Domestic Rugby Season Review

It’s been a rollercoaster season for Munster Rugby in 2016-17, filled with joy and sorrow, loss but also much hope for the future.

Even though Munster Rugby and its clubs have had to say goodbye to some of their leading lights, the show has carried on in spectacular fashion, with this year being one of the most successful in recent memory for the province and its clubs.

While our Pro side continue preparations for their crucial Pro12 semi-final clash with Ospreys this weekend, looking to secure a final spot having already made the penultimate stage of the European Champions Cup, the domestic game has had its first chance to take a breath after a whirlwind season of action.

Here we have a look over the biggest winners for the 2016-17 season, as well as our various Munster Interprovincial squads that represented the province with distinction this season.

Senior Clubs

What more can be said about Cork Constituion for the 2016/17 season? Setting more records in winning the Bateman Cup for an astonishing fifth time, as well as securing an incredible sixth Bank of Ireland Munster Senior Challenge Cup title with victory over Young Munster.

Con picked up their first title in the depths of winter with a Cork Charity Cup victory against Highfield, and having defeated the Cookies for the second consecutive year in the Munster Senior Cup, the pair pushed on and qualified for the semi-finals of the All-Ireland Division 1A.

The Limerick outfit have been extremely competitive themselves this season, and beat the Presidents XV in a historic Limerick Charity Cup tie, the first to be played back in a fine Market’s Field stadium for the first time in 58 years.

However the headlines were to be made on Leeside at the beginning of the summer, as first Brian Hickey’s side defeated Old Belvedere away from home to capture an unbelievable fifth All-Ireland Cup trophy, before avenging last year’s Division 1A defeat by Clontarf the following week. Fly-hald Tomás Quinlan with a man-of-the match performance, faultless off the tee as Con won their first Division 1A title in seven years.

Garryowen defended their Division 1A status having been pushed right to the wire by UL Bohemaians, while in the Div 1B playoff Dolphin fought off a spirited Nenagh Ormond battle to keep their place in the second-tier for next season.

However for Sunday’s Well, despite a valiant effort they just couldn’t emulate their Musgrave neighbours, and were defeated by Rainey Old Boys in the playoff, dropping down to Division 2B, while Kanturk’s run in the All-Ireland League came to an end for now, a cruel dramatic finish to the final day saw them automatically relegated from Division 2C.

Junior Clubs

Bandon’s Tom Ferguson celebrates with his teammates and the Bank of Ireland Munster Junior Challenge Cup trophy – INPHO/Tommy Dickson

Despite another fantastic season at domestic level that saw them crowned Munster Junior Division 1 Champions for the second consecutive year, Clonmel RFC once again came up just short in a fiercely competitive All-Ireland Provincial League, and despite beating Ballina, losses to Malahide and Omagh in the second-last game saw the Tipperary outfit once again finish third in the round robin.

A historic year for Bandon meanwhile, who won their first ever Bank of Ireland Munster Junior Challenge Cup title, defeating Young Munster in the final at Thomond Park. A great season was made even better with a County Cup win over the Cobh Pirates. One of the very few sides that got the better of the Old Chapel side were Kilfeacle & District, who defeated the West Cork outfit in the Junior Clubs Challenge Cup final, and whose strong representation in the Munster Junior side underlines their fantastic season.

Waterpark topped the Munster Division 2 to secure their place in the top division for next season, while Michelstown won Division 3. Thurles RFC picked up the Munster Junior Plate, while Dungarvan secured the Bowl with a win over Fethard & District.

Women’s Rugby

UL Bohemians players completed a momentous national double this year – INPHO/Dan Sheridan

The headline performers of the Women’s season were UL Bohemians, emulating their Senior male counterparts at Cork Constitution in wrapping up an All-Ireland League and Cup double of their own.

It’s been an incredible season for UL Bohs, who were near-flawless in their season, losing just a single game in storming through the league season before beating reigning champions Old Belvedere in the final at Donnybrook. Blackrock College were little match for the UL women, who also won the Munster Senior Cup title against Highfield on the way to making it a quadruple for Munster sides in All-Ireland Competitions for men and women.

Domestically, Tralee finished on top of the Women’s Division 1, while their U18s and U15s, in tandem with Listowel, won the Cup titles, securing a special treble at all age grade levels in Kerry. Also a fantastic year for Thurles, whose Junior side captured the Women’s Division 1 Cup title, defeating Shannon in the final, while their U18s won the plate.

It was a family affair as Mother and Daughter Eileen (53) & Aileen (24) helped Bantry Bay pick up the Munster Women’s Div 1 plate, as the club also picked up the U15 Bowl title. Meanwhile the Newport Vixens won the U18 Bowl at a canter against Kanturk, while St Mary’s defeated Mallow in the Plate, 24-10.

Having beaten Ulster away and Connacht at home in their first two games, the Munster women’s side went into the final showdown with Leinster with their fate in their own hands, however in an extremely competitive series this year, a 21-12 defeat saw Munster lose out, in a round robin that saw three of the four team end up with two wins each.

Schools Rugby

A milestone year at senior level for Munster School of the year PBC began with a tour which included two victorious test matches against the Portuguese U18 National side before defeating Ulster and Leinster Senior Cup winners RBAI and Belvedere during the season.

Having overcome Bandon, playing their first cup Clayton Hotels Senior Cup semi-final, PBC faced Glenstal Abbey at Thomond Park in the blue ribbon event. A mature performance in difficult conditions saw Sean French’s try the only dot in an 11-3 victory after a campaign that saw Pres concede a single try.

A memorable season ended with eight selected in the Munster U18/U19 interprovincial series, with five of those receiving Irish honours in the last few weeks, Pres also won the Brother O’Reilly Cup in the winter.

Local rivals Christians kept honours in Cork with a Clayton Hotels Munster Schools Junior Cup title victory over Crescent College Comprehensive. That was the most prestigious of five trophies won by the boys on Sidney Hill, also picking up the McCarthy Cup, Bowen Shield ‘B’, Barry Cup and Kidney Cup in 2017.

St Munchin’s won the Bowen Shield, The McCarthy ‘B’ Cup was won by St Munchins, while the ‘C’ version was picked up by Carrigaline Community School. The O’Brien ‘C’ Cup was won by The Abbey for the third time in six years.

St Anne’s CC of Killaloe added further to the prestigious rugby village, by picking up Giles Shield and O’Gorman Cup honours, while the Mungret Cup and Shield were won by Colaiste Pobail Bheanntrai and Midleton CBS respectively.

Nenagh CBS also completed a double this season, winning the King Cup and the U17 Emerging Schools mini-tournament, while the main Marks & Spencer Emerging Schools U15 titles went to Waterpark College in the Southern section, and St Alibies in the Northern Section.

Underage Rugby

Ennis’ Joseph Connaughton and Zack Whelehan celebrate with the Bank of Ireland Munster U18 Cup – INPHO/Morgan Treacy

A thrilling final provided the perfect close to a smashing Underage finals day at Thomond Park, as Ennis held on to defeat Garryowen by a single point to secure a historic Bank of Ireland U18 Cup title. As already mentioned a flying Skibbereen defeated local rivals Kinsale for the Bank of Ireland U16 Cup title, while in the first game a topsy-turvy game saw Thurles hold on to a large first-half lead to outlast a resurgent Mallow.

The three other finals took place in Cork, all involving sides from the Rebel County. In the U16 Plate Cork Constitution overcame Sunday’s Well by 37 points to 7. In the U18 bowl Crosshaven edged Old Christians by five points, while the U16 Bowl saw Bandon defeat Dolphin 12-0 in their home patch under lights.

The Munster U18 Clubs side made an excellent start to their campaign as they emerged with a 19-14 win away in Ulster. They followed that up with a first win over Leinster at this level in eight years 15-3 and then claimed the for the first time in 13 years thanks to a 35-17 win over Connacht at The Sportsground.

The U20/Development Interpros, despite overcoming an 18-0 deficit to overcome Ulster 21-18 in their Thomond Park opener, eventually fell short to Leinster, who scored two late tries in the decider to capture the title, while the U19s also couldn’t push on from an opening day drubbing of Connacht.

The U18 Schools missed out by the tightest of margins to the Leinster side, having beaten Ulster 18-5 and Leinster 8-3, where they picked up the Dudley Cup. The campaign ended with a 15-13 defeat away to Leinster to tie both teams at the top of the table with three wins from four and 13 points apiece. The destination of the title was then decided by points difference from the four games with Leinster coming out on top by just a single point to snatch the Interprovincial honours.

The Munster U18 Girls started their inaugural Interprovincial campaign with a 33-7 win over Connacht at Ballincollig RFC. In previous years, these games had been played in a blitz-like format for developmental purposes, however with growth in numbers and profile of the female game in Ireland, the IRFU made the decision to move to a full Interprovincial Series for the U18 girls.

A scoreless draw away to Leinster set up an Interpro decider against Ulster in Dublin. The northern province came out on top after a 20-8 win, however, to capture the title.

Our many congratulations to all of the sides that also won honours in their own divisions, and to all of the coaches and volunteers that keep boys and girls playing rugby around the province.