By 
CLOGHER Valley picked up in 2026 where they left off last year by sealing a convincing bonus point victory over Buccaneers to move up to second in Energia All-Ireland League 2B.
After a sluggish start to the season, during which they lost three of their first five fixtures, Stephen Bothwell’s men have regained their stride, winning five on the bounce to firmly cement their place in the promotion picture.
On Saturday, they emphatically announced their arrival into 2026 as a Matthew Bothwell hat-trick of tries and scores from Jamie Allen, Aaron Dunwoody (2) and Taine Haire, as well as five David Maxwell conversions, secured a second successive bonus point win over the Buccs, who they thumped 43-14 at The Cran just before Christmas.
It was far from as straightforward as that, however, as head coach Stephen Bothwell admits he was concerned about the fixture after a festive season of excess, which he feared could have slowed their momentum.
“We were worried about that [fixture] because I wouldn’t say the boys trained well over Christmas, but I got two sessions out of them last week on Tuesday and Thursday and that was about it!” he explained. “They came back Tuesday night and they were like zombies! So, I said it was about getting down here, getting a game plan together and if we can get back up the roads with points, which it was hugely important we did, we’ll get good hard week in next week when we have a week off to get ready for the next game.”
Any concerns of potential post-Christmas sluggishness were soon cast aside, however, as Clogher hit the ground running, putting Buccs to the sword early on as Bothwell (2), Haire and Dunwoody all scored tries to secure the bonus point before the interval, after which they continued to maintain the upper hand, cantering to victory as Bothwell completed his hat-trick at the end after Allen and Dunwoody added to the team’s tally.
Clogher will be glad of a week off on Saturday after several players picked up knocks at Buccs, with Joel Busby suffering a back issue before kick-off, which ruled him out of the game, while the returning Thomas Barnett hurt his ankle, Josh Kyle was suffering from a hip problem and Philip Wilson got hurt too. But there were positives too, with captain, Eugene McKenna coming through his first game back following a knee issue.
Bothwell is hopeful of most of those players being back for the home clash against Skerries on January 24th before they visit Navan and then entertain Enniscorthy during their next block of three fixtures, which he feels will be key if they are to hold onto second place in the table, which would give them home advantage in the promotion play-offs.
“At the finish up we were all over the place [due to the injuries] but the first half hour we were very clinical,” Bothwell beamed. “That was the basis of it. We had the bonus point before half-time, so it’s important we get the everyone back and fighting fit for the next few games, which are against people in the lower half of the table, so it’s important you don’t slip up against them.
“So I’m delighted [to have done the business against Buccs], it’s improved our points difference again, it’s nice.”
