Bank Of Ireland Junior Rugby Round Up

Clonmel took another major step towards regaining their Division 1 title with a 27-0 away win at Waterpark.

The winners were 15-0 up at half time with tries from Eddie Phelan and Ian Cunningham and a conversion and a penalty from Dylan Cadogan. Luke Noonan and Neville Melbourne added further tries and Cadogan kicked a penalty and a conversion.

Newcastle West in second place are four points behind the leaders following their 55-29 home win against Galbally. Brian O’Sullivan scored three tries for the winners and Eddie Powell, Dave Foley, James Kelly, Talia Tuaau, Sean Corbett and Sean Murphy got one each. Sean Herlihy kicked three conversions and Michael Bourke two. Kevin Casey, Tom Davern and Brendan Childs replied with tries for Galbally. John Kearns kicked a penalty and two conversions. Galbally were also awarded a penalty try in the final minute and the losing bonus point they picked up could prove crucial in the relegation battle.

Defending champions Bandon will double up their Challenge Clubs Cup Final next week with their outstanding league game with Richmond. A bonus point victory for Bandon would see them travelling to Clonmel five points behind the leaders for their final game.

The relegation issues in Division 1 and 2 may not be resolved on the final day as three sides could be relegated should Thomond drop out of the All Ireland League.

St. Mary’s lost away to St. Senan’s 16-15 and are relegated from the top flight. A penalty from Garth Airey in the final minute decided the issue. Dale O’Loughlin scored Senan’s try and Airey converted and added two other penalties. Shaun Lyons, Shane Ryan and Darragh Kerley were try scorers for Mary’s.

Kanturk look like they will be joining Mary’s in the Second Division after their 31-14 away defeat at Abbeyfeale. This result puts Abbeyfeale in position to secure a place in next year’s All Ireland Junior Cup. Liam O’Connor, Tim Tobin and Trent Roti scored tries for Abbeyfeale and they were also awarded a penalty try. Derry O’Connor kicked three conversions and a penalty. Matt Daly and Cillian Buttimer scored tries for Kanturk and Conor Cremin converted both.

Kanturk are at home to St. Senan’s in their final game and must win with a bonus point to avoid the drop.

Crosshaven ensured their safety in the top flight after Ciaran Condon scored a second half try to give them an 8-3 home win over Skibbereen. Cian McGovern and Jack O’Donovan exchanged penalties in the opening half.

The big Tipperary derby between Clanwilliam and Kilfeacle finished level 12-12. Tries from Sean Walsh and Darragh Crowe and a conversion by Darragh Burke gave Clanwilliam a 12-0 lead. Despite playing into the wind in the second half Kilfeacle rallied with tries from Cian Ryan and Brian McLoughlin and a conversion by Brodie Flannery.

Mallow were crowned Division Two champions after their 13-7 away win at Charleville. The sides were tied 7-7 at half time. Tysone Stephens scored a try for Mallow and Jimmy Glynn converted and added two penalties. Dan O’Dwyer was Charleville’s try scorer and Jesse Smith converted.

Clonakilty will be joining Mallow in the top flight after their 20-8 hard earned away win at Muskerry. A try from Rob Finglas and an Eoghan Deasy penalty had Clon; 8-5 ahead at half time. Lewis Grice scored Muskerry’s try. Steve Cotter and JD O’Hea added further tries for Clon’ and Deasy converted one. Jonathan Buckley replied with a penalty for Muskerry.

Both bottom sides in Division 2 won with Ballincollig beating Youghal 12-5. Conor O’Donoghue and Humphrey O’Mahony scored tries for Ballincollig and Charlie Boland kicked a penalty. Aaron Daly replied with a try for Youghal.

Thurles defeated Kinsale 40-12 to keep their hopes of avoiding the drop alive. Eoghan O’Dwyer scored two tries for Thurles and Conor Nolan and Conor O’Hagan got a try each. John Lillis converted all four tries and added four penalties. Rob Armstrong and Fergus Gimblett scored tries for Kinsale and Armstrong converted one.

Fermoy defeated Cobh Pirates 7-3 but the losing bonus point was enough to keep Cobh in the Second Division. A Dylan Lacey try and conversion gave Fermoy victory. Jack Hickey kicked a penalty for Cobh.

Fethard defeated Waterford City 19-17. Gary Kavanagh scored a try for Fethard and Josef O’Connor converted and added four penalties. Aidan Power and Tom Bowe replied with tries for Waterford and Darren Walsh kicked two conversions and a penalty.

Castleisland received a walk over from Old Christians.

The two outstanding games in Division 3 were played to decide the places for the second promotion place.

Dungarvan defeated Chorca Dhuibhne 49-26 at Ballydavid. Séamus Keating and Alan McMahon each scored two tries for the west Waterford side and Doug Petit, Laurence Houlihan and David Hickey got one each. Hickey kicked two penalties and four conversions. Alan Devane, Micheal Breathnach, Brian Murphy and Adam Daly replied with tries for the Kerry Gaeltacht side and Devane converted three of the tries.

Ennis ensured their place in the play offs with a 27-17 win over Killorglin in a tight contest at the Clare venue. Mike Lyons scored two tries for Ennis and Mark Taylor and Cian Guilfoyle got one each. Ronan O’Halloran kicked a penalty and two conversions. Killorgan had tries from Fionan O’Sullivan and Darragh O’Shea with Luke O’Shea converting both and also adding a penalty.

The draw for the play offs are Dungarvan v Ennis and Mitchelstown v Killarney, ties to be played on the 3^rd March.