Dave McSharry claims Player of the Month

Connacht’s sensational centre Dave McSharry has been voted as this month’s Connacht Player of the Month and was presented with his award by Richard Hartmann from Hartmanns of Galway.

This season Connacht Rugby have teamed up Hartmanns of Galway and Tag Heuer (the official timekeepers of the 2011 World Cup) to present the Player of the Month award with an official Tag Heuer watch. This exclusive prize is awarded to players who have shown extraordinary
commitment not only to the game itself, but to the club, his team-mates and to the greater community.

Connacht Rugby’s Head Coach Eric Elwood spoke about Dave’s nomination saying:

“Dave is an exceptional young rugby player and has shown all the characteristics necessary to be a thoroughly deserved winner of this award. His commitment on the pitch is matched by his attitude off the pitch and in the short space of time he has been at Connacht he has proven himself to be a valuable member of the club.”

Speaking about the award Dave said:

 "I’m delighted to receive this award; it’s a huge honour to be chosen as the Player of the Month. We all try our hardest and it’s great to see that effort rewarded with a prize like this."

Pictured recieving the Player of the Month award from Richard Hartmann is Dave McSharry

Connacht Rugby have teamed up with the Galway Bay Golf Resort. The partnership sees two of the West’s most vibrant sporting organisations join together to offer supporters some fantastic deals.

With very competitive subscription rates, an annual membership of just €980 (including 3 complimentary green fees, €30 catering vouchers and €25 driving range tokens) and facilities that are unrivalled in Ireland the Galway Bay Golf Resort is the ideal partner for Connacht Rugby.

At the launch of the partnership were Connacht players and keen golfers John Muldoon (handicap 6), Eoghan Grace (handicap 5), Niall O’Connor (handicap 2) and Andrew Browne (handicap 7).

Connacht’s Team manager Tim Allnutt said:

“This is a great partnership for us, the facilities at the Galway Bay Golf Resort are second to none and it’s a great way for our players to unwind as well as maintain a competitive past-time outside of rugby. As a team we will be using it regularly and we also look forward to entertaining visiting team’s directors and hosting our annual am/am here as well.”

“We share a lot of common values with the Galway Bay Golf Resort. Their membership package is loaded with value in a similar fashion to our season tickets and they have a huge emphasis on junior golf (with a 10 fold increase in junior members this year alone) which reflects Connacht Rugby’s commitment to youth rugby and developing the stars of the future.”

Pictured at the launch: Club Pro Ray Ryan, Connacht's Eoghan Grace, Andrew Browne, John Muldoon, TJ Anderson and Sales & Marketing Manager GBGR Shane O'Maille

Connacht got off to a flying start in this Heineken Cup Round 4 match in Kingsholm pinning the hosts deep inside their own half with strong pressure from the forwards. Gloucester were first on the scoreboard though with a penalty from Tim Taylor after 7 minutes. Connacht were next up when a Frank Murphy intercept brought Gavin Duffy and George Naoupu into play and when George was brought down 3m from the line Tiernan O’halloran was on hand to receive the offload and score the try. Niall O’Connor converted to give Connacht a deserved lead. Taylor crashed over for a Gloucester try after 20 minutes which he converted but Connacht finished out the half the stronger of the two sides with O’Connor adding two penalties giving the visitors a 13 10 lead at the break.

Connacht came out all guns blazing in the second half and 5 minutes in Niall O’Connor extended the lead with a penalty kick. Connacht were then forced into a long spell of defence but the line held firm and it wasn’t until the 57^th minute that Freddie Burns had a shot at goal bringing Gloucester back to within 3 points. He levelled the score 10 minutes later when Gloucester were awarded a penalty from a lineout on the 10m line. Connacht got stuck in from the restart and after Gavin Duffy fed Tiernan O’Halloran through a gap Connacht were awarded a penalty in front of the posts which Niall O’Connor converted. With 4 minutes left on the clock a gap in the Connacht defence left Jonny May free to score in the corner and he converted he try to give Gloucester a 4 point lead which they held onto to win the game.

Connacht:

Gavin Duffy ©, Mark McCrea, Eoin Griffin, Dave McSharry, Tiernan O’Halloran, Niall O’Connor, Frank Murphy, Brett Wilkinson, Ethienne Reynecke, Ronan Loughney, George Naoupu, Mike McCarthy, Dave Gannon, Johnny O’Connor, John Muldoon

Replacements:

Adrian Flavin, Dylan Rogers, Rodney Ah You, Mick Kearney, Eoin McKeon, Paul O’Donohoe, Matthew Jarvis, Kyle Tonetti

Gloucester

Olly Morgan, Charlie Sharples, Mike Tindall, Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, James Simpson-Daniel, Tim Taylor, Nick Runciman, Dan Murphy, Scott Lawson, Rupert Harden, Peter Buxton, Big Jim Hamilton, Brett Deacon, Andy Hazell, Luke Narraway

Replacements:

Matias Cortese, Nick Wood, Shaun Knight, Will James, Akapusi Qera, Rory Lawson, Freddie Burns, Jonny May  

Pics (C) www.inpho.ie / James Crombie