Bucaneers Notes

Nenagh provide Saturday's opposition

Buccaneers travel to Lisatunny to take on Nenagh on Saturday. Kick off is 2.30 p.m.

    The Tipperary side has had an encouraging start to the league and will be a stiff hurdle to overcome on their own ground. They have a strong Connacht connection in their coaching team with Ivan Muldoon being assisted by Josh Rowland, the former Ireland Sevens player who featured a few times for Buccs.

   Hooker John Healy is a dynamic forward in a strong pack led by their captain John Hayes at No.8. Rowland will be joined in the backline by Kiwi outhalf Clayton Stewart who has rejoined from Young Munster. Teenage winger Conor O’Brien is an exciting prospect while Gerard O’Gorman and Willie Coffey are two other decent operators in the Tipperary club’s backs unit.

   Buccaneers will draw encouragement from their win over Ballymena but much will depend on the make-up of their match day squad. Shane Layden and Torin Rensford are ruled out through injury but Callum Boland, Corey Reid and Rory Moloney, not risked in the Cup defeat to Corinthians, will hopefully be fit to start. Darragh Corbett and Max Kennedy both went off in the Cup game and are injury concerns but Christian Maulaulau will be sure to start on this occasion as should Eoghan O’Reilly and possibly Rory O’Connor. Oisin Kiernan will add decent bulk and experience to the front row.

  Since the advent of the AIL meetings with Nenagh have been rare and, hopefully, the John McCormack Cup will be revived for the club’s fixture at Dubarry Park later in the season. But, for now, a tough contest is in prospect but if the Athlone side performs smartly and pragmatically and matches the physicality of the hosts, then an away win can be achieved.

Other Fixtures

It is a busy weekend for Buccaneers especially on Sunday with three fixtures being played at Dubarry Park. Buccs U-20’s will be striving to get their  J.P.Fanagan Leinster League campaign back on track when they square up to fellow Connacht club NUIG. This Premier 2 Division encounter gets under way at 3 p.m.

Slightly earlier Buccaneers have a double header with Connemara with the J1’s facing the Connacht Junior 1A League leaders and the J2’s also playing the Blacks in their league. These two matches both kick off at 2.30 p.m.