best forward                  Joey Szpara

Best back                       Jordan Wilkes

Top Try scorer              Sean Hogan

Matches 25

Won 18       Lost 7

Panel on picture

Back L-R

Joey Szpara, Neil Dignam, Dylan Cassidy, Shane Kenna, Colm Craigie, Jack Peters, Colin Leonard, Alex Roche, Sean Hogan, Aaron Murphy.

Front L-R

Biggie Khurelsukh, Mark Keavney, Ider Khurelsukh, Darragh Carroll, Jamie Duff, Jordan Wilkes, Philip Healy, Nick Bobbett, Dylan Bissett

Missing from Picture; David Norton, Christopher Markam and Ian Battersby

Your support would be welcome.

This will be followed by a mixed tag event which will have the new girls under 15 team and the boys under 15 participate. This is a fun afternoon which will be followed by the awards presentation for the Youth Under 15′s and 17′s along with the girls team. This is planned for 3pm and the presentations will be made by the club President Mr Shea Gallagher, that is if he has recovered from his dancing heroics in the local Strictly Come Dancing event.

There will be a free barbeque

Last Saturday night Ashbourne RFC had its annual awards night at the Milltown clubhouse. A large attendance celebrated a season of consolidation and an epic Provincial Towns Cup run that came up short at the semi final but it was a great achievement. The club celebrated many great contributions during the season but the player of the year was announced as Frank Keegan, who continues grow from strength season after season in his young career.

Too show that it is never too late to start Paul Carney started with the club this season having never played before and grew from strength to strength during the season. Paul might be a little over 29!!! But had an excellent season and it was great to have him at the club.

Paul Morris was player’s player of the year and the New Zealand native has now left us to go play in Sweden during the summer. He has spent 2 years with the club and the award was richly deserved.

Both Charles Coyle and Kelan Toolan won awards for their back play on their respective team, David McManus was outstanding for the seconds and was on the first team panel.

The Young Player of the Year went to Darragh Curran and having played for Leinster under 19’s at the start of the season, he played for Ashbourne 1^st XV before Christmas and became a fixture in the second row. He has made a big impact and he fully deserved the award.

Club Person o f the Year went to Niall Murray who coaches at the under 17 level but also is known for his work in the background year on year.

The 2012 role of honour reads as follows:

Roll of Honour for 2011/2012

Player of the Year                                           Frank Keegan

Players Player of the Year                           Paul Morris

Back of the Year                                                Charles Coyle

Forward of the Year                                       Ciaran Roche

Most Improved Player of the Year           Paul Carney

2^nd XV Back of the Year                                Kelan Toolan

2^nd XV Player of the Year                             David McManus

Young Player of the Year                              Darragh Curran

Club Person of the Year                                  Niall Murray

Pictures of these can be seen in teh gallery or attached

A great night was had by all and planning for next season has started!

Carter, McCaw, Thorn et al graced the pitches at Ashbourne RFC in preparation for their international against Ireland. It was fantastic occasion to see the world number one team being put through their paces by Graham Henry and his team of coaches. Though invited to try out for the Ashbourne first XV Dan Carter declined as he had already signed up with the All Blacks for this Saturday!

Ashbourne RFC have worked hard in developing the facilities at the club and it was by recognition of the playing surface that the All Black management team chose the Milltown grounds for two days of training. The All Blacks is a very professional operation as you would expect from the world’s number one ranked team, and the club volunteers who attended the session witnessed world class match preparation. The lasting impression from the attendees was that this is a tight, hard working, professional but also a relaxed and social group of people, with the sole purpose of maintaining their number one status. The skills on show were awesome and the commitment 100% in training. It was a lesson to all players on what it takes to be number 1.

On Tuesday last an open session was arranged and club members and kids from the local schools were invited to attend. A crowd of a couple of hundred were able to share with the club the experience of the occasion, and though on a tight schedule, the players and management found time to mingle with the crowd, sign autographs and give something back by way of this interaction with the club. It was great to see these household names interact with the kids of Ashbourne and I am sure many will mark this down as a very special occasion.

Ashbourne RFC hopes that this is the first of many such visiting touring sides to use the Milltown facilities. The club already hosted the Woman’s Internationals with both France and England coming to play Ireland in the New Year. The club continues to develop the grounds and this year added a large area of all weather training ground and intends to extend this next year.

Ashbourne RFC is a community based club and this type of prestigious visit helps put the town on the map and recognises the support and effort that the town gives to the club.

Time:              9.15pm

Date:               Wednesday the 23^rd of May 2012.

Venue:            Milltown House, Ashbourne R.F.C.Nomination Form 2012 2013; AGM-Notice 2012 2013

Dear Member,

                        In accordance with the club’s constitution, the club hereby serves notice of the club’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). It will take place as indicated above, and is essential that we have a good attendance at the meeting.

            2011/2012 has seen the club consolidate our position in Leinster League Division 1B and we also had an excellent run in the Towns Cup, reaching the semi final stages. There have also been many successes at our Youths and Mini sections and we also fielded at Under 21 level this season. The club’s continued focus has been about developing a rugby structure that will help the club to sustain its own development from within. Using our excellent facilities the club is building the rugby structures to match. The club also displayed its ability to host major matches for the IRFU and is seen by outsiders as a quality operation. This is down to the club members rolling up their sleeves and delivering a professional performance time and time again. The Executive thanks you all for this.

            In the AGM is important opportunity to reflect on what has occurred during the season and plan for the upcoming year. Please try and attend this year. We would love to see you there.

 See nomination form attached

Yours Sincerely,

Bill Duggan

Honorary Secretary,

Ashbourne R.F.C.

087 2471792

Just Treats Golf is Ireland’s dedicated golf treats website offering between 50%-90% off green fees at top courses around the country, golf tuition and trips both home and abroad. All you have to do to help the club earn additional funds is select us as the benefactor. See the simple instructions below.

So what do you have to do…?

1. Go to www.justtreatsgolf.com
2. Click the red X in the top right hand corner
3. On the main page click “Login” in the top right hand corner to create a free account
4. Enter your details under “sign up for new account” on the right hand side
5. Choose our club under “chose a local sports club”
6. Click Blue “sign up” button
7. Well Done!!

It’s that easy.

Thanks for supporting the club and the committee.

Regards

Bill Duggan

Hon Secretary

Ashbourne U 17′s V’s Skerries U 17′s   Venue : Skerries RFC     Date : Thursday 19th April  KO 8.00 pm

On what turned out to be a cold, wet and windy night in Skerries, Ashbourne were looking to progress to their

second final of the year against a Skerries team that had inflicted a rare defeat on this Ashbourne team earlier

on in the league section of this campaign.  So Ashbourne knew that they would have to perform on the night

to get a result.  Ashbourne started the better of the two teams and playing with the wind kept Skerries pinned

in their 22 for the first 10 minutes of the match, with the Ashbourne pack well on top.  A try probably should

have come earlier, but eventually did come Ashbourne’s way. From a scrum roughly in the middle of the park

outhalf Ben Stewart took the ball on passed to winger Matt Connolly who beat his man and dived over in the

corner, Stewart slotted over the conversion form the touch line.  Ashbourne continued to keep the pressure

on and another try did come there way. Ashbourne’s pack were well on top and after several line outs and

drives at the Skerries try line, flanker Jake Wall got over for a well deserved try, conversion was missed.

Ashbourne should really have had more scores for all there pressure in the half but had to be content with

what they had at half time.

Half Time  Ashbourne  12  :  0  Skerries

Skerries had the wind at there backs now and were sure to come at Ashbourne in the second half.  And so it

was, as with the first half territory that Ashbourne had it was now Skerries turn as they put the squeeze on.

But this Ashbourne team are not Leinster champions for nothing, they defended well keeping the home team

at bay tackling well, with Skerries trying to get their centres in play as often as possible, but they were well

cut down by the opposite numbers.  It was now becoming a real battle, Ashbourne probably giving Skerries

to much possession, and only having the odd foray into Skerries territory without really looking like scoring.

Skerries were next to score with a try coming but conversion missed. About 15 minutes left and Ashbourne

7 ahead, question was who wanted it the most.  As ever with this Ashbourne team they don’t concede many

tries, they dug deep and kept the home team out till the final whistle. Another final in store for this team,

a busy few weeks ahead for the lads with the NE final and the Leinster youth cup semi final to look forward to.

Final Score   Ashbourne  12  :  5  Skerries

Team : Tim Higgins Marcus Duff Eoghan Hayes  Conor Meehan  Sam Kenna  Jake Wall Sean McKeown ( Captain )

Daniel Skelly Cody Keogh Ben Stewart Matt Connolly Jack O’Brien Scott Crowley Luke Lehane James Dervan

Subs : Craig Mahon  Dean Mc Dermott Kaan Matthews  Alex Kilburn

Match Report:

It had been a long layoff since the last competitive game and some of the boys were easily startled by the sudden appearance of a collective of out of season exotic creatures in Tesco car park.

Once settled back in cars, a quick swoop down the M2 and a gallop off the M50 took us to rural Dublin 15 and in to Coolmine Rugby Club for possibly the next stage of the year or the abrupt end to the season.

This was the plate competition and Coolmine had a reputation as tough and fast.

A good start saw plenty of kicking and running from both teams with a couple of early forward ball spills to settle the game. Early pressure briefly went both ways as the teams took the measure of the other. Scrums were evenly contested but Coolmine took early advantage when they stole a lineout ball and put over their first try on the left wing on 6 minutes without conversion. 5 – 0.

The home team took this early lead and built a sustained pressure platform for 5 minutes until Colm Craigie placed a relieving kick up the line. Play quickly came back to the Ashbourne end and Coolmine took control with great line passing and running. They were rewarded with a line break on 16 minutes with another try with conversion. 12 – 0.

Immediately Ashbourne came back with real pressure but could not convert to points. On 20 minutes the visitors had opportunity 10 meters from the Coolmine line with lineout ball. The ball was turned over and the frustration clearly grew as the clock ticked to half time.

Hearts were further broken when on the death of the first half Coolmine put together another passage where they went through the phases and put in a try to take the score to 17 – 0.

Frustration became obvious for Ashbourne and they needed to settle over the half way break.

2^nd Half

Coolmine began the 2^nd half the same way they played the first, with composure and assurance. With good discipline they seemed in complete control. Ashbourne could not get and keep possession and as the old saying goes “if you don’t have the ball, you cannot score”.

On 37 minutes Coolmine were rewarded after sustained pressure and desperate Ashbourne defense with a try under the posts and an easy conversion. 24 – 0

It was at this point that Karlo began to tell me about his new dog and how it had torn up his newly laid lawn twice and we then drifted to talk of the summer holidays and watched Steve’s daughter run up and down the hill when something happened on the pitch!

The boys from Ashbourne found their Mojo. It arrived on the late train from the west of Ireland after the great weekend away a few weeks before. We may have hit the iceberg but the captain and the team were not going down without a manful display of team and heart.

Passing returned and leadership was demonstrated by Sean Hogan with his first try and Philip Healy converted on 20 minutes. 24 – 7. What you might think would break the bow of this ship came on 22 minutes when Coolmine put over a try to take the score to 29 – 7. Again determination refloated the good ship Ashbourne and with a final Titanic effort Sean Hogan scored again on the death and Philip Healy converted. 29 – 14

It was there we laid the game and the season to rest. Congratulations to Coolmine for their deserved win.

The final team talk from Steve, John and Ivan was of pride and growth and of success. It was a great season and made all the better by great coaching and mentoring. Thanks to team and to coaches and to Mark Healy for the great photos.

Final Score 29 – 14

Team List: Darragh Carroll, Joey Szpara Capt., Sean Hogan, Neil Dignam, Philip Healy, David Norton, Colin Leonard, Nicholas Bobbett, Colm Craigie, Jordan Wilkes, Biggie Khurelsukh, Ider Khurelsukh, Dylan Cassidy, Dillon Bissett , Jack Peters, Aaron Murphy, Mark Keaveney