“To win the J4 Leinster League is an achievement in itself, but to win it beating the best teams week in and week out is a fantastic achievement. Not to mention that this trophy is the first bit of silverware into the club this year!” These kind words by Belvo supporter ‘Wise Abe’ last Saturday night in the club certainly encouraged us to appreciate our League win even more and, along with a number of celebratory drinks, helped to numb the pain after playing 14 matches over nearly six months.
After a squad meeting in September the goal of the J4s was clear- to win the League. With the support and hard work of Jonathan Sharkey as Junior Rugby Coach, Tommy Hynes as Team Manager (and Player!), Dec Egan as Co-Manager and Steve O’Leary as Junior President (and staunch supporter!) the squad knew we would be in good hands behind the scenes. All we had to do was beat the other teams- twice!
Our first match against Clontarf in Anglesea Road proved to be a hard fought one with our winning out by 29-22. Such a narrow scoreline followed us over the next few matches at both home and away fixtures. Wins against the likes of Terenure, Blackrock and Tallaght encouraged us but the away loss to Coolmine was a disappointing result. It could have deterred our focus but after honest team reflection it only served to galvanise us as we won out against Clondalkin and beat St. Mary’s at home under lights in a truly gladiatorial fight. Going into Christmas the J4s were top of the League with 6 wins out of 7.
After the break our first match was away to Clontarf. However, due to the so-called ‘Big Freeze’ it was postponed until the end of February. The consequence meant playing four consecutive relentless matches against Terenure, Coolmine, St. Marys and Clontarf; each team knowing that any loss would result in their taking a step further away from winning the League. A good win against Tallaght set up for an away match to Blackrock, the day before the Leinster Schools’ Cup game between the two Alma Maters. Having beaten ‘Rock earlier and seen their pre-Christmas results, perhaps an element of complacency seeped into our team for that day. Or perhaps the appearance of a number of ‘new faces’ on the Blackrock team who had not played against us the previous match also became a deciding factor. Either way, our team knew that we had no choice but to win all the remaining matches in order to win the League. We obviously like to do things the hard way!
The matches against Terenure, Marys and Coolmine were battles of the body and of the mind with the ebb and flow of each game taking its toll. But the tremendous effort by all involved resulted in being awarded the full points from all three.
The Clontarf match was our penultimate match and one that we knew would decide how much this J4 Belvo team wanted this League. From having an Away match to ‘Tarf to having to kick off early on a quagmire of a pitch the mental approach to the game was crucial. As always the Clontarf pack enjoyed the physical encounter while the backs counter attacked at every opportunity given. But the Belvo J4 team stood fast and relished the bruising encounter even more. None more so than Garry Keogh who the week before had announced his retirement from competitive rugby due to repeated injury problems. Garry’s knowledge of rugby and his physical approach to the game has been an enormous contribution to not only this J4 team over the last number of years but to the club as a whole in his nearly twenty years being a member of Old Belvedere. Even that day against Clontarf, his presence alone on the pitch helped the team to raise their heads and their intensity of our game. Belvo won 18-12.
On Saturday 6th March our last League game was played away against Clondalkin. To win this would put our team out of reach of the other teams and guarantee the League win. In another physical encounter up front, the Old Belvedere J4s won the match and were presented with the League Cup by Alfie Atcheson of the Leinster Branch and the congratulations by the Clondalkin team and Belvo supprt was much appreciated by us all.
A great night in the club was had by all with the Cup being filled with all kinds of concoctions. Thank you Dave Hargaden, Club President- I think some of the team are still recovering!
As Abe kindly said to us, “It’s a fantastic achievement”, but with the Cup coming up soon on the horizon, Abe, we’d have to say, “We’re not finished yet…”
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General News, Junior
