Tributes flow as captain Muldoon departs Connacht
was to be the end of the scoring for the locals.
The teams turned around at half time with Sligo ahead 10-0 but Seapoint were growing into the game with their well organised defence containing the ball carrying Sligo forwards.
Seapoint opened their account five minutes into the second half with a Bain Champion penalty and then equalised with a converted try from a lineout maul that was almost a carbon copy of Sligo’s first half effort.
Sligo continued to battle, but Seapoint, coached by former Irish International Eric Miller, were well organised and Sligo’s continuous use narrow ‘route one’ tactics failed to stretch the visiting defensive line.
Champion picked up the winning score with a Seapoint penalty with 5 minutes remaining and despite playing the last 5 minutes close to the Seapoint line Sligo failed to break down the visitors’ defence and had to be content with a losing bonus point.
Next week Sligo travel south to face Middleton RFC.
Sligo will need an improvement to get back to the form that brought them to the top of the table and Coach Ross Mannion and his team will be keen to get back on the right track.
SLIGO: Jack Keegan, Calum Goddard, Mark Rooney, Mike Wells, Philip Carter, Mark Butler, Ryan Feehily, Mark Keegan, Shane O’Hehir, Conor Mitchell, James Wilson, Ciaran Cassidy, Shane Boyle ( Capt) Manu Parkin, Matthew Cosgrove Reps: Ross O’Boyle, Shane McGuinness, Matt Davey, Mata Fifita, Niall Gray. CONNACHT Captain Fantastic John Muldoon has announced that following 17 years with the province, he is to retire at the end of the season. The proud Connacht man has represented his home province more than 300 times and captained Connacht to success in the PRO12 Championship in 2016.
The Portumna man said in an emotional post: “Seventeen years, 320 games. Broken bones. Big wins. Bad losses. Dozens of team-mates. Fewer coaches. Europe. Russia. Celtic League. Pro12. Pro14. Flights. Buses. Friends. Supporters. I’ve been so proud to be part of it all, but every journey sadly must come to an end and for me that end will be this season. Thank you all for your endless support. I have been honoured and humbled to wear the Connacht jersey and particularly to be given the opportunity to captain my home province.
“I’d like to thank everyone at Connacht Rugby, especially coaches and players both past and present.
“Also, to My wife Lorna and my wonderful family for their constant support down through the years. The Connacht supporters have also been incredible throughout my career and have made the Sportsground a fortress where I have always been immensely proud to play and represent this fantastic province. I am determined to finish my career on a high and for the remainder of the season I will be doing everything in my power to bring further success to Connacht.”
John Muldoon, CEO of Connacht Rugby, Willie Ruane thanked John for the incredible contribution he has made both on and off the pitch for Connacht. He said: “John Muldoon has represented the people of Connacht with massive pride and he epitomises everything that is great about the west of Ireland.
“John has always remained a very humble, grounded and honest individual, someone we are proud to call one of our own and someone I am extremely proud to have worked with during my own time here. I wish him and his family all the very best in his retirement from the game and in the years beyond,” he added.