Club News Weekending April 15th 2007

Club news, views and reviews form around the province.

OLD CRESCENT RFC

A very successful week for the club!!

The 1st XV concluded their AIL programme for the season on Saturday last when they hosted Clonakilty for the first time at any level. Our visitors came off an excellent performance in the AIB the previous weekend and had qualified for the Top 4 playoffs. Our side led by Brendan Guilfoyle were determined to finish the season on a winning note.We started brightly and took the lead with a Brian Begley penalty goal. Clonakilty then hit back with 11 points in a 5 minute spell but then our side again took control of proceedings, winning a couple of kickable penalties which were spurned which were to prove costly in the final shake up. Brian Begley kick a second penalty to leave the score at 11 points to 6 for the visitors at the interval.
The second half was an entertaining affair with both sides sides crossing for two tries, but Brian Begley’s kicking ensured us a share of the spoils with a penalty goal and two conversions one of which was the final kick of the game. It finished 23 points all and left us in mid table in the division for the second successive year.
Pride of place this week goes to the 3rds XV who played the treble chasing Shannon in the final of the Webb Cup on Good Friday evening in Tom Clifford Park. Our large squad of players guided by the coaching team of Joe Nix & Dermot Davis put in a huge effort over the past number of weeks and this work was to prove so critical during the Webb cup campaign. In excellent conditions, both sides attempted to play positive rugby but both defences held firm and it was 6 points all at half time with our points coming from two penalty goals from Paul Mc Donagh.
We took the lead ten minutes into the half when after good work from both backs and forwards, Billy Breen capitalised on some hesitancy in the Shannon defence to touch down to give us the lead. Shannon to their credit never gave up and tied up the game shortly thereafter with a try of the their own. It looked like the game was headed to a replay when at the death a penalty decision was reversed by the referee to give Paul Mc Donagh a kick to win the game and with great coolness he slotted the ball between the posts to win the game and the cup for the second time in the club’s history. Well done to all concerned who did the club proud.
The under 20s received a walkover in the North Munster Cup last weekend and now face Garryowen in the semi final with the date and time for this fixture yet to be finalised.
On the under age front, we had visitors from Wales, St Peter on Easter Sunday and they played our under 12s and both sides played an excellent game of rugby in the conditions. We have further visitors this weekend with the under 14 side from Woking visiting the club. It is not all one way traffic as our under 11s travel this weekend to play Wasps & to attend the Wasps vs Northampton Premiership game. They are looking forward to meeting Eoin Reddan and hopefully his current excellent vain of form will continue this weekend. There is training for all other age groups on Sunday commencing at 10am.
We held a Supporters Club Car Draw after the AIL game on Saturday and the winner was N. Hogan – congratulations!!! The next car draw will take place at the club’s AGM which will be held on Wednesday May 23rd at 8pm in the clubhouse.
Those of you who wish to receive our Club Newsletter please forward your e-mail address to dale.harrow@gmail.com

GARRYOWEN FC
Christopher Barry PRO

Our Senior team go in to their final AIL game with an outside chance of qualifying for the top four following their dramatic 12-10 win over Clontarf at Castle Avenue last Saturday. It was a teak tough contest with the outcome in doubt up to the final whistle. We started very lively and some industrious play by our loose forwards yielded two Conor Kilroy penalties, the second a whopping effort from inside his own half. A long range penalty effort by the home out-half Conal Keane looked to be landing short of it’s target but the ball deceived our full back who had the misfortune of guiding the ball into the hands of the chasing ‘Tarf centre Darragh O’Shea for a fortuitous try under the posts. Stunned by this setback we forced our way down field and had regained the lead before the break when Kilroy again found the range from 30m. The second half was a real ding dong contest with an extremely high tackle count being made to avoid concession of precious yards. We stretched our lead to 12-7 with another penalty but from then on had to defend heroically to keep our line intact. Conal Keane reduced the margin with a penalty and O’Shea was inches from the line when felled by a crunching Ciaran O’Boyle tackle. It was a match winning tackle and the large travelling support from Dooradoyle were relieved we were awarded a penalty for not releasing. Our defence was excellent in those palpitating last few minutes and the valuable four points effectively means Shannon or ourselves will qualify on the last day. In the interim we will be attempting to win our second senior trophy of the season when we play Belfast Harlequins in the final of the AIB Cup in Dubarry Park on Saturday. Note the kick off is at 4.00. Supporters buses have been organised and we would urge all our supporters to travel to ensure we bring the cup back to Limerick.
Congratulations to our Junior team who were crowned Munster Junior Cup Champions after they beat UL Bohs 9-7 in the final at Tom Clifford Park last Sunday. It was our first double since 1993 when we also added the Munster Senior Cup. It was a tough honest game with both sides having their periods of supremacy. An early injury to Dave Sherry might have upset the balance of the back-row but Frank McKenna was an able deputy with some good drives in open play. With Captain Eoghan Nihill leading by example, the well drilled Bohs pack was never allowed to dominate sufficiently to bring their three quarters into play. The Robins were first to score when Ian Costello landed a penalty in the 19m. Clear-cut opportunities were scarce enough but we threatened on a couple of occasions notably when Jamie Carroll made a telling break and chipped ahead only for the ball to find touch. The second half started at a cracking pace and we withstood quite a bit of pressure before Willie Staunton equalised in the 51st minute. We took the lead seven minutes later when Willie kicked a majestic effort from inside his own half. Bohs fought back and following a missed dropped goal the referee called play back and Ian Costello restored parity. Our opponents may have rued their decision to kick to touch when a wide-angle penalty chance beckoned inside our 22 in the 75m. We somehow managed to stem the drive off the lineout and when the ball eventually went wide, our hard tacking midfield forced the error. This seemed to give the team confidence and our backs began to move the ball. A number of runs brought play deep into their half. An infringement at a maul in the 79m gave Willie Staunton an opportunity to win the game and he kept his cool once again to slot the decisive score. In fairness the Annacotty side never gave up and a fine tackle by JP Hartigan on Michael Skelton saved the day in the last play of the game. Well done to Damien Fahey, David Hayes and Joe Hassett for their fantastic efforts in preparing the team for this competition. Some of the younger players excelled on the day, notably Neville Melbourne, Declan Lavery, Niall O’Driscoll and John Barry. Dave Heaton was rock solid in midfield with Jamie Carroll, while Cillian O’Boyle and Alan McNamara alternated well throughout. The Staunton family were delighted as the lion-hearted John who packed down on the loose-head side accompanied his brother Willie up to collect their winner’s medals. The incomparable Pat Humphreys was excellent in finding Donald Sheehan and Dave Keane in the lineout. Thankfully the injury incurred by the latter is not as serious as we feared and we send our best wishes to Dave for a speedy recovery. The Under 18’s played their 1st of 2 games on the Easter weekend against York R.F.C. They got off to a great start with Dan Griffin powering his way over for a try converted by Dave Harrington. The boys seemed to relax for a while and allowed the outstanding York 2nd row crash over for 2 unconverted tries. In the second half we played some very exciting rugby with Diarmuid McCarthy getting a great individual try. He chipped over the top on the half way line, caught the ball and raced home for Evan Healy to add the points. Next a break out of defence saw the ball move through a number of hands and Barry Sheehan was in support to touch down under the posts. The York defence was prised open again for Mike Hackett to score in the corner and Barry Sheehan rounded off a great performance with his second try. Evan Healy converted two of the efforts to leave the score 33-10. York made a brave fight back and scored three unconverted tries but we held on to win 33-25. A great performance all round with Ross Murphy, Darren Molar, Gar Clarke and Dave Rowley others to catch the eye. On Saturday the team led by Paddy Spillane travelled to Naas to play the current All Ireland Champions. A slow start saw us fall 3-0 in arrears but Brian Morrissey equalised with a penalty. Ross Murphy forced the turnover that led to speedster Barry Sheehan racing over for the first try converted by Brian Morrissey. Then the heroic Darren Molar broke from his own line up to half way when it was spread to Mike O’Shea. He ducked and dodged his way through the Naas defenders before using the space to run over for the second try. Just before half time (15-3) scrum half Mark Rowley got injured and was replaced by Billy Glynn. After the break Naas really began to show why they were All Ireland Champions as they tested our boys with a convincing maul. They scored three tries but the missed conversions left the door open at 15-18.In the dying moments we pushed Naas back and forced a penalty at a scrum in their 22. The resulting lineout was won and our forwards rumbled to the line. In this the last play of the game, the ball was spread wide, Mike O’Shea made space and offloaded to Gar Clarke who ran in at the corner for a 20-18 win. It was a great Garryowen display and the players did themselves justice most notably Tadgh Casey, Jamie Keogh and Shane and Alex Kennedy. The U13’s beat Shannon 20-0 in the semi final of the NM Cup at Dooradoyle on Tuesday evening. Full report can be viewed on our website www.garryowenrugby.com. Supporters are reminded that our Annual Greyhound night in aid of our Youth Development Fund will take place on Monday night 16th April at 8.00 in the Markets Field. Please return all "buster" tickets to the organising committee prior to that date. The club is very pleased with the positive response following the Against the Head programme which was relayed from Dooradoyle on Monday last.

SHANNON RFC
Andrew McNamara PRO

One game is all that stands between the seniors and a place in the AIB league playoffs after last Saturday’s win over Blackrock. With our local rivals Garryowen also still in the hunt, the script could not have been written more dramatically. It’s a fairly rare occurrence that the league playoff places have not been decided prior to the last game, but this year it will go right down to the wire. Our 26-15 win in Stradbrook was an excellent result in the circumstances. Blackrock had little to play for but to derail the defending champions is probably incentive enough for many teams. In the glorious conditions they played an adventurous brand of rugby and it took a huge defensive effort to halt their progress at times. It took until the stroke of half time before we began to play the type of rugby we are capable of and Pat O’Connor’s try reduced Rocks 12-3 lead.
The wind did have a bearing on the first half, but with our backs to it at the turnaround we kept the momentum somewhat although the threat was ever present from the home side. Andrew Thompson added three quick penalties to give us a 19-15 lead entering the closing stages, and it was during that period that he character and resolve of the lads was tested. Blackrock ran from every where and some tremendous defending prevented them from thwarting our efforts. With the clock showing 7 minutes of injury time relief came when Andrew Finn pounced on a loose ball and sprinted his way over to give us the vital victory. The last time we played in Stradbrook there was disappointment that we failed to garner a bonus point. This time we were relieved to get a win. The team have gone through a hell of a lot so far this season and the injury ravaged squad deserve immense credit for being in the position of having their fate well and truly in their own hands. Dolphin will travel to Coonagh on Saturday week with the fear of relegation still lurking although it’s highly unlikely they will take the drop whatever the result, but they will fight tooth and nail to scupper our aspirations. That’s a week away and there’s plenty of work to be done on the training pitch between now and then.
Our Third XV’s aspirations of a historical grand slam of titles were cruelly dashed last Friday evening when Old Crescent claimed the Webb Cup in dramatic circumstances. It took the intervention of one of the touch judges to ensure the 11-11 deadlock was broken right at the death. The lads had forced a penalty deep in injury time it appeared that the game was heading to extra time, but the penalty was reversed for an infringement spotted by the touch judge and Old Crescent knocked over the penalty and before the ball even hit the ground the final whistle sounded and the dream was shattered. It was a cruel way to lose the game, but this group of players have a lot to be proud off. Winners already of the Gleeson league and the McInerny cup, they still face into a Munster final against Cork Con and have become the most consistent side in the club this season. Pat Mc Loughlin’s tireless efforts have ensured that each week he has had a large panel to choose from and with each passing week the confidence of the team grew. During the game on Friday a few decisions went against us and it was these decisions that had a major bearing on the outcome. Nonetheless it was a superb game of rugby from two sides committed to the end and unfortunately fro us it was a bitter end. For the record Diarmuid Fitzgerald scored our try and what a brilliant try it was and after Crescent went in front. Another piece of individual brilliance saw us equalise. Peter O’Dea struck a fantastic drop goal to leave the remainder of the game nerve jangling for both sides, but whilst extra time may have been welcome by both sides, the penalty reversal gave Old Crescent the win. There’s absolutely no doubt that the lads will bounce back from this disappointment and with their impending Munster final, they have already had a memorable season.
The U/16’s returned from their annual Easter tour after forging a wonderful reputation for themselves and the Club. They travelled to Biarritz and took part in four days of excellent coaching and put it all to good use when they took on a regional selection on Saturday evening prior to a Biarritz senior game. Trailing by 14-0 at the break they put in a truly superb second half and stunned, and indeed impressed the locals with some scintillating rugby. In a remarkable turnaround they won the game by 24-14 a result which indicates the nature of this group of players. Such was the performance, a number of the lads have been invited back to the region later in the summer to take part in an international selection. The coaches and parents of this team put in a tremendous effort in the organisation of the tour and deserve immense praise for their efforts, and those efforts were rewarded with the display and indeed the overall conduct of the lads. Hopefully that good vibe can be translated into another good performance this Sunday when the lads face Young Munster in what’s more or less a league decider. A win for Shannon will see them crowned as champions. That game kicks off in Coonagh at 11.30
The U/13’s were knocked out of the cup by Garryowen and this Sunday entertain touring Worthing from Sussex.
The U/20’s return to action this Saturday when they play away to Nenagh in the North Munster Cup with a 12.30 start.
Our Annual Presidents Night takes place on Friday April 27th in the Radisson and there are a number of places available. Tickets are €35 and bookings and further details can be obtained from Tommy Rowan on 087 7979574.
Finally, another reminder about our club draw. The closing date is looming so those of you who have not yet returned your tickets should do so as soon as possible.

UL Bohemian RFC
Denis Ryan PRO

UL Bohs moved into 2nd place in the AIL 1st Division with a four try win over Galwegians by 29-7, although with the final try coming in the last second, the result was a little unfair on the very competitive visitors to Annacotty. Anthony Hartigan opened the scoring with a well worked try, which Ben Martin converted and then added a penalty to give the home side a healthy start. When Galwegians broke through for a fine try in the second half, this created some concern among the UL Bohs supporters. However, Martin McPhail once again showed what a fine finisher he is when he touched down after good initial work from the pack, followed by excellent passing from Ben Martin and Mark Butler. The next try was equally spectacular as a series of long passes had Ian Hanley stretching for the ball, and past the opposition, on the left wing for a terrific try. Although UL Bohs maintained the pressure, it looked as if the bonus try would be missed until Fergal Lawlor found a gap and trotted home with the last action of the game.
The 2nds, unbeaten all season, lost the final of the Munster Junior Cup to Garryowen on a 9-6 scoreline in a typical cup tie in Tom Clifford Park. UL Bohs took an early lead, but perhaps the occasion got to the players as they made a number of untypical errors in play and decision making. Garryowen, with a strong pack, played their usual competitive game but the match swung on a penalty late in the second half which UL Bohs put into the corner. A patient build up was called for, but the ball was swung out and lost, with Garryowen kicking the winning penalty at the other end following a blockdown and clearance. However, this team has given UL Bohs supporters fantastic results all season, and with a strong squad and manager Ken Rennison to show the way, there is no doubt they will be back with a hunger for success when the competition rolls around again.
The U-20s, after a promising start, went down by 34-16 to a strong UCC side in the semi-final of the All Ireland Cup in Annacotty. The home side got off to a perfect start with a couple of Myles Riordan penalties, but lost the lead in controversial circumstances. UCC popped the ball forward in a tackle and then got a penalty in the next phase. From the lineout, the ball was flashed along the line for a good try on the right wing. The ref had a conversation between the posts with the touchjudge-presumably about the knock on he had missed- whereupon the UCC kicker made use of the distraction to take the ball infield and gave himself an easier conversion. Keith Scally, on the UL Bohs right wing, must have felt particularly hard done by as he was taken out by a hefty late charge as he followed his own kick ahead in the first half. This was missed by all the officials, and neither did he get satisfaction in the second half when he was in the clear running onto a bouncing ball only to be taken out with another tackle. UCC immediately substituted the culprit to avoid any penalty. Mike Skelton was taken out in the air by an extremely dangerous tackle which could have led to serious injury, and perhaps the officials would benefit by viewing the video, a which can be obtained from the office in UL. The powerful UCC pack, well marshalled by their impressive scrum half, began to gradually dominate, and were worth their win in the end. However, UL Bohs-with 13 of the starting side still under age next season-can feel proud of their progress although the absence of internationals Tommy O’Donnell and David Foley was keenly felt.
On Good Friday in the UL Bowl a huge crowd was entertained by the UL Bohs 1995 Division 4 winning side and the Leprechauns who played a benefit match for Willie Doran, a staunch club member who is seriously ill. The home side showed good skill through Brian Spillane and Mike Doyle while Mike Murphy got the sort of try which showed where son and Munster star Barry got all his talent from- his mother! The Leprechauns also had their stars in Peter Clohessy, Francis Brosnahan, John Madigan and especially Sonny Kiely who looked as if he would not be out of place still playing AIL.
The U-18s played English visitors Farnborough and recorded a good win, as did the women who had a comprehensive victory over Spanish side Santboiana.
The U-14s are on tour in East Anglia, the U-15s are in Wales, and the U-16s are getting ready to head for Northern Italy at the weekend, so there will be no news from those age groups for some time.

CLONAKILTY RFC
Loosehead PRO

Clonakilty Secure Play-Off Spot

Clonakilty finished the "group" section of the league last Saturday drawing 23 all with Old Crescent in Limerick to claim third place and an away semi final against second placed Greystones next Saturday in the Wicklow seaside resort. Clon will have no fears having defeated Greystones twice already this season in the League and Cup in The Vale but to win a third time and away from home this time will be as difficult an assignment as they have faced all season. A win would set up a championship final against Old Belvedere – a fixture the players would very much like. Old Crescent were very much "up" for the match, as they had been defeated by Clon in The Vale in the Munster senior League earlier in the season. They took an early lead through a Brian Begley penalty before Alfie Harte levelled the scores for the first time with a penalty. Clon absorbed a period of pressure and John O’Donnell at full back was excellent and won the strategic kicking duel. Derek Dillon, also out of position at out half, was sound in defence and cleared the lines competently. A break out of defence from Clon led to the first try of the game. Great work from David Lombard, Felim O’Neill and Dan Spencer in particular created space for the supporting Eoin Scannell and the captain beat the defence to score in the corner after 15 minutes. Alfie Harte missed the difficult conversion but put Clon further ahead with a penalty soon after. Eddie Knowles started the move and then Scannell, following his own chip ahead nailed the receiver in his own in-goal area. The five-metre scrum to Clon was turned to a penalty for dissent and Harte obliged to put Clon out to 3 – 11 after 20 minutes. Great play from Knowles and Declan Coppinger and kicking from Derek Dillon and Lombard dealt with most of the Crescent attacks. Man of the match, John O’Donnell, was superb at full back and Felim O’Neill was confident on the wing putting in a nice jinking run to get Clon out of trouble on one occasion. However the half finished with the Limerick side pressing strongly and a penalty, moved ten for dissent, allowed Begley to narrow the gap to five at the break. Ten minutes into the second half Crescent struck again. A great break from Derek Dillon looked dangerous but isolated in the tackle gave away the penalty. From the line out a back line move that did not look as if it would trouble Clon finished in a try as the defence for once lost its shape drifting inside to leave space for the winger to cross unopposed. The conversion put Crescent ahead and they went further ahead when Clon were penalised for holding and Begley added another three to put Crescent ahead 16 – 11. Batt Duggan brought Clon level again with a great try following a piece of Derek Dillon brilliance and good work from Felim O’Neill. Another piece of Dillon magic gave Clon the lead. A good rolling maul made fifteen metres before Spencer broke off the side and unloaded to Derek Dillon. His angle had the defence in all sorts of trouble as they tried to cover the supporting runners and he knifed through to score between the sticks. O’Neill’s conversion put the West Cork side out to 16 – 23 but Crescent drew the game in the last minute of injury time with a mauled try which was converted. Clon could argue that Lombard’s attempted conversion of Duggan’s try was charged early and should have been allowed again but in fairness Old Crescent deserved to share the points and Clon had got more than they needed out of the game anyway. The squad was John O’Donnell, Shay O’Donovan, Paul Dillon, David Lombard, Felim O’Neill, Derek Dillon, Colin Murphy, Eddie Knowles, Alfie Harte, Dan Spencer, Dan Whelton, Eoin Scannell (Capt), Declan Coppinger, Mike Keohane, Mike Murphy, Batt Duggan, Tadhg Wright, Lenny Harte and Colm McCarthy
Thomond – A Class Act at Under 20
Clonakilty Under 20’s played the final of the Munster/Connaught conference on Sunday last against an exceptionally good Thomond side and went down by 43 to 7. The Limerick club had an outstanding backline which included Keith Earls who had played his first game with Munster against the Ospreys on Saturday in The Magner’s League and it was worth the entrance fee alone to watch this budding future International strut his stuff. He was undoubtedly man of the match but he had rivals in a magnificent backline for the accolade especially flying wingers O’Neill and Hallissey. Thomond had the luxury of introducing their AIB All Ireland League division two team regular, Declan Cusack, in the second and in all used six of their senior squad on the day. Despite this as expected Clonakilty fought gallantly particularly in the pack which had achieved parity for most of the game and their development will benefit hugely from this contest. Indeed on the day if Clon, like Thomond, had all their eligible players playing for the club it would have been a tight affair but the game also showed where the club has to develop to ensure the senior success is maintained.
Thomond started the game in whirlwind fashion and were 31 to nil up at the interval. For the second half Clon realigned the backline with J.D. O’Mahony moving to inside centre and Paddy Ryan to outside. This had an immediate effect with Clon dominating most of the second half, scoring an early try from an excellent driving maul and repeatedly carrying the game to the opposition. In the end the players just ran out of steam and conceded two late tries. For Clon the front row of Pa O’Sullivan, Hugh O’Neill and Stephen Lowney more than matched their opposite numbers while captain Michael Peter O’Regan, Tim O’Regan, Shane Deane and the best forward on the pitch, Sean Duignan, were heroic figures on a difficult day. The class of young James Deasy and out half Joe Ryan in the backs was a consolation against such a quality backline seldom seen at under 20 level. For Clon the task now is to move on and finish out the season on a high with the play off against Cork Constitution for promotion to division one and the Cup campaign yet to come.
The under 18s were very unlucky when drawing a very entertaining and hard fought match 15 all with Youghal only to discover that they had lost due to Youghal having scored the first try. This is a rule used to decide the winner in the event of a drawn game at underage level but the Clon management were unaware of it until the final whistle. From the reactions of the Youghal team and management they were also unsure of the result and one wonders how satisfactory this system is. Clon had an opportunity 5 minutes from time to go for a try, which would have given them victory but instead kicked the penalty to ensure that they would tie the scores and presumably get extra time in which to score again. Surely this should have been made clear before the game to both clubs. Youghal had a physically larger pack, which Clon tried to bulldoze their way through, sometimes succeeding but they probably would have profited more by moving the ball through the hands and away from contact. The East Cork pack deserved their draw by their performance in the first 15 minutes of the second half when they dominated proceedings particularly at ruck time. Clon on the other hand put in a barnstorming final quarter drawing level and looking for the win. The impressive James Deasy kicked five penalties for Clon, two in the first half and three into the wind in the second. There were very encouraging performances from the squad particularly Sam Duignan, Declan McCarthy, Ger McCarthy, and Mike Griffin in the forwards and from Alex O’Mahony, Paddy Ryan and Daniel McCarthy in the backs.

There are a number of outstanding competitive games involving Clonakilty teams to be played at various levels yet but at the time of printing the only confirmed fixtures are as follows so please check locally for the others.

Sat 14 Under 20 Promotion Play-Off Cork Constitution Temple Hill, Cork 2.30

Sat 21 Senior All Ireland League Semi-Final Greystones Dr. Hickey Park, Greystones,Co. Wicklow 2.30

KILLORGLIN RFC
Aidan Clifford PRO

Killorglin Rugby Club played host to Shandon RFC on Good Friday, in the quarter final of the South Munster Junior 2 Cup. Killorglin were fired up for this encounter after the disappointment the week before, when they went out of the league to Cork Constitution. A good crowd turned out on what was a beautiful sunny evening to watch the game, and they were not disappointed.
There was nothing between the teams for the first ten minutes as play moved between the 22s until the deadlock was finally broken by Killorglin. Fine passing and off-loading in the tackle from the backs made space for full-back Paul O’Connor to cross the line. He touched the ball down under the posts to give himself an easy conversion and make the score 7-0. However Killorglin’s discipline was not as good as usual, and they conceded a number of penalties, one of which was within kicking distance of their out-half. He made no mistake with the kick to make the score 7-3 after 20 minutes. Killorglin continued on to attack the visitors though and got over the line again before half time, again fro a fine backs move. Captain Ronan Curtayne floated a fantastic skip pass to centre Kieran Crowley, who in turn passed perfectly into the hands of winger Viv O’Callaghan to score in the corner. O’Connor slotted to conversion to put the score at 14-3, a score-line which stood until the half-time break.
Killorglin came out blazing in the second half, and after two successful penalty kicks from O’Connor, making the score 20-3, Killorglin crossed the whitewash for a third time, this time centre Andrew O’Reilly picking the ball from the base of a ruck five metres out and battering his way over for a try any back row forward would be proud of. The easy conversion was added by O’Connor to make the score 27-3. Killorglin, now on a roll scored their fourth and final try 10 minutes from time, with centre Kieran Crowley breaking the Shandon line 40 metres out and running in under the posts for another easy two-pointer for the fullback to make it 34-3, a score that held out until the final whistle. The team as a unit played well, but openside flanker Greg Birdthistle’s tackling and general play around the park deserves special mention.
Killorglin now travel to Musgrave Park, to play Dolphin in the Cup Semi-Final in two weeks. The team thanks all who supported the team last weekend and will welcome any support received in the upcoming away Semi-Final.

Killorglin team v Shandon:- 1 KJ Daly, 2 D Flynn, 3 J ‘Twin’ O’Sullivan, 4 J Foley, 5 C Stephens, 6 S Joy, 7 G Birdthistle, 8 B ‘Fox’ O’Sullivan, 9 D Coffey, 10 R Curtayne (c), 11 V O’Callaghan, 12 A O’Reilly, 13 K Crowley, 14 J Riordan, 15 P O’Connor.
Subs:- F Foley for J Foley, R Kelliher for Joy, R Healy for Birdthistle, T West for Riordan, A Clifford for Daly.