CONDOLENCES Deepest sympathy is extended to Past President of Athlone Rugby Football Club Donal Hynes and family on the death of his wife Marty. May she rest in eternal peace.

TABLE QUIZ BUCCANEERS U-17’s are hosting a TABLE QUIZ in The Bounty on Thursday week, February 9th at 8.30 p.m. Tables of four €40 with a special youths rate of only €5 per head. Again all support gratefully appreciated.

‘LIP SYNC BUCCS FIZZ STYLE’ BUCCANEERS are putting on their very special version of ‘LIP SYNC -- BUCCS FIZZ STYLE’ at the Sheraton Hotel, Athlone, on Friday, February 17th. The show starts at 8 p.m. and doors open an hour earlier. Tickets are now on sale at the hotel and also at The Bounty. Phone bookings can be made to Geraldine at 0861732711 during office hours. It promises to be a fun-filled night-out so don’t miss it! All support will be greatly appreciated.

BUCCS SECONDS HOME TO BALLINASLOE IN CUP SEMI-FINAL BUCCANEERS SECONDS square up to neighbours Ballinasloe in the semi-final of the Connacht Junior Cup at Dubarry Park on Sunday with this derby clash kicking off at 2 p.m. Having won both home and away when the clubs met in the league, Ballinasloe will be favourites to advance. However, Buccs have enjoyed their Cup run so far and will be raring to go come match time. The Co. Galway side got a walkover against Carrick-on-Shannon and they edged out Creggs 7-5 in another derby battle at The Green last Sunday when an early converted try by Rob Wakefield proved decisive. The Moher Road outfit have a hardy pack and potent backs in Andrew Mannion, Sean Horan and Frankie Hopkins, currently scrumhalf for Buccaneers U-20’s. Keelan O’Neill, Conor Johnston and Ryan McCarthy are others who will give it their all for Ballinasloe. Much will depend on the performance of the Pirates pack where a lack of height has been a problem. Options off the bench for Garreth Halligan are limited but the desire and effort of the Buccs forwards cannot be faulted. Rory Grenham, Ruairi Byrne and James O’Connell must be the leaders here and if they can come anywhere near holding their own against the visiting unit, then the Athlone crew have the backs who can take scores. Callum Boland, Rory O’Connor and Harry Hughes are nifty operators whose potency must be capitalised on. It’s a long time since either club featured in a Junior Cup final so expect dust to fly in do or die efforts by both teams!

BUCCS FACE FRIDAY NIGHT SHOWDOWN AT GALWEGIANS BUCCANEERS travel west to Crowley Park on Friday night for an Ulster Bank League showdown with Connacht rivals Galwegians. This Division 1B joust kicks off at 7.30 p.m. Victory is crucial for both sides with Buccs chasing the win that will keep them on top of the league table. Meanwhile Wegians will be strenuously seeking vital points to keep them above the relegation dogfight. With so much to play for, both sets of players can be counted on to roll up their collective sleeves in what could be a real battle. Galwegians are fourth from bottom, five points above the basement club Dolphin. Having lost six matches in a row including a 24-12 defeat at Dubarry Park, the light blues then demolished Shannon 53-12 at the start of December. However, they lost 17-14 last weekend in the return game at Thomond Park despite Ronan Loughney, Eoghan Masterson and Marc Kelly featuring in their pack. Victory there would have given them considerable breathing space so they will now be desperate for points and consequently dangerous and committed foes on Friday night. Anthony Ryan, John Moloney and Peter Claffey will work their socks off in the forwards exchanges while Wegians have decent backs including Ciaran Gaffney, Brian Murphy, Conor Lowndes and Adam Leavy. Aidan Moynihan is a very reliable placekicker. Buccs have a number of injury concerns, all in their backline where Mata Fifita has joined Conor McKeon and Shane Layden on the treatment bench. Alan Gaughan, Jordan Conroy, Luke Carty and Eoghan O’Reilly will trouble the Tribesmen if the Pirates pack provides the right possession. Martin Staunton, John Sutton and Saba Meunargia were the dominant front row against Ballymena and the midlanders may have profited had Staunton been restored to the action. Danny Qualter and Cian Romaine are well capable of ascendancy in the battle of the packs where Rory Moloney, Kolo Kiripati and either Stephen McVeigh or Evan Galvin provide a competitive backrow unit. Much may depend of whatever Connacht players are available to either side but Buccs, who also overcame Galwegians in the Connacht Senior League, have the ability and potential to make it a hat-trick of wins over their keenest rivals this season provided they are focussed, disciplined and prepared to dig deep.

BUCCANEERS 10 OLD WESLEY 6 BUCCANEERS and Old Wesley served up a compelling contest in their J.P.Fanagan Leinster U-20 League Premier 2 match at sunny Dubarry Park on Sunday where the Pirates edged out the visitors on a 10-6 margin. This match was not typical U-20s fare as it turned in to an old style battle of wills on the heavy surface. Both teams had periods of dominance but there was no real marked superiority by either side in a whole-hearted and low scoring tussle. Buccs got the only score of the opening period, a Dan Keane penalty midway through the half. Old Wesley were on the offensive coming up to the break but the Athlone side held them out despite having Conor Cleary sin-binned to lead 3-0. Following the turnaround, it was Buccs time to apply steady pressure as they pinned the metropolitans inside their 22. They earned a series of penalties before the referee’s patience ran out and he awarded a penalty try to the home side. Keane’s conversion gave the Pirates a 10-0 advantage before Old Wesley got back into the game with a brace of penalties by Jamie Maher. Chances were few and far between for either side with Corey Reid’s penalty from halfway dipping under the visitors’ crossbar. Buccs then enjoyed another series of close in pick and goes but just lacked the sparkle to add to their tally as both teams put in terrific defensive efforts in the testing conditions. Simon Meagher, Ross Cooper, Darren Buckley and Oisin Rowe led by example in an industrious home pack while Frankie Hopkins, Dean McMahon and Sam Hastings caught the eye in the backline. Victory keeps Buccaneers in second place behind leaders Maynooth University/Barnhall. BUCCANEERS:- D.McMahon; J.O’Keeffe, C.Reid, E.O’Reilly, T.McGann; D.Keane, F.Hopkins; C.Cleary, D.Buckley, N.Farrelly; B.Collins, J.Delahunt; O.Rowe, J.Foley (captain) and S.Meagher. Replacements used:- R.Milner, R.Cooper and S.Hastings. Also R.Flanagan, P.Browne, C.Jocker and C.Daly.

Photos from Buccaneers RFC's post

BUCCANEERS 30 GALWEGIANS 14 BUCCANEERS SECONDS put in a stirring second half effort to overhaul their Galwegians counterparts in a lively Connacht Junior Cup quarter-final played in good conditions at Dubarry Park where the Pirates prevailed 30-14 on Sunday. This was a most encouraging display by this motley crew, with their much smaller pack beavering from start to finish and an enterprising backline capitalising on opportunities that came their way to transform this duel. It did not look so promising in the opening half when Galwegians held the upper hand. Both sides missed early penalty kicks before Wegians hooker David O’Connor was yellow carded. This did not hamper the westerners as they surged over for a 25th minute pushover try by Pat Curran with Dave Clark adding a fine conversion from the right. Callum Boland missed a second tricky penalty before Rory O’Connor made a terrific raid down the right flank for a 35th unconverted try that left the Athlone side trailing 5-7 at the interval. Within minutes of the change of ends, the fullback broke from his own 22 to make terrific yardage and his chip over the cover bounced perfectly for him to swoop for a try which Boland converted. The outhalf soon added a penalty and the hosts now had their tails up. From the restart, Boland took advantage of a knock-on before breaking through a number of tackles to run in for a try which he also converted to push Buccs 20-7 ahead. In the final quarter, Sean Flynn thundered through from halfway and had the strength to power over the line despite Clark’s tackle for a smashing try which Boland converted. In a silly follow up to this score Galwegians duo Martin Fox and Doran McHugh incurred needless yellow cards and Ruairi Byrne followed them into the sin bin shortly afterwards. Wegians continued to battle and Eoghan Hannon finished off decent pressure for a late try converted by Clark but Buccaneers had the final say when Boland struck a fine penalty to complete the 30-14 winning margin. Buccs were worthy winners on the back of a committed all-round display and now host Ballinasloe in a derby semi-final at Dubarry Park on Sunday next. BUCCANEERS:- R.O’Connor; B.Walsh, D.Griffiths, S.Flynn, H.Hughes; C.Boland, G.Fallon; K.Grehan, R.Grenham, T.Thompson; T.Couper, R.Byrne; N.Flynn, J.O’Connell and S.Byrne. Replacements:- C.Forde (for Walsh, h/t), E.O’Brien (for Thompson), B.Kennedy (for Hughes) and G.Halligan.

Photos from Buccaneers RFC's post

BUCCANEERS 13 BALLYMENA 13 BUCCANEERS and Ballymena shared the spoils 13-13 after a competitive Ulster Bank League Division 1B encounter at Dubarry Park that was well attended despite the bitter cold. Both teams were much changed from their feisty early December clash with Buccs fielding five changes, Saba Meunargia, Stephen McVeigh, Jordan Conroy, Shane O’Leary and Graham Lynch coming in for Rory Grenham, Evan Galvin, Callum Boland, and injured duo Conor McKeon and Shane Layden. The visitors went one better including an Ulster-experienced quartet Richard Lutton, Alan O’Connor, Matthew Rea and sub Chris Cundell to bolster their pack where skipper David Whann returned. Martin Irwin and Glen Bailie started in the Ulster side’s backline for this Russell Brennan Keane sponsored match played in excellent conditions. Wearing their alternative canary yellow strip, Buccs quickly illuminated the proceedings under the impressive revamped floodlights at the Athlone venue. Following a penalty to the left, the ball was moved acrossfield where Eoghan O’Reilly created space for O’Leary to mark his home debut with a fifth minute try converted by Alan Gaughan. The outhalf was prominent from the start and, after he was narrowly off-target with a long-range placekick, he duly slotted over a 14th minute penalty after Buccs pressure had forced a spilled ball and subsequent infringement. Luke Carty and O’Reilly combined to clear up a rare Ballymena foray into the home 22 and visiting substitute James Beattie escaped censure with a late block on Conroy as the home winger chased his chip over the cover. The Pirates continued to force the pace and Mata Fifita and McVeigh both had snipes before the lively O’Reilly did well to gather a clearance and present Gaughan with the opportunity to drill over a splendid 30th minute drop goal. Ballymena did not get into the home 22 with any real intent until the closing stages of this half and then an impressive maul came threateningly close to getting over Buccs line. But the midlanders held out despite O’Reilly incurring a sin-binning and they led 13-0 at half-time. Both teams made alterations in their front rows at the break and the changes had a significant influence on the outcome. Debutant Jamie Dever replaced Martin Staunton for the homesters while the Braidmen brought on Chris Cundell for Bryan Young with Lutton switching to loosehead. Ballymena then got a grip on the setpiece to get into the contest and open their account with a 52nd minute Richie McMaster penalty. Two minutes later Lynch’s clearance was blocked down by Martin Irwin and the visitors forced another penalty, deftly despatched over the bar by McMaster. Buccs were now making errors and, three minutes later, a Gaughan kick was charged down by Callum Patterson. Mark Best and Lynch tangled for the loose ball and referee Gary Conway incredibly awarded a penalty try. Penalty yes as Best was ahead of the defender but the yellow card was quite harsh while it never looked a penalty try as the visitors’ winger was over 20 metres out, with lots of work still to do wide on the left, and with defenders swiftly converging in his direction. But McMaster did not worry about the ease and generosity of this award as he thumped the conversion over to level the scores. A Gaughan kick ahead and chase forced Rodger McBurney into defensive action while shortly afterwards the home outhalf saw his drop goal attempt, as advantage was played, dip under the crossbar before his penalty from the left tailed just wide. The referee again drew the ire of the home support when he did not penalise Best for a late 74th minute tackle on Mata Fifita. In fairness the winger was committed but patently late on the home centre who was forced off as a result. With the legacy of the recent clash between the teams now simmering, the contest threatened to boil over but did not get out of hand in a rousing finale when both McMaster and McBurney made poor drop goal efforts for the northerners. A draw was perhaps a fair outcome as both teams enjoyed dominance for a half in a passionate affair but it was of less value to Ballymena, who scored all their points in a five minutes spell, as they drop two places in the league table as a result. Meanwhile, although Buccaneers for whom Saba Meunargia was named AUDI ATHLONE man of the match did not extend their eight match winning sequence, the draw keeps them on top of the leaderboard ahead of Friday night’s Connacht derby joust away to Galwegians. Rory Moloney, McVeigh and Staunton excelled in the midlanders pack as did John Sutton who fielded a number of magnificent catches while Gaughan, O’Reilly and Fifita had strong showings in their backline. BUCCANEERS:- L.Carty; E.O’Reilly, M.Fifita, S.O’Leary, J.Conroy; A.Gaughan, G.Lynch; M.Staunton, J.Sutton, S.Meunargia; C.Romaine, D.Qualter; S.McVeigh, R.Moloney and K.Kiripati (captain). Replacements:- J.Dever (for Staunton, h/t), A.Hayman (for Fifita, inj. 45 mins), M.Fifita (for Hayman, 60 mins), E.Galvin (for McVeigh, 64 mins), R.Grenham and F.Hopkins. BALLYMENA:- R.McBurney; M.Best, C.Patterson, M.Irwin, J.Rosborough; R.McMaster, G.Bailie; B.Young, J.Taggart, R.Lutton; D.Whann (captain), A.O’Connor; C.Smith, M.Rea and S.Mulholland. Replacements:- J.Beattie (for Rosborough, inj. 25 mins), J.Creighton (for Bailie, 30 mins), C.Cundell (for Young, h/t), A.Cundell and T.McGuinness. Referee:- Gary Conway (IRFU).

Photos from Buccaneers RFC's post

Congratulations also to our u15 boys who came away with a fantastic win against Corinthians.

Photos from Buccaneers RFC's post

Buccaneers 16's overnight trip to Castlebar. Finishing off the league with a great win 14-43. They also managed a hike up Croagh Patrick the next morning. Well done lads.

Rachel

Well to Buccs U16s win over Castlebar this morning.

The second half of the Ulster Bank League resumes today after the lengthy festive break. BUCCANEERS v BALLYMENA 1st v 4th kicks off under the upgraded DUBARRY PARK floodlights tonight. Kick off 7.30 p.m. in Athlone for this much anticipated fixture as Buccs bid to remain on top of Division 1B. BUCCANEERS SECONDS v GALWEGIANS SECONDS in the Connacht Junior Cup quarter-final Sunday in Dubarry Park at 2 p.m. BUCCANEERS U-20s v OLD WESLEY in J.P.Fanagan Leinster U-20 Premier League 2 also in Dubarry Park on Sunday with a 2.30 p.m. kick off