Following Tuam’s 25-17 win over Castlebar last Sunday, Creggs were crowned Connacht Junior 1B League Champions with a game in hand. The league win also means promotion and Creggs will now play top-flight junior rugby next season.
Head coach Pat Cunningham was understandably delighted with the title and the club’s first silverware in a number of years.
“I’m delighted, winning the league was our main goal at the start of the season and we were happy to win it with a game in hand. We were unsure about how the Tuam v Castlebar game would go; we always knew it would be tight.
“The season has gone very well, it was a closely fought league with some very good teams. It was very competitive so we’re glad to have come out on top!”
The Creggs coach praised his players, who, he said, had demonstrated a huge appetite for the game.
“Our defence was excellent throughout the year, we only conceded an average of eight points per game. Defence is such a huge part of our game and the lads showed great appetite and passion (this season).
“Our attacking is something we are working on and that is progressing all the time but it was our defence that won us the league,” he said.
The season is not over yet for Creggs and despite losing their Connacht Junior Cup semi-final last Sunday 13-11 against Sligo, they still have a Curley Cup final to play against Corinthians at the end of the month. Pat is hopeful of adding to the club’s trophy haul.
“The club has been waiting a long time to win a trophy and we could end up winning two which would be great. Some of the lads had been playing for the club for up to fifteen years and hadn’t won anything”.
The underage set-up at the club is also beginning to bear fruit and Pat believes this year could be the beginning of something special.
“We’ve great talent coming through which is testament to the level of coaching at the club. We had four U-18s involved and that edged on some of the more senior lads.
“The development and coaching at the club is phenomenal really when you think it’s a little village in the west of Ireland.
“I’m looking forward to next year. I really think this is a team worth following and they can go on and challenge at the higher level,” he said.
