Junior Rugby Round Up

Mallow and Newcastle West have wins in the O Sullivan Cup, while Crosshaven and Cobh Pirates will meet in the Cork County Cup. Thurles took the J2 League title, while Highfield won the Tait Cup.

O’Sullivan Cup Semi-Finals: Douglas 19 Mallow 21 Newcastle West 10 Newport 5

Mallow and Newcastle West will the contest the final of the O Sullivan Cup in its inaugural year. League winners Douglas were unable to pull off the double when they were defeated by Mallow in Moneygourney on a score line of 21-19. A drop goal in the last minute of the game from Mallow s Jonathon Eather snatched the victory from Douglas. Douglas Denis O Driscoll scored two tries in the first half, with conversions from DJ Cronin. Eather notched up two penalties to keep the visitors in touch. Eather added to his tally with two penalties in the second half, but Douglas came back with a try from Derek Milton, to leave the score line 19-18. Eather s drop goal gave Mallow the victory, and they now meet Newcastle West in the final. It was certainly a case of a reversal of fortunes for Mallow, who were comprehensively beaten 33-7 by Douglas earlier in the season in the opening game of the league. In the other half of the draw, Newcastle West edged a 10-5 victory over Newport to book their place in the final. A try form Tom Ryan gave Newport a 5-0 lead at half time, but tries in the second half from Dermot Madigan and Adrian Insley gave Newcastle West the victory.

Cork County Cup Semi-Finals: Crosshaven 34 Youghal 16 Old Christians 3 Cobh Pirates 15

Having beaten Charleville in the Fitzgerald Cup final last weekend, Crosshaven are aiming to add another piece of silverware after a convincing 34-16 win over Youghal in the semi final of the County Cup. Youghal went ahead after five minutes with a try from Alan Fox, but Crosshaven s Ritchie Daly followed with a penalty. Daly then converted Rob Barry s 9th minute try to give them a five point lead. Youghal levelled the scoring midway through the first half with a try from Ken Forrest. However, before the break both Sean Conway and Andrew Harrington crossed the line for Crosshaven, with Daly adding another conversion to give them a 22-10 lead at half time. After the break, Terry Dillon kicked a penalty for Youghal. Rob Barry added his second try for Crosshaven, stretching their lead to 27-13. Dillon added another penalty but Youghal s fate was sealed when David Walsh crossed the line for Crosshaven, with Daly converting.

In the other semi final, Old Christians hosted Cobh Pirates in Rathcooney and were unable to see off the challenge, with Cobh Pirates scoring 15 points to Old Christians 3. Cobh Pirates opened the scoring with a try from Niall Walley, which was converted by Brendan Ronan. Old Christians David O Brien bridged the gap with a penalty. In the second half, Brendan Ronan added another penalty before Jim Cotter sealed the victory with a try. The final will take place in Musgrave Park on Thursday night next at 7pm.

Munster Junior 2 League Final: Garryowen 11 Thurles 24

Thurles gained revenge for last week s defeat by Garryowen in the final of the Webb Cup, when they won the Munster Junior Two League trophy for the first time with a 24-11 victory at Thomond Park. The Dooradoyle side led 11-7 at the break with Padraig O Dwyer scoring the Tipperary side s try which Jim Grogan converted. Thurles took the lead with a second try from O Dwyer with Grogan again converting. Grogan made it 17-11 with a penalty and a try from Jason Kavanagh again converted by Grogan made sure that the Tony O Flynn Memorial Cup will rest in the Premier County for the next twelve months.

Tait Cup Final: Corca Dhuibhne 10 Highfield 14

Favourites Highfield claimed the Tait Cup with a win over Corca Dhuibhne, who were playing their first final at the grounds. Having beaten Bandon 27-6 and Tralee 10-5 to reach the final, Highfield were tipped the win the game, but could not have predicted the tremendous effort by the Kerry side. Michael Flaherty scored all of Highfield s points, opening with a try in the thirteenth minute, and adding a penalty before Corca Dhuibhne s Ciaran Slattery kicked a penalty just before half time. Slattery was instrumental in creating Corca Dhuibhne s try, with a break by him resulting in Cathal Mitchell getting the touch down. Slattery added the conversion, to give them a 10-8 lead. Flaherty gave Highfield the edge once more with two penalties added. It was enough to see them through, despite a concerted effort from Corca Dhuibhne in the dying minutes.

Info compiled by Olan Allen