Provincial Rugby Roundup

The destination of the Munster Junior League will go down to the wire as Newcastle West and Bandon battle it out for the title with one game remaining, as the four qualifiers for next season’s All Ireland Junior Cup have been decided with Waterpark just missing out.

The big game of the weekend saw Newcastle West take over pole position in Section A of the Munster Junior League as a result of their 26-10 home win over leaders Bandon, Sean Murphy and TJ Relihan scored tries for Newcastle West and Charlie O’Doherty converted both and also kicked four penalties. Bandon replied with a try, conversion and penalty by Ben Ridgeway.

Newcastle West finish off their campaign with a trip to Muskerry, while Bandon will host Kilfeacle in their final game.

Kilfeacle edged Waterpark out of a top four finish after their 20-19 home win. Kevin Kinnane, Ricky Whitney and Evan Breen scored tries for Kilfeacle and Gavin Heuston kicked a conversion and a penalty. Conor Horan, Oisin Johnston and Paul Cotter replied with tries for Waterpark and Willie Walsh added two conversions.

Thomond were guaranteed a top four finish after they received a walk over from Muskerry.

In the other game in this section Richmond defeated Old Christians 38-12 at the Canal Bank.  Darragh Joyce scored two tries for the winners and Gareth O’Hanlon, Keelan Stephenson, Adam Somers and Gavin Kirwin got one each. Tadhg Bennett kicked four conversions.

In Section B Crosshaven ensured their hopes of finishing top of this section with a 19-14 home win over Clanwilliam. Crosshaven led 19-0 at half time with tries from Jason Brady, James Burke and Graham Smith. Keelan Conway converted two of the tries. Niall Leahy and Darragh Crowe scored tries for Clanwilliam and Leahy converted both. A bonus point win against Galbally in their final game will see the seasiders take the title.

Clonakilty eased their ranking worries with a 28-13 home win over Galbally. Aaron Hayes, Rob Howick Finglas, Paul O’Regan and Craig Bateman scored tries for Clonakilty and all were converted by Mark Purcell. Jack Donovan replied with two tries for Galbally and Pat Shanahan added a penalty.

Five penalties from Jimmy Glynn earned Mallow a 15-8 home win over St. Senan’s.

Skibbereen defeated Abbeyfeale 20-7. Rory Hone scored two tries for Skibb and Rory Byrne got one. Jack O’Driscoll added a conversion and a penalty. Sean Scanell replied with a try for Abbeyfeale and Steve Daly converted.

Thurles are the new leaders in Section C after they made amends for last weeks Cup defeat with a 25-20 home win over Charleville. James Maher, Paddy McGrath and Luke Kelly scored tries for Thurles and McGrath kicked two conversions and two penalties. Ollie Young and Eoin McMahon replied with tries for Charleville and Jessie Smith added two penalties and two conversions.

Kanturk lost their unbeaten record losing 12-8 away to St. Mary’s. Paul Loughran kicked four penalties for the Saints and Brian O’Sullivan replied with a try for Kanturk and Paul O’Keeffe kicked a penalty.

Fermoy defeated Dungarvan 27-10. A try from PJ Lloyd converted by Ben McCarthy and a penalty by McCarthy had Fermoy 10-0 ahead at the interval. Peter Stapleton and McCarthy added further tries with McCarthy converting both and also adding another penalty. David hickey replied with two tries for the home side.

Fethard defeated Ballincollig16-15 with tries from Conor Kavanagh and Peter Wall. Josef O’Connor added two penalties. Liam McGarry and Shane Kavanagh scored tries for Ballincollig and Shane Buckley kicked a conversion and a penalty.

In Section D Tralee are the new leaders after their 21-6 home win over Scariff. Jamie Byrne, Joe Quilter and Gavin Peevers scored tries for the Kerry side, which Seamus Lyne converted all three tries. James Hastings replied with two penalties for the visitors.

Killorglin continued their good run with 37-10 home win over Mitchelstown. Rob Lynch, Seamus Doyle, Jamie O’Leary, Darragh O’Shea and Trevor West scored tries for Killorglin. Luke O’Shea  kicked three conversions and a penalty and Garry O’Keeffe also added a penalty.

Cobh Pirates defeated leaders Ennis 28-15 with tries from Stephen Blake, Ian Jones, Ben Kennedy and Storm Leroux. Cian Ahern kicked two conversions and a penalty. Michael Savage and Colm Kearney replied with tries for Ennis and Kearney added a conversion and a penalty.

Kinsale defeated Waterford City 29-0 with tries from Darragh Mangan, Ruairi McCarthy, Conall Gilleran and Damien Kozik. Dylan Lacey kicked three conversions and a penalty.

Castleisland continued their unbeaten run in Conference E after their 23-5 away win over Bantry Bay. John Bell, and Mike Cronin scored tries for Castleisland and Joe Sheehy kicked two penalties, two conversions and a drop goal for the winners. Sean McCarthy replied with a try for the home side.

Youghal and Chorca Dhuibhne doubled up their home and away fixture and played it at Musgrave Park for double points. Youghal won 50-15. Scott O’Sullivan and Alan Frahill O’Connor each scored two tries for Youghal and Stephen Kelly, Kelvin Yellop, Killian Daly and Jack Monaghan got one each. Daly kicked two conversions and Jonathan Ormond three. Michael Walsh, Martin O’Gorman and Adam Daly had tries for the Kerry Gaeltacht side.

Killarney continued their promotion push with a 17-11 home win over Douglas. Dave Howard and Paul O’Sullivan scored tries for Killarney. Paudie Sheahan converted both and also added a penalty.

Waterpark defeated Ballincollig 57-24 in the Women’s Division 2 Cup. Jade Shanahan (3), Alisha Flynn (2), Sarah Curry Miller, Hannah Roche, Marie Peters and Denise Curren were the Waterpark try scorers. Chloe Beukes kicked six conversions.