Video of Match Highlights

They had to wait 23 years to lift the Provincial Towns Cup again but Captain Ross Barbour got the opportunity at 5.45pm last Sunday evening in Portarlington to lift one of the oldest Cups in Sport
after his team Enniscorthy had beaten Tullow 23-17.
It’s their 6th win and to do it in Centenary year makes it even better for the club who had to battle hard to win this one.
They were hot favourite’s going into the final and when Captain Ross Barbour weaved his way through for the first of three tries that favourites tag look justified. The ball spilled out from the side of a ruck and Barbour executed the score with aplomb after 15 minutes. Ivan Poole had opened the scoring with a penalty.             Enniscorthy were moving the ball with ease but did make a lot of unforced errors and their indiscretions gave Tullow Out half William Canavan the opportunity to keep the Tullow men in the match. The superb 21 year old kick 3 excellent penalty goals to keep his side in touch. Hugh O’Neill finished off a fine move to make it 15- 6 at the interval. Wingers Hughie O’Neill and Fiacre Ryan were like scavages and pounced on every opportunity and were rewarded with a try apiece. Ivan Poole was unlucky to hit the cross bar with another kick
Tullow finished the half well but were relying on their forward power and the boot of young Canavan too much really..
Enniscorthy’s front row of young Ciaran Murphy stood up to the task along with veteran Hooker John Howe and Luke Goff.
The second half saw Enniscorthy still prepared to move the ball and again they were rewarded for the enterprise with the 3rd try and to many observers at the time maybe the decisive score. Tullow didn’t go away however because they are known for their fighting qualities.
They didn’t produce Sean O’Brien and Bernard Jackman for no reason. The door did open for them when Enniscorthy’s veteran second row and Coach Declan O’Brien received a yellow card from referee Eanna O’Dowd.
This was perhaps now with 20 minutes remaining the opportunity for the Tullow men to take advantage. The opposite happened in fact and the sinbin produce inspirational stuff from the S’corthy men as they grew in stature and really rose to the challenge of being down to 14 men.
. This was highlighted by one terrific surging run from John “nipper “Howe. The excellence of the back row of Mitchel Dalton, Graham Murphy and Tony Ryan was inspirational in that period. William Canavan did kick another penalty to close the gap to 20-12 . It was typical Cup rugby with not an a yard from either team given away cheaply’ Tullow inspired by their Captain and Lock Forward Frank Murphy asked for one more effort from his wary team and they were rewarded after sustained pressure inside Enniscorthy’ 22 with a try from their wing forward Rob Porter … The clock was against them however as it was almost the last action of the match. From the drop off Tullow had to run the ball but Man of the Match Tony Ryan put in a superb driving tackle to stop Alan Deering breaking through. Replacement John Bracken was in support. There was no doubt at the final whistle that the better team on the day won. Ivan Poole at out half deserves credit for keeping his team on the front foot. Enniscorthy looked a they had all season a well drilled look about them. They also had the desired combination of youth and experience and there ability to move the ball at pace though the backs was really the crucial difference. It was a cutting edge that Tullow didn’t have. Tullow deserve immense credit for never throwing in the towel they just kept coming and coming back at Enniscorthy whose defence held firm. The organisational skills of Damien McCabe in the backs and the leadership of veteran Declan O’Brien were also crucial. They were tactically very astute. It was of course a particularly brilliant day for Scrumhalf Alan Jacob whose brother Daryl had won the Aintree Grand national on the day before.
There were many contenders for Man of The Match but the blond locks of Tony Ryan were seen in almost every area of the pitch that Tullow attacked and his tackle count was extraordinary.
You won’t win matches like this unless the team plays as a team and as team manager David Wrafter said at the end that’s what Enniscorthy did today.
Tullow had the three Hanbridge brothers in fine form and an inspirational Captain in Frank Murphy.
Their young out half William Canavan deserves a special mention also.
The celebrations went long into the night on Sunday night.
Team: Ciaran Murphy, John Howe, Luke Goff, Jonathan Leech, Declan O’Brien, Mitchel Dalton, Tony Ryan, Graham Murphy, Alan Jacob, Ivan Poole, Hughie O’Neill, Ross Barbour, Damien McCabe, Fiachra Ryan, Richard Dunne.. Replacements, Paddy Waters, Pat Doyle, John Bracken, David O’Dwyer, Jack Kelly, Thomas stamp.

Head Coach Damien McCabe, Coaches Declan O’Brien, Johnny “Spud “Murphy,
Team Manager David Wrafter, Selector Chairman Liam Walsh, Physio and First Aid Eimear O’Sullivan and Stella Sinnott, Club Chairman Paul McCrea.
Tullow: Kyle Handbridge, Sam Corrigan, Spencer Hanbridge, Frank Murphy ( Capt), John Hanbridge,Rob Porter, John Roche, William O’Brien, Keiaho Bloomfield,William Canavan, Sean McCarthy, Darren Dunne, Alan Deering, Peter Fitzgerald, Willie O’Brien. Replacements; Alan Byrnes,Joey Connors, Steven Smith, Colm Finnerty, Paul Canavan. Head Coach Bernard Jackman assisted by Leinster star Sean O’Brien.

It’s a great honour on behalf of Enniscorthy R.F.C to contribute to this years Towns Cup Final programme. We ardently welcome our many supporters and of course our players to engage in battle with our close neighbours Tullow, two teams who have been standard bearers of rugby in South East for many years.

For the past 4 years I have been honoured as president of Enniscorthy R.F.C, a club 100 years old this year, steeped in tradition, contesting once again for the Blue Riband of junior rugby, the Provincial Towns Cup.  We finished a very creditable 3rd in this years Leinster League and have had a tough journey to the final beating Navan, Skerries, and Newbridge, and having lost finals in ’92 and ’95 we will strive with all our might to bring home the finest trophy in Leinster rugby in 2012,our centenary year, sustained by the hard work and dedication of our squad under captain Ross Barbour, coach Damian McCabe, manager David Wrafter and the experience and knowledge of John ‘Spud’ Murphy and Declan O’Brien.

Special word of gratitude to organising chairman Bill Duggan, sponsors, President of Leinster branch Stuart Bayley and the Leinster Branch but particularly our hosts Portarlington R.F.C. and their   president Breda Oakley and all the stewards and volunteers for the day. Finally lets have a great sporting contest between the two teams from the Slaney Valley and have a convivial get together in the club house afterwards.

Charlie Kavanagh,
President of Enniscorthy R.F.C.

Directions to Portalrington RFC.

Kick Off is @ 3.30pm, Sunday 15th April

Today in Kilkenny RFC the Ross Barbour led Enniscorthy beat a tough Newbridge team 22 - 16 in extra-time to reach the Provincial Towns Cup Final for the first time since 1995.This was a terrific high-tempo game played with pace and passion where the advantage swung from one team to the other over the hundred minutes and the result in doubt to the end.
Enniscorthy started well and dominated possession  and territory but no reward missing an early drop goal attempt from Ivan Poole and pushing a penalty wide of the posts.Clean breaks by Richie Dunne from full back and Fiachre Ryan came to nothing as the last pass spilled or knocked-on close to the line while the Newbridge defence scrambled and hassled the Enniscorthy attack into mistakes and were able to clear their lines.Newbridge scored first when a dubious penalty for a late tackle in their 22 was awarded where the ball landed meters inside the Enniscorthy half and full back Karl Darragh landed the difficult kick.With Ennniscorthy on the attack again the ball was turned over and Darragh kicked cross-field for winger Dave Hogan to score from 60 meters and again Darragh landed the conversion.With John Bracken and Johnny Leech now controlling the line-out Enniscorthy powered forward again and only strong defence and a strange decision for a 22 drop-out when Fiachre Ryan touched down, left it 10-0 at half-time.
Newbridge started the second half well and ran the ball wide with winger Padraig Mahon twice bundled into touch by Hughie O'Neill and then missed a kickable penalty before Ivan Poole was successful to make it 10-3.The Enniscorthy pack marshalled by Declan O'Brien with Tony Ryan and Nipper Howe making the hard yards were now picking and driving into the Newbridge pack before Alan Jacob released the outside backs and the efforts gained a penalty converted by outhalf Poole after backchat moved it forward 10 metres.Newbridge tried to regroup by launching garryowns and chasing but defiant catches by prop Luke Goff and O'Neill on the wing allowed Enniscorthy to counter attack and again pack pressure with Ciaran Murphy and sub Paddy Waters carrying well, forced a series of penalties to move Ivan into range 10-9 with nearly 13 minutes to go and game on.However the black and yellow forwards pressured the kick-off receiver and Darragh landed the kick and then another after an Enniscorthy mistake to bring it to 16-9 and 5 minutes on the clock.Now Enniscorthy gathered themselves and a huge effort with great breaks by Ross Barbour  and Ivan Poole  supported by wing forward Mitchell Dalton who covered every inch of the pitch allowed the pack to set up Damien McCabe to cut the line off a planned move and touch down beside the post for a match saving try converted by Ivan and 16-16 and 2 minutes to go.Enniscorthy regathered with a magnificent catch by Declan O'Brien and worked a last gasp drop goal effort for Ivan Poole which narrowly missed to leave the score  at 16 all at the final whistle and extra-time to decide the match.
Extra-time and how the Enniscorthy team raised their game again as constant pressure  and offensive tackling forced mistakes from Newbridge and a penalty for a 19 -16 lead  at half-time of extra time before Ivan Poole slotted another penalty to go 22-16 with 6 minutes remaining.Newbridge now ran every ball desperately searching for a gap to force a winner but superb defence by Barbour,McCabe and sub David O'Dwyer and crunching cover tackles by Goff and the back row ensured that Enniscorthy held out,defeated a very good Newbridge team and reached a Towns Cup final against south-east neighbours Tullow which will take place in Portarlington on Sunay 15th April at 3pm.

Enniscorthy team; Richie Dunne, Hughie O'Neill, Ross Barbour(Capt.), Damien McCabe, Fiachre Ryan, Ivan Poole, Alan Jacob, Tony Ryan, Mitchell Dalton, Declan O'Brien, John Bracken, Johnny Leech, Luke Goff, John "Nipper" Howe, Ciaran Murphy
Subs; Paddy Waters, Pat Doyle, Ronnie White, Thomas Stamp, Jack Kelly, David O'Dwyer, David Shore.
Management; Dave Wrafter, John Murphy, Graham Murphy.
Medical; Stellah Sinnott, Edel O'Gorman. 

Enniscorthy qualified for the Provincial towns Cup Semi Final with a fine win against visitors Skerries  13-12.
Both these two teams had produced a cracker in the League 5 weeks ago and whilts this match might not have matched it for scores it was still an excellent tactical game.
Skerries have already won the Leinster League Division 1A title with Enniscorthy finishing 3rd so it was always going to be close.
The home team started really well and were rewarded with an early try.
Terrific early pressure from the forwards eventually created a try for fullback and Captain Ross Barbour. An inside pass from Damien McCabe set the fullback free.
Jack Kelly kicked the conversion. Enniscorthy then suffered a body blow when they lost wing forward Tony Ryan with a head injury after 10 minutes. John Bracken replaced him.
Chris Keane kicked a penalty to reduce the lead. It was a tight match and Enniscorthy’s forwards were keeping the opposition firmly on the back foot.
Jack Kelly kicked another penalty to give the home team a 10-3 lead.
The Second half saw Enniscorthy again defended very well with Declan O’Brien and John “Nipper” Howe in particular outstanding.
Chris Keane kicked 2 penalties to reduce the lead.
Enniscorthy continued to take the match to the visitors and again Jack Kelly extended the lead with another fine penalty. He missed another opportunity with 10 minutes to go as Keane kicked his 4th attempt at the posts.
Enniscorthy introduced another one of their  20 year old’s Tomas Stamp in the final 10 minutes and he didn’t look out of place. Skerries exerted a lot of pressure in the final 8 minutes but Enniscorthy defended magnificently.
They finished on top as they had started and might have had another score when Fiachra Ryan made a break but was caught.
Enniscorthy who last won the Cup in 1989 are now up against Newbridge in the semi-final on the 1st April.
Team Manager David Wrafter “ I am delighted for the lads. We were missing some of our key player’s through injury but their replacements really stepped up to the mark. Jack Kelly who is just 20 handled the out half position with real ease. It was a composed performance. Ciaran Murphy is just 21,Tony Ryan is 20, John Bracken, Pat Doyle,David O’Dwyer and Thomas Stamp are all just 20 which is fantastic that the young lads are coming through .
I have to praise some of the old dogs today who were great. John Howe was the Man of the Match, Declan O’Brien showed all his experience, Paddy Waters, Luke Goff, Johnny Leech and Mitchel Dalton and John Bracken filled in brilliantly for Tony (Ryan) when he had to go off. It’s our Centenary year and it would be nice to get to the Final but we can’t think that far ahead yet because Newbridge will be no pushover. One match at a time but we are delighted”
Team : Luke Goff, John Howe, Ciaran Murphy, Johathon Leech, Paddy Waters (Thomas Stamp), Declan O’Brien ,Mithchel Dalton, Tony Ryan (John Bracken),
Alan Jacob, Jack Kelly, Hughie O’Neill, Damien McCabe, Ross Barbour ( Capt), Fiachra Ryan, Richard Dunne,
Subs Pat Doyle, David O’Dwyer, Stephen Dalton.
Fixtures
2nd’s Cup Enniscorthy  vs Kilkenny in Kilkenny Sunday 25th March @ 3pm-

The under 17 Leinster champions and All Ireland runners up of the last two years meet in the penultimate round of this years Under 19 premier league, in Tullow next Saturday 04/02/12 @ 12.00.noon,  after Goreys good away win in Naas and Enniscorthy's home win against Navan in the quarter finals

A table quiz to raise funds for U11 & U12 trip to Wales takes place in Clubhouse on Friday Night at 8:30pm. €40 per table of 4. Your support would be greatly appreciated.

We are delighted to confirm that the club allocation of tickets has been sold and there are therefore no more tickets available.

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Enniscorthy u 19 defeated Co.Carlow 38 -24 and in so doing topped Leinster League southern section and can now look forward to home quarter final against fourth placed team in northern section on 14th January 2012. Enniscorthys win was based on a massive performance from their pack with a strong scr

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YOUTHS TRAINING U19, U17, U15 & U13 COMMENCES NEXT FRIDAY NIGHT 2nd September @ 7.30.P.M. AND EVERY WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY @ 7.30.p.m. Managers as well as coaches required for first couple of nights to sort registration new players etc.
 
MINI RUGBY (U6-U12) COMMENCES SUNDAY 4th September @ 10.30.A.M with weekly sessions each Sunday @ 10.30.a.m. co ordinator Larry Mackey
 
Youths coaching & management teams:

Specialist coaches: Kicking coach: Tommy James, Scrum & Lineout  coach: Kent Ashmore
 
Under 19: Manager Ray Hemmingway. Coaches: Brian Roche, John Bolger & Paul McCrea.
 
Under 17: Manager Andrew Owen. Coaches: Johnny Mythen, Dick Harpur & John McCrea.
 
Under 15: Manager Malcolm Pim. Coaches: John Farrar, Alan Smith, Craig Blythe & Liam Spratt. 
 
Under 13: Manager Colman Doyle. Coaches: Paddy Farrell, Matt Kelly, David McCafferty & Tim Doyle.

Senior Teams Men & Women train Tuesday & Thursdays @ 7.30.p.m.

Under 21's train Tuesday & Fridays @ 7.30.p.m.

All teams are constantly on lookout for new players experienced and novice who are welcome to attend any training session in their grade or age group.

Michael Foley Bursary Fund, which honours the memory of Michael Foley, in providing third level bursary for students of his alma mater Enniscorthy CBS, in conjunction with Enniscorthy Rugby Club are staging Fundraising Greyhound Race Night on Sunday 31/07/11 (August Bank Holiday Sunday) at Enniscort

Centre Ross Barbour was the hero for Enniscorthy as his try seven minutes from full time gave Enniscorthy victory over Ashbourne in an exciting Provincial Towns Plate Final in Naas RFC on Wednesday night.

Enniscorthy lead 14-12 at half time with a pair of tries from impressive full back Richa

Enniscorthy under 17 finished the season in this pulsating SE final agaist a Gorey side who added this trophy to their previous Leinster League and Plate silverware. The long gap  of four weeks since their last match , while awaiting Gorey to finish their All Ireland series, was part of the hom

Enniscorthy’s second string u-17 side, The Eagles, minus a couple of regulars, put up their best performance of the season to defeat an under strength, but very game Tullow side under lights in Tullow on Thursday night last. Enniscorthy’s try scorers were Conor Farrell, Martin Breen and two superb e

Enniscorthy under 17 , after their disappointing exit from Leinster League at semi final stage and their subsequent exit from the cup showed character and tremendous fighting spirit to qualify for South East League Final. Enniscorthy were slow to settle with Carlow dominating possession before Marti

ERFC u13s played their south/east league development shield semi final on sat (2nd) against Tullow. Right from the start Enniscorthy asserted there intention with a charge staight into the middle, Josh Martin winning back possession. Scrum half Billy Wickham sending quick ball out to the backs, 

Enniscorthy under 17 after an exciting Leinster League campaign going out in semi by minimum margin to Mullingar , took another tumble when been out muscled by a much stronger physical side to crash out of Leinster Cup on home soil, to a side who will go a long way in the competition. Enniscorthy ha

IT WAS understandably a nervy performance considering what was at stake and, as a result, they made hard work of it on Sunday last, but Enniscorthy did eventually win this crucial Leinster League Division 1B tie to ensure promotion to next season's top flight.
Wicklow were leading at half-time 9-7 after the home side stuttered their way through it.
They did improve in the second-half, as outhalf Ivan Poole scored a superb try to put Enniscorthy in front, and he then kicked the conversion. Poole had also scored a try in the opening half.
Scrum-half Alan Jacob picked up an injury very early in the match but his replacement, Ian Hemmingway, had a fine game. Declan O'Brien also picked up a calf injury and he was replaced by one of last year’s Under-19s, John Bracken.
Team manager Stellah Sinnott said: ‘I am very happy for the lads. It has been a long season and okay we stumbled a little bit in the last couple of weeks, but we got to the finishing line. The last ten minutes today were as bad as standing on the line in Croke Park, it was really nervy as we didn't want to blow it and have to travel to the league leaders, Garda, next Sunday looking for a win’.
‘It is now that the hard work begins as we prepare for next season. We need to strenghten the team in certain areas and we will start on that very soon. There is also another dimension to next season, as we will have to play our matches on Saturday and there are quite a lot of the lads lucky enough to have work who are working on Saturdays, but I suppose it is a nice problem to have. We have a very successful under-age system which is producing some outstanding talent and I know some of them will break through’.

THERE WAS heartbreak for Enniscorthy, the Leinster Under-19 Cup holders, when the lost this tight, stormy match. Enniscorthy's lack of discipline cost them dearly when they had four players yellow-carded during the match, although Carlow had two players yellow-carded and one red-carded.
The refer

Enniscorthy U17 Eagles travelled to Gordon Park in Clondalkin to replay their  Culliton Cup fixture against the West Dublin team, having drawn two weeks ago. Clondalkin showed their intention from the kick off when Conor Breen had to leave the pitch after a high tackle, which went unpunished. T

THIS LEINSTER League Under-14 final was a terrific match and a testament to rugby in the county when the two best teams in Leinster are from Wexford. Enniscorthy ran the ball at will in the first-half and it paid dividends as they ran in three tries. Although they failed to convert any of them, they

Enniscorthy Panthers returned to winning ways last Sunday in their Leinster League Division 4 match against Newbridge. After recent cup losses to more experienced teams the Enniscorthy novices eventually showed some of their potential by running in 5 tries for a bonus point victory.

Enniscorthy under 17 left Leinster League semi final behind them in Wicklow against a good Mullingar side, despite outscoring them three tries to two, by failing to take advantage of other opportunities and failure to close out game when leading by 10 points with fifteen minutes to go, it took a suc

1st Prize - Ireland v England - Ann Gallagher, Dunmore East
2nd Prize - Ireland v France - Barry Nolan, Davidstown
3rd Prize - Ireland Jersey - John Stafford, Davidstown
4th Prize - Hamper - Tom Hipwell
5th Prize - Hamper - Mikey Nolan, Glenbrien
6th Prize - Hamper - Keith Byrne, Glenbrien

Enniscorthy Panthers played their opening pool game of the Leinster Provincial Cup last Sunday in New Ross. The newly formed team , playing in the development league were always going to be up against it, playing New Ross who ply their trade in Division 3. And so it turned ou

Enniscorthy U-14 team emerged as winners after an epic match against Naas, played out on a wet and windy afternoon, last Saturday.  From the outset, the Slaneysiders played the match in the

Enniscorthy Panthers 37 – Old Belvedere 0

Enniscorthy Panthers, the clubs newly formed womens rugby team, took another huge step in their development on a windy rain soake

Saturday 27th November:

CANCELLED DUE TO SNOW
Under 17 home v Wexford 1:00 :: Under 17 Eagles home v Wicklow 12:00 :: Under 14 away v Wexford 12:30 :: Under 13 away v Wexford 12:30

Sunday 28st November:
Ireland v Argentina - Aviva Stadium - 2:30

Check the new Results Page for results, match reports and League Tables.

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From now on match reports can be found on the Fixtures/Results page, just click the Read>> link next to the fixture.

Sunday 12th September was another significant date in the continued development of Enniscorthy RFC. Barnhall RFC in Kildare was the location of the very first games played by the newly formed Enniscorthy RFC’s Wome

Dear Member,

Enniscorthy Rugby club made good progress in 2009/10 both on and off the field, this was down to our committed officers, none more so than our recently retired treasurer Tom Murphy who managed our accounts with military precision and our ultra efficient secretary Rory Fanning, ba

Enniscorthy Women’s team will participate in Development League Blitz at Barnhall RFC on Sunday. Full details can be found here.

“A step too far”, well we were about to find out where local club rugby in Leinster really was !

The day dawned grey with scudding clouds and a strong wind; the stern day greeted our convoy as it left the comfort of Swansea University and drove off for the steel works at Port Talbot.
The c

Following the success of summer tag rugby and the subsequent ladies tag rugby on Tuesday nights, Enniscorthy RFC are forming a women's rugby team. We will participate in the Leinster Rugby Womens Development League

Training commences on Wed 1st September and continues every Wednesday night at

The season is on us already with all youth teams that is under 19, 17 , 15 and 13 returning to training next Thursday night 02/09/10 @ 7.30.p.m. and every Tuesday and Thursday at 7.30.p.m. for rest of the season. Each team has a good strong management and coaching structure for the year hopefully we

With something of a new-look side, Enniscorthy easily accounted for home team Rathdrum to win the deferred South East League final of 2010 on Saturday last. This final is normally played in January, but the harsh weather at the start of this year meant that it could not take place.

Enniscorth

The 2010 Bud Light Tag season at Enniscorthy RFC finally came to an exciting end last Saturday night...

At a packed Ross Road venue, finals night climaxed with the 3 Cup Finals taking place under the new floodlights. And what a season it has been! From the “Try for Free” open nights way back

Enniscorthy  Rugby youths/mini awards were held  last Saturday night, after a very successful season, in which their under 17 side won the Leinster Premier League and battled through to the IRFU All Ireland Final to be narrowly beaten by an exceptional Waterpark XV, the under 19 collected

Enniscorthy’s Under-19 team won the Leinster Cup final in Donnybrook on Bank holiday Monday, beating Boyne 15-13 in an enthralling encounter.
It was obvio

Enniscorthy under 17 odyssey in this All Ireland League series ended in disappointment at the final hurdle when they encountered a  strong Waterpark outfit and despite a courageous and inve

Enniscorthy under 17 were crowned Leinster League Premier Champions and progress to All Ireland semi final v Ulster champions on 10/04/