Club Notes WE 16.4.17

Club notes this week come from Thurles RFC, who enjoyed further success last weekend when they captured the Munster Junior Clubs Challenge Shield title against Kinsale.

Thurles RFC
Courtesy of Brian Scanlon

Munster Junior Clubs Challenge Shield Final: Thurles RFC 36 – 21 Kinsale RFC

Thurles departed from Loughtagalla on Saturday afternoon en route to Fermoy, looking to follow up on their success in the Munster Junior Plate 2 weeks previous and make amends for defeat at the same stage of this competition last season, as they locked horns with Kinsale in the Final of Munster Junior Clubs Challenge Shield.

Thurles had last played Kinsale on the first day of the league campaign and registered a comfortable 38-8 victory on the day.  Thurles knew that Kinsale had been much improved as they finished the League season strongly and have had some impressive results during their end of season cup campaign.

With the sun shining, Kinsale kicked the game off with Thurles receiving, the opening quarter of the game was extremely fast paced, with both sides using the dry conditions to play plenty of running rugby, as the ball rarely left the field of play in the opening exchanges, with the only incident of note in the opening quarter was a missed penalty from Kinsale.

In attack, it was Thurles who looked the most likely to score when in possession, this came to fruition on the 20 minute mark with a team move straight from the training ground, an excellent lineout by the Thurles pack saw possession secured with an excellent carry from Number 8, Ciaran Ryan before Nicky Irwin flashed the ball to the waiting backline, as the ball went through the hands, it was the wingers who combined excellently as Adrian Bourke provided Peter Coman with an inside pass to send him over the line for the opening score of the game, John Lillis added the extras for the maximum (7-0).

Kinsale restarted the game & showed that they weren’t just there to make up the numbers, when they got their hands on the ball again from the Thurles clearance, they did excellently to hold onto possession and played an attractive style of rugby, looking to offload at every opportunity.  This 10 minute period was once again played at a very fast pace but the Thurles defence was proving difficult to break down as Mark Cummins, Paddy Phelan and Phil Kelly were making their presence felt around the edges.

Kinsale eventually got rewarded for their patience, albeit a little fortunate, the referee appeared to stop play following the award of a penalty to Kinsale, to chat with both captains, but as this was taking place, the Kinsale scrum half tapped fast & went wide, where Thurles were caught for numbers & Kinsale were able to dot down to open their account for the day, the conversion was added to level matters (7-7).

As the half neared an end, this score would have been a shot in the arm for Tipperary men, an excellent kick chase from Luke Kelly & Ciaran Ryan saw Thurles regain possession from the restart, after a few phases through the pack, the backs were set free again, a wide pass from Aidan Dwyer to John Lillis saw Lillis put Coman away in the corner for his and Thurles’ second try of the game (12-7).

Thurles managed the time for another assault on the Kinsale line before the half time whistle but as Eoghan O’Dwyer was about to put Coman away for a potential first half hatrick, the Kinsale winger slapped the ball down, resulting in a penalty and a yellow card, with many expecting the referee to run in under the posts to award the penalty try, it didn’t happen, Thurles failed to take advantage following an attacking lineout and the half drew to a close at 12-7.

As Thurles kicked off the second half, they hit the ground running, the front row of Ger McCormack, Shane Nugent & Michael Ely continued their excellent form of late, providing an excellent platform at scrum time.  Within the opening 15 minutes of the second half, Thurles had added two further tries, Kinsale had no answer for the passing & running of the Thurles backs, the half back pairing of Nicky Irwin directed proceedings excellently, complemented by the centre partnership of Shane Moloney & Captain Eoghan O’Dwyer who caused havoc all day.  It was the latter, Eoghan O’Dwyer who scored the quick fire tries after the break to put distance between the sides with Lillis doing the honours, as he struck both over from difficult angles (26-7).

Thurles were relentless in attack, Kinsale attempted to clear their lines on a number of occasions but were met with the force of the back three of Bourke, Lillis & Coman, who ensured that the Cork men had no breathing space; Thurles ran everything back at them with gusto when provided with the opportunity, this time it was Nicky Irwin who broke free down the field following another great scrum from the pack.  Irwin brushed off a number of would be tacklers before setting Coman free to secure his hatrick as he touched down in the corner once again (31-7).

As the game entered the final quarter, Thurles were not letting up, some great play from the pack, started by Luke Kelly, saw Thurles make their way back up towards the Kinsale 22, some great hands & running from McCormack, Phelan & replacement Tommy Stevens, presented Thurles with the opportunity to increase their tally further, following some patient play from the Thurles pack around the edges, the backs cut through the Kinsale defence and it was that man again, Peter Coman, who popped up with an impressive 4^th try of the game, as he touched down near the corner flag (36-7).

With a dominant 30 minute second half spell behind them, Thurles took the opportunity to empty the bench and provide an early rest for some of the bodies.  Despite what looked like an easy game based on the scoreline, this was a hugely physical encounter with both sides putting their bodies on the line in a game that was played in good spirits overall.

Kinsale did manage to end the game on a little bit of a high, scoring two consolation tries late on, which to be fair, flattered them a bit given the dominant nature of the Thurles performance, but Thurles will have been disappointed to have taken the foot off the pedal and allow a bit of gloss to be put on the scoreline.  Minutes after the Kinsale’s, final try, the referee drew an end to proceeding much to the delight of everyone supporting the men in black & white.

This was a great win for Thurles, a bit of history created, as this was the clubs first success in this Munster Junior Clubs Challenge Shield Competition, learning and coming back from defeat at the same stage last season, a great achievement for this group of players and management team.  Captain Eoghan O’Dwyer lifted the shield aloft and dedicated our second piece of silverware in 3 weeks to 3 people close to the clubs heart who we lost earlier this year and were most certainly looking down at us from above, Tommy Lyons, Rose Moloney & Bobby O’Brien (RIP).

With the success of both the Under 18’s and our First XV this season, the future is looking bright for Thurles RFC, as the curtain draws to a close on the First XV season, the management team will begin planning for the next assault on the League with much positivity.  The Second XV continue preparations for their remaining Cup Competitions and all eligible players are expected at training for the coming weeks.

The Players and Management would like to thank all those who made the trip to Fermoy on Saturday and look forward to seeing you when the new season kicks off in the Autumn.

Thurles Scorers: Peter Coman (4 Tries), Eoghan O’Dwyer (2 Tries) & John Lillis (3 Conversions).  Thurles Starting XV vs Kinsale: 1. Ger McCormack 2. Shane Nugent 3. Michael Ely 4. Luke Kelly 5. Phil Kelly 6. Mark Cummins 7. Paddy Phelan 8. Ciaran Ryan 9. Nicky Irwin 10. Aidan Dwyer 11. Adrian Bourke 12. Shane Moloney 13. Eoghan O’Dwyer (c) 14. Peter Coman 15. John Lillis; Replacements & Squad Members: Charlie Langley, Dylan Dorney, Shane McHugh, Joey Kelly, Tommy Stevens, James Ryan, Ollie Delaney, Ross Crystal, Dave Kelly, Dwayne Stanley, Tommy Connolly, Eoin Long, Paidi O’Gorman (Tee Runner), Thomás Ryan (Physio); Management: Shay Scanlon, Kevin O’Dwyer & John Lillis.

U18 East Munster Plate Semi Final: Thurles 27 – Clonmel 6

Thurles U18 boys continued their winning ways on Friday night last against Clonmel just 5 days after winning a Munster Plate Final. Thurles had an extremely slow start with Clonmel having large periods with the ball. Thurles defence held tough. Thurles got a penalty 15 mins in which Jack Flanagan converted in front of the posts. Thurles seemed to wake up just before half time with some good ball handling to release Nick Cooney in in the corner for the first try of the game. Soon after Clonmel replied with a penalty to put it 8 – 3 at the break.

The second half started with Clonmel scoring first with a penalty. Thurles upped the anti with 20 mins to go scoring 3 more tries from Dylan O Shaughnessy, Conor O Hagan, and Kieran Dunne. Notable performances came from Paddy McGrath, Ciaran Murphy and Kieran Dunne.  Man of the Match was Paddy McGrath. The Final will be played Easter Monday at Clonmel RFC. Kick Off is 12 noon. It would be great to see big support. It would be a great way to work off those Easter Eggs.