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RTÉ News
30-04-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Record-breaking Munster prop Stephen Archer to retire
Munster stalwart Stephen Archer is to retire at the end of the season. The 37-year-old tighthead prop is the only Munster player to have made over 300 appearances for the club. Archer, capped twice by Ireland in 2013, joined the Munster academy in 2007 and made his professional debut two years later. The Cork Con man played a central role in Munster's URC title success in 2023 with a number of outstanding performances at the business end of the season, making 15 appearances over the campaign. Archer, who also won the Celtic League title in 2011, became Munster's most-capped player of all time against Leinster in November 2023, eclipsing Donncha O'Callaghan's record of 268. He said: "When I made my first Munster appearance in 2009, it was a dream come true. To still be playing 16 years on as Munster's most-capped player is fairly surreal and something I'm very proud of. "Playing for Ireland was a huge honour and something I will always remember as a standout moment in my career. "In all the Munster dressing rooms I've been a part of, there has always been a great bond between the players. "I used to enjoy having the craic with the older players when I came in and now I'm the older player having the craic with the younger fellas. That's always been the way in Munster. "That team bond is what I will miss most. "I've shared the dressing room with special team-mates and we've had some of the world's best coaches – I have a lot to thank them for. "I'd like to thank my parents and siblings for their support and encouragement over the years. "I'd also like to thank the Munster supporters, I think the majority appreciate my effort and work ethic and I'm grateful to them for that. "Most importantly, I'd like to give a massive thanks to my wife Kelly, she has sacrificed a lot to allow me concentrate on rugby for all these years and that is something I will always be grateful for." An All-Ireland League winner with Cork Con in 2010, Archer won his first senior Ireland cap as a replacement against Italy in the 2013 Six Nations in Rome, with his second against Australia in the Guinness Series later that year. Head of Rugby Operations and interim head coach Ian Costello said: "Archie has made a massive contribution to the province since joining the Academy in 2007 and is a hugely popular member of the squad. "To have enjoyed such longevity in the game and played so many games for Munster shows his quality as a player but also his dedication, perseverance and character as a person. "We are delighted that he's going out on his own terms and to have reached the 300-cap landmark is an incredible achievement that may never be matched. "He has had brilliant support from his family and I'm sure everyone at Cork Constitution, CBC and UCC are very proud of his achievements in the game. "We'll miss Archie but wish him, his wife Kelly and all his family the very best for the future." Munster are currently ninth in the URC table with two games, against Ulster and Benetton, left in the regular season.
Irish Examiner
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
'We ran out of time but history doesn't lie': Cork Con know how hard it is to win back-to-back AIL titles
Cork Constitution's dream of landing back-to-back Energia All Ireland League titles may have come up agonisingly short but the Temple Hill club are committed to the idea the feat has not become impossible to achieve. Clontarf's 22-21 Division 1A final victory at Aviva Stadium last Sunday ended Cork Con's hopes of becoming the first team since Shannon in the mid-2000s to successfully retain the crown they had won 12 months earlier. It was also the third successive defeat of a defending champion in a league decider as the Dublin side regained the title they last enjoyed in 2022. The Castle Avenue club had lost the 2023 title to Terenure, who in turn had their reign ended by Constitution. Those three consecutive years of final heartache underline the size of the task of defending the AIL title and Cork Con defence coach Brian Scott said: 'Last year we felt the ecstasy of winning and you feel agony today. 'It's quite evident it's a hard thing to do, back-to-back, but I don't think it was from lack of trying, to be fair. It was a tight game and our lads gave it everything and we fought to the bitter end. In a way you feel like we ran out of time but history doesn't lie, I suppose, and it's showing us that it is hard to go back-to-back. 'But there is going to be someone else, there has to be and hopefully it's not next year and we get another chance at it, but someone else will definitely back it up at some stage.' Clontarf head coach Andy Wood empathised with the Cork Con contingent and said: 'We've been there on the other side too often to mention, but a huge amount of respect for Con, what they bring. 'They do bring it to a stage where it's going to be a one-score game, all the way through the season and it proved again. 'They scored last and it took a huge defensive set and then a great turnover from our supersub Oran Walsh, who came on and did a fantastic job. So a sort of microcosm of how our season's gone on.' Clontarf skipper and try-scoring hooker Dylan Donnellan also acknowledged how tough it had been to get over the line in a gripping encounter at the Aviva. 'It was one of those games that you really just need to manage your way through because as we saw, one point is what gets you out on the other side,' Donnellan said. 'There was never really any breathing space, even when we went eight points ahead, we were eight points ahead for two or three minutes and then it claws you back in again. 'So it is a tough game to manage and that speaks to the quality of Con, the quality of the AIL as a league and the quality of our team and what we could put out on the day.' Scott was optimistic there was plenty of rugby left in the Johnny Holland-coached Con squad, despite Sunday's agony. 'We definitely have some guys who won't be with us next year but the bulk of that team is there and hopefully we'll see more and more of them. 'They just continue to impress me from a coaching perspective. I really feel like this group probably struggled at times throughout the year and they just kept stepping up and being mature. The ownership that led to the growth to actually get us back here, like we lost to Lansdowne and Clontarf and people were writing us off going into the play-offs but there we are and we got a chance to defend it today. We just didn't get over the line unfortunately.'
The 42
27-04-2025
- Sport
- The 42
21-year-old Cooney stars as Clontarf dethrone Cork Constitution
Clontarf 22 Cork Constitution 21 Dave Mervyn reports from the Aviva Stadium BRINGING BACK MEMORIES of their 2016 Joey Carbery-inspired final win, Hugh Cooney stamped his mark all over Clontarf's riveting 22-21 victory over defending champions Cork Constitution at the Aviva Stadium. Carbery was a Leinster Academy player when he steered Clontarf to their second Energia All-Ireland League title, and the 21-year-old Cooney followed suit with a player-of-the-match performance today that saw him score a try, save one, and supply two try assists. A 74th-minute converted score from Connor Fahy, Cooney's 20-year-old centre partner, was just enough to get Clontarf over the finish line, despite Cork Constitution replying through replacement Jacob Sheahan with three minutes left. It is a fourth Division 1A crown for Andy Wood's men, and their first since 2022. With Cork Con missing out on retaining the top flight trophy, Shannon remain the last team to go back-to-back in the mid-2000s. Advertisement James Taylor, the player-of-the-match in last year's final, converted tries from Sean French (27 minutes) and Adam Maher (38) as Cork Con twice came from behind to lead 14-12 at half-time. Armed with the vast majority of the possession and territory, Clontarf should have been in front but Conor Kelly, the division's top points scorer, uncharacteristically missed two penalty attempts and pulled a conversion wide. The talismanic Cooney crossed and set up Clontarf captain Dylan Donnellan's 15th try of the season. The table toppers failed to take advantage of Ronán O'Sullvan's sin-binning, but Kelly was back on target with a 46th-minute penalty. It remained 15-14 to 'Tarf with Taylor and Kelly both missing penalties, before Wexford youngster Fahy, in his first year at the club, stormed over for a cracking try which Kelly converted, putting eight points in it. Sheahan rallied Cork Con by bursting over off a lineout maul, with Taylor's crisp conversion restoring the one-point gap. However, lively replacement Oran Walsh came up with a late turnover to seal a famous All-Ireland senior and Under-20 double for 'Tarf. Clontarf scorers: Tries: Hugh Cooney, Dylan Donnellan, Connor Fahy; Cons: Conor Kelly 2; Pen: Conor Kelly Cork Constitution scorers: Tries: Sean French, Adam Maher, Jacob Sheahan; Cons: James Taylor 3
RTÉ News
27-04-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Hugh Cooney is Clontarf hero in win over Cork Constitution
Bringing back memories of their 2016 Joey Carbery-inspired final win, Hugh Cooney stamped his mark all over Clontarf's riveting 22-21 victory over defending champions Cork Constitution at Aviva Stadium. Carbery was a Leinster Academy player when he steered Clontarf to their second Energia All-Ireland League title, and the 21-year-old Cooney followed suit with a player-of-the-match performance today that saw him score a try, save one, and supply two try assists. A 74th-minute converted score from Connor Fahy, Cooney's 20-year-old centre partner, was just enough to get Clontarf over the finish line, despite Cork Constitution replying through replacement Jacob Sheahan with three minutes left. It is a fourth Division 1A crown for Andy Wood's men, and their first since 2022. With Cork Con missing out on retaining the top flight trophy, Shannon remain the last team to go back-to-back in the mid-2000s. James Taylor, the player of the match in last year's final, converted tries from Sean French (27 minutes) and Adam Maher (38) as Cork Con twice came from behind to lead 14-12 at half-time. Armed with the vast majority of the possession and territory, Clontarf should have been in front but Conor Kelly, the division's top points scorer, uncharacteristically missed two penalty attempts and pulled a conversion wide. The talismanic Cooney (above) crossed and set up Clontarf captain Dylan Donnellan's 15th try of the season. The table-toppers failed to take advantage of Ronán O'Sullvan's sin-binning, but Kelly was back on target with a 46th-minute penalty. It remained 15-14 to Tarf, with Taylor and Kelly both missing penalties, before Wexford youngster Fahy stormed over for a cracking try which Kelly converted, putting eight points in it. Sheahan rallied Cork Con by bursting over off a lineout maul, with Taylor's crisp conversion restoring the one-point gap. However, lively replacement Oran Walsh came up with a late turnover to seal a famous All-Ireland senior and Under-20 double for Tarf.
Irish Examiner
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Clontarf edge Cork Con by one point in tense AIL final to regain title
Energia Men's AIL Division 1A final: Clontarf 22 Cork Constitution 21 Clontarf regained the Energia Men's All Ireland League title at the expense of defending champions Cork Constitution as they edged a tense Division 1A final by a single point in Dublin on Sunday. A late Connor Fahy try converted by Conor Kelly was enough to prevent Cork Con from becoming the first back-to-back AIL champions since Shannon won the second of their three-in-a-row titles 20 years earlier but the Dubliners were made to fight every inch of the way. Man of the match Hugh Cooney, the Leinster academy and former Ireland U20 centre, had opened the scoring after a dominant opening quarter from the Castle Avenue club but Cork Con were never out of the running to retain the crown they had won in a thrilling 2024 final win over then-titleholders Terenure. Sean French replied with a try for Con soon after and there was a further exchange of five-point scores as Clontarf hooker and skipper Dylan Donnellan's try was matched by Cork scrum-half Adam Maher, James Taylor's two conversion to Kelly's one success from the tee the difference at half-time. In this second year of a women's and men's final double-header at the Aviva, the latter contest had followed the pattern of the earlier decider, Clontarf dominating the early proceedings just as Railway Union had against UL Bohemian but having to wait 22 minutes before producing a score to match. In this instance, Clontarf fly-half Conor Kelly had missed two penalties before his side finally made the breakthrough and the Dubliners had also been held up under the posts. No.8 John Vinson had been making great ground with big carries through the Cork Con midfield and it was an upfield charge that had seen the ball reach Cooney, the Leinster academy centre with URC experience picking up the baton and feeding hooker and captain Dylan Donnellan to charge over, only for Con full-back George Coomber to effect an excellent try-saving challenge on 13 minutes. The pressure finally told nine minutes later when Cooney finished with a long outstretched arm, though Kelly missed the conversion. As with the women's final, the hard-fought lead was quickly extinguished as Con replied within five minutes, scrum-half Maher breaking open a period of concerted phase play on the Clontarf line to feed outside centre Sean French, the former Munster and Bedford Blues wing finishing from close-range to level the scores before James Taylor's conversion made it 7-5 to the Leesiders. Clontarf were at their most potent punching up the middle and consolidated another period of possession through a scrum and penalty before Cooney fed Donnellan with an offload that put the hooker in for the try he had been denied earlier in the half. Kelly's conversion made it 12-7 but back came Cork Con from a scrum in midfield, the excellent Maher transforming from provider to try scorer three minutes before the break, Taylor's conversion making 14-12. It still needed some resolute defence to keep Clontarf at bay before half-time, as the Dublin northsiders went to their trusted lineout drive to apply the pressure. It earned them some ground when Con flanker Ronán O'Sullivan was yellow carded with the clock on 40 minutes as he charged in from the side but Clontarf could not make their one-man advantage pay and it was their rivals ability to reach the break unscathed which felt like the most telling final act of the first half. Kelly edged Clontarf back in front at 15-14 with a penalty on 46 minutes as Con began the second half still a man down but that was the extent of their impact on the scoreboard during the sin-binning. At their full complement, Con were enjoying the lion's share of second-half possession but themselves came up against a brick wall in the Clontarf defence, Cooney with a superb tackle on a fast-breaking Maher on 59 minutes five metres from the line while Taylor missed a penalty kick from a little under 40 metres out two minutes later. Cooney was everywhere in defence and won a crucial ruck penalty but Con continued to apply pressure, only for a loose pass on the right to fall onto the boot of Clontarf's Peter Maher, the wing hacking upfield with two kicks before his attempt to pick up ended with a knock-on, the tryline begging. It was a huge let-off for the Corkonians but there was no escaping Clontarf's next attack the Dubliner's with a huge overlap down the right and centre Connor Fahy scoring, Kelly's conversion making it 22-14, seven minutes from time. Again there was no let-up, Constitution hitting back through replacement Jacob Sheahan with three minutes to go, Taylor's conversion bringing the contest back to a one-point game. Luckily for Clontarf, the clock was on their side, with only 90 seconds to hold onto their narrow lead, just enough to bring the title back to Castle Avenue. CLONTARF: T Bird; A Smith, H Cooney, C Fahy, P Maher; C Kelly, S Owens; C Ward (C Bateman, 70), D Donnellan – captain, B Griffin; F Gilbert, J Peters (L Brady, 66); C Smith, A Coleman, J Vinson (O Walsh, h-t). Replacements not used: D Adamson, W Reilly, S Ryan, J Conroy, A Amaniampong. CORK CONSTITUTION: G Coomber (J Taylor, 73); D Hurley (R Jermyn, 57), S French, N Kenneally, M Bowen; J Taylor (E Smyth, 66), A Maher (L Kahn, 72); M Donnelly, B Scannell (D Sheahan, 58), L Masters (C Connolly, h-t; Good, 73); S Duffy (J Sheahan, 72), J Forde; J Kelleher, R O'Sullivan (E Quilter, 66), D Hyland - captain. Referee: Keane Davison (IRFU).
