THE plan was to have every member of the Towns Cupwinning Boyne rugby team on the stage to receive the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Sport Star of the Year dinner.

But clearly the hunger to make a successful defence of the trophy took precedence over basking in the glories of last year when the Drogheda side captured the famous trophy for the first time.

Monthly winner Eoin Collins – the sole member of the squad in attendance – was under orders to make a quick exit after the awards ceremony, and it was some of the club's leading committee men who were on hand to support him on the night.

In the event, Boyne continued their winning sequence by the skin of their teeth the following afternoon – 29-24 away to Portlaoise – giving them food for thought as they begin their Towns Cup defence with a second-round tie away to Tullow next Sunday.

Director of rugby at Boyne, Robert Doran – who accepted the Outstanding Achievement Award – explained afterwards: 'That's the level of professionalism and detail that our coach Craig McGrath brings to the club.

'If you look at it one way, he went from the Heineken Cup to playing for Boyne six months later.

'My friends are the people in Boyne and he counts Doug Howlett among his. He's been coached by the current All Blacks coach Graham Henry.

'It's no wonder he was so successful last year, but that's old news now and we can't be complacent and rest on our laurels.

'There's nothing tangible about the league match in Portlaoise [Boyne were already guaranteed to finish second in the Division 1A table], but it's all about momentum for the Cup. We felt our success last year was due to momentum and building up an unbeaten run.'

This is the third consecutive year that Boyne have faced Tullow in the Towns Cup. Last season the Drogheda men prevailed unconvincingly – 14-6 – at Shamrock Lodge and in 2008 Tullow caused something of an upset as they made home advantage count.

They completed their league campaign on Sunday with a 23-0 loss away to Coolmine who secured the Division 1B title as a result, but a 16-13 win over the same opposition in the reverse fixture a few weeks back showed what Tullow are capable of on home ground. Could the prospect of sending the defending Towns Cup champions packing spur on the men from Black Gates?

'We're there to be shot at and we're probably the team everybody wants to beat,' acknowledged Doran.

'It's going to be extremely tough. They beat us down in Tullow two years ago and we beat them up here with difficulty. But if we want to win the Cup we have to win in places like Tullow.

'If we impose our game on them we should have no excuses, but if we allow them to impose their game on us then we could have a long afternoon.'

Defeat would certainly be a setback, but whatever the outcome Boyne's best ever league finish and the club's seemingly relentless ability to develop fresh new talent should ensure that it continues to go from strength to strength.

It's no fluke that internationals Shane Horgan, Niall Ronan and Mark McHugh all came through the youth system here in Drogheda, while another former Boyne player – Shane Monahan – is destined for the top, having already won a Grand Slam with Ireland Under-20s.

'I'm very happy that our Under-19s and 17s are getting strong again, and hopefully we can start another great conveyor belt,' Doran concluded.

- Marcus CAVAROLI