Hymns and Arias
If Warren Gatland is one thing, it’s a winner. Rumoured to already have the Lions 2021 job in the bag, he head’s off to the World Cup with Wales for the last time with a smile on his oft grumpy face.
Joe Schmidt on the other hand is now where Eddie Jones was this time last year, and Eddie Jones is, well, who knows where.
Joe’s plan to have the roof open of the Principality Stadium backfired badly, if the idea was to keep the noise down, the Welsh just sang louder. The wet, slippery ball multiplied the Irish error count, and subsequent penalty tsunami, so after the first 1 minute and 13 seconds of play, all Wales had to do was take their kicks. It was like the 80’s all over again.
Winner Alright
Enough of that though, all you really want to know is who won the F6NF2019. So will Gerry Kelly please stand up?
Final Table
1 Gerry Kelly 157
2 Ed Roche 155
3 Richie Joyce 146
4 Lorenzo Carpanini 145
5 Kieran Kelly 138
6 Frances Caffrey 136
7 Eoai Keogh 130
8 Emer O’Byrne 127
9 Jim Glennon 124
10 Gavin Flynn 123
After a close run contest and a low scoring last round, Kelly G displaced Carpanini L from top spot to take the title. “I am over the moon” said Kelly from his training pod in Kennedy Space Station. “After winning the Euro millions there I thought nothing could top that, but this has to be the best feeling in the world! I will be taking the trophy into space with me”
Gerry wins the top prize of €1,000.
What the runners up said:
Ed Roche “Delighted to be up there but devastated to be pipped at the post”
Richie Joyce “Very happy to put Skerries rugby on the map with a bronze medal. About time the Northside got a bit of recognition”
Lorenzo Carpanini “Oh not again, this competition is definitely a fix. I’m not happy with Eddie Jones though, not happy at all”
Kieran Kelly “Your joking! I’m always cat at this! Can I have a trophy for 5th place?”
Prizes, Prizes
Top of the 5th Weekend table and winner of the Leo Lynch Final Furlong was John Hogan, quantity surveyor from Haddington Road. “That’s great, thanks very much, I finished nowhere overall and still get a prize, that’s a great competition!”
One of the hottest fought mini battles throughout has been the race to the bottom and the Ethos Engineering Wooden Spoon Award, and two have been neck and neck throughout. Sadly Chengyuan Zhang loses out at the last, to Brian Connolly, who with an impressive –581 points got everything spectacularly wrong.
“I thought I might have my strategy wrong mid way though” said a sanguine Connolly from an undisclosed location in Limerick “but in the end knowing absolutely nothing about rugby paid off. I was close last year, so know how Chengyuan feels about missing out though, maybe next year”.
455 Tara Leonard Smith -184
456 Paul Barrett -312
457 Cathy O’Kearney White -346
458 Ashling O’Toole -466
459 Chengyuan Zhang -538
460 Brian Connolly -581
The GEA Kevin Daly Award, in honour of the engineer himself, goes to the strongest midfield player, the anchor at exactly mid table, goes to Matthew Williams Senior, a long term veteran of the competition. “Thanks very much, and as a Liverpool supporter delighted to be getting the Kevin Daly Award” said Williams. “This is the year!”
Finally, we have the held over Chop House Award, which goes the one of 5 who were closest to nil point last week. This week of Flood, Tansey, Nolan, Kennedy and Goodlad, the most zero based was Margaret Tansey, scoring -15. “Wow that’s brilliant, will I get a tour of the kitchens as well?” asked an overwhelmed Tansey. The proprietor has promised to pull out all the stops.
Thank You
From Aaron Condren to Yvonne Brophy, and the 458 of you in between, our heartfelt thanks to you and all of our sponsors for supporting a wonderful charity once again this year. The final tally will be done in the next week or so as all sponsorship money is counted, awards deducted and the final transfers made, but you’ve done a wonderful job.
So its fitting to leave the last word to the Grand Slam 2019 champions, as they say in the valleys, Sospan fach maes parcio eisteddfod . . .
