For their penultimate fixture of 2025 in the Energia All-Ireland League Division 1B Naas travelled to Limerick, and the famed Dooradoyle to face Garryowen last Saturday afternoon. This young Naas side would have been under no illusions as to the task ahead of them, as their opponents have been All-Ireland champions on no less than three occasions, and is the club where the likes of Keith Wood, Conor Murray, David Wallace and Philip Danahar to name a few hail from. In addition the game was played on a rain sodden pitch which meant that Naas were unable to play their fast brand of open, attacking rugby that they are renowned for. No, for them to obtain victory here every Naas player from 1 to 21 were going to have to match Garryowen in the physical stakes, empty the tank for the full 80 minutes, tackle themselves to a standstill and leave nothing out on the pitch. To their credit, this is what they did and they left Limerick with a famous victory earned.

Naas enjoyed the better of the early exchanges and therefore they will have been extremely disappointed with the concession of the opening score which came after 20 minutes, and which was on the soft side. Tom Wood fielded a Naas clearance kick just outside the ten metre line and he quickly popped a pass inside to J.J. O’Neill, who raced away without a hand being laid on him to score. Tom Wood converted the score that he had started and Garryowen led by seven points to nil.

But Naas responded on a positive note. Their scrum was causing big problems for the Garryowen pack, and after 31 minutes the home side were penalised for collapsing. The subsequent penalty was dispatched to touch, the line-out was won by Oisin Halpin and from this Naas set up a powerful driving maul, which led to Brad Clements crashing over for a try. Paddy Taylor converted to level matters.

Garryowen were back in front after 37 minutes when a powerful surge by Max Clein took play deep inside the Naas 22, and from here there were a series of phases by their forwards before Billy Hayes powered over from close range. Tom Wood was unable to convert this score. There was still time for Naas to grab a score before the interval and they did just that.

In first half injury time Naas were camped in the Garryowen 22, and during this period the home side conceded no less than three penalties. From the third one Tadhg Brophy took a quick tap catching the home defence completely unawares, and raced away to score. Paddy Taylor added the conversion, meaning Naas led 14-12 at the break, a lead that they totally deserved.

Naas nearly increased their lead within four minutes of the resumption when a big driving maul surge took them over the Garryowen line, but the referee deemed the ball was held up and awarded  the home side a goal-line drop-out, however Paddy Taylor was on the mark with a penalty attempt after 49 minutes to make it 17-12 in favour of Naas.

The pitch was beginning to cut up badly now making it a real slog for all the players, but it did not deter Garryowen retaking the lead after 54 minutes. A series of pick and goes by their pack forced Naas right back to their own goal-line and led to Rory Woods forcing his way over. Tom Wood converted to make it 19-17 to Garryowen. The referee Hanru van Rooyen then went back to brandish a yellow card to Eoin Walsh for an earlier infringement, and this action led to much annoyance among the Naas supporters present. In first-half injury time when Naas were attacking Garryowen conceded three penalties without punishment, yet here the visitors were reduced to fourteen men. This was only the second penalty that Naas had conceded all day long, and it is the lack of consistency by some officials that is infuriating. 

Naas were certainly up against it now, trailing on the scoreboard and numerically disadvantaged on the pitch. But they rolled up their sleeves and easily contained anything that Garryowen threw at them for the ten minutes until player parity was restored.

Then on 71st minute came a moment of magic by Donal Conroy. The home side elected to run a ball deep in the Naas half but the move was read brilliantly by Conroy who intercepted and took off a long run towards the Garryowen line. He was never going to be caught and roared on by the visiting supporters he dotted down under the posts. Paddy Taylor added the conversion and Naas led by 24 points to 19.

Garryowen threw everything at Naas in the closing stages in an effort to grab victory, but the visitors were in no mood to yield. There were some heart stopping moments but the bravery of the Naas defence was immense. They stood firm to everything that was thrown at them and after what seemed like an eternity the referee Hanru van Rooyen blew the final whistle and the celebrations could begin.

This was a marvellous day for Naas rugby club and in particular for all the players and coaching staff involved. To go down to Limerick and face a Garryowen side backed by a number of Munster Academy players and to come away victorious is some achievement, and should be cherished for a long time. However Naas have no time to rest on their laurels as they are back in action again next Saturday – December 13th – when they host U.C.C. This game has a 2.30pm kick-off, and as always all support will be greatly appreciated.

Garryowen: Fionn Rowsome, J.J. O’Neill, Alex Wood, Jack Delaney, Daniel O’Connell, Tom Wood, Luca Cleary, George Hadden, Max Clein, Ben Leahy, Jack Costello, Rory Woods, Des Fitzgerald (capt), Billy Hayes, Sean Rennison. Replacements: Johnny Byrne, Mark Fitzgerald, Thymo Peters, James Houlihan, Harry Chittick, Lachlan Stewart.

Naas: Jack Sheridan, Donal Conroy, Charlie Sheridan, Dylan O’Keeffe, David O’Sullivan, Paddy Taylor, Tadhg Brophy, Stephen Lackey, Brad Clements, Adam Deay, James O’Loughlin, James Stockwood, Oisin Halpin, Will O’Brien (capt), Eoin Walsh. Replacements: Tadhg Dooley, Callum Coyne, Darragh Murphy, Muiris Cleary, Cormac King, Fionn O’Hara.

Referee: Hanru van Rooyen.