Meath rugby players impress across the board

Ireland coach Declan Kidney was on hand to watch two of Meath's up-and-coming rugby players make their mark on the international stage at Donnybrook on Saturday. Tighthead prop Peter Reilly from Ratoath and full-back Ross Jones from Navan, both students at Castleknock College, starred for the Ireland u-18 Schools team in an emphatic 60-3 win over Italy. The two youngsters are already members of the Leinster Academy and are regarded by their coaches at Castleknock as two of the finest prospects in the province. Their international call-up is a major boost for Castleknock College ahead of the forthcoming Leinster Senior Schools campaign and is also a welcome recognition for the Coolmine club where they served their rugby apprenticeship. "It was a great honour to wear the Ireland jersey and both Ross and myself were delighted with the way the game went and the result," said Reilly. Last weekend also proved to be memorable for other Meath players but on a completely different level. Denis Hurley scored a superb try as Munster travelled to the Stade Aime Giral and came away with a highly impressive 37-14 victory over the French champions Perpignan on Sunday. Starting the game in his new-found position of left wing Hurley grabbed his try on the hour mark. Wian du Preez and Tomas O'Leary were involved in the move, the ball was swung out to Paul Warwick who put Hurley through. The former Navan player cut inside with pace and power to get past a few tackles and make it across the tryline. Hurley grabbed his touchdown after he had temporarily reverted to full back to indirectly fill in for Ronan O'Gara who had been harshly sent to the sin-bin for making a tackle before an opponent had received the ball. Former St Colmcille's and Meath minor footballer Niall Ronan also made a contribution to the highly impressive victory when he came on for the final 13 minutes. On Saturday afternoon Leinster took a big step towards qualifying for the knock-out stages of the Heineken Cup when they trounced Llanelli Scarlets 39-7 at the RDS. Shane Horgan grabbed a sensational try to cap a performance that suggests the Bellewstown player is well on the way back to his best. Horgan intercepted a pass close to his own tryline and sprinted up the field with a posse of red-shirted players behind him. Switching on the after-burners Horgan couldn't be caught and he raced away to get a try that was almost as special as the touchdown he managed the previous week against the Welsh side when he bobbed and weaved his way through to score. Ashbourne will host three ladies Six-Nation internationals in February.