Provincial Rugby Roundup

Thomond made it eleven out of eleven bonus point wins in Division 1 of the Munster Junior League as Old Christians won the top of the table clash in Division 2 and Carrick-on-Suir are the new leaders in Division 3.

With just two games remaining in the top two Divisions of the Junior League, Thomond could retain their title in their next game away to Kilfeacle in two week’s time, after their 43-0 home win over Bandon. Evan Maher and Sean Rice each scored two tries for the Limerick side and Joshua Dillon, Werner Kruger and Jason Kiely got one apiece. Kiely converted four of the tries.

Muskerry kept their hopes alive of a top four finish with an impressive 33-0 away win at Kanturk. Tom Griffin scored two of Muskerry’s five tries, with Liam O’Donovan, Frankie Horgan and Shane O’Riordan getting one each. Rob Cahill kicked four conversions.

The battle to avoid relegation intensifies as both bottom sides won.

Newcastle West still remain bottom of the table despite their 34-24 home win over fellow strugglers Clonakilty. Sean Murphy scored two tries for Newcastle West and Jason Woulfe got one. Shane Airey kicked five penalties and two conversions. Clonakilty replied with two tries from Henry Miles and one by Olan Deane. Mark Purcell converted all three tries and also added a penalty.

Mallow moved out of the relegation zone with a 22-10 home win over Crosshaven, a result that sees Crosshaven now occupy the other relegation place. Chris O’Regan and Hunter Cowan scored tries for Mallow who were also awarded a penalty try. Cowan kicked a conversion and a penalty. Denis McBarron replied with a try for Crosshaven and Kealan Daly kicked a conversion and a penalty.

Richmond and Thurles shared the spoils at the Canal Bank when they played out a 17-17 draw. Keith McCarthy. Sami Farag and Jack O’Hanlon scored tries for Richmond and Brian Mullins added one conversion. Sam Quinlan, Sonny Dwyer and Mark Cummins replied with tries for Thurles and Jack Flanagan kicked a conversion.

St Mary’s defeated Skibbereen 24-20 at Gove Island, a result that sees the West Cork side becoming involved in the relegation battle. James O’Brien scored two tries for the Saints and Stephen Hayes got one. Adam Guerin converted all three tries and also kicked a penalty. David Shannon, Darragh Coombes and Timothy Farrell replied with tries for Skibb’ and Shannon added a conversion and a penalty.

In Division 2, the meeting of the top two unbeaten sides saw Old Christians take the spoils with a 13-8 away win over Clanwilliam in a thrilling encounter. Cian Walsh and Mike O’Sullivan scored tries for the Rathcooney side and Laszio Rabatin kicked a penalty. Mathuín Carey replied with a try for Clanwilliam and Niall Leahy added a penalty.

Kinsale defeated bottom side Tralee 53-7 with two tries from Joey O’Callaghan and one each from Erhan Farley, Evan Wrenne, Evan O’Riordan, Tim Lynch, Mattie O’Donovan and Eric Lynch. They were also awarded a penalty try. Gavin McCarthy, Robbie O’Flynn and Dylan Lacey each added a conversion.

Fermoy defeated St. Senan’s 33-31, but still occupy second last position. Alan Ross scored two tries for Fermoy and Darren Hartnett got one. Eoin Healy converted all three tries and also added four penalties. Senan’s picked up two points from this encounter with tries from Darren McNamara, Fergal Lawlor, Liam Lapina, James Kennedy and Jamie McNamara. Declan Rowe kicked three conversions.

Castleisland defeated Charleville 24-22 with three tries from Mike Cronin and Joe Sheehy kicked three conversions and a penalty. Kian Smith, Jame Madigan and Kayden O’Neill replied with tries for Charleville, Kian Smith added a conversion, and Jessie Smith kicked a conversion and a penalty.

Abbeyfeale eased their relegation worries with a 19-18 home win against Ennis. John Forde, Jake Quirke and Sean Bates scored tries for the winners and Caoimhin Barron added two conversions. Ben Benko replied with two tries for Ennis and Shane Haran got one. Bryan Murphy kicked a penalty.

Waterpark had a 34-22 victory over Cobh Pirates at Ballinakill  with tries from Ben Wallis, Donagh O’Connor, Luke Murphy, Rory Hannon and Ed Wall. Willie Walsh kicked three conversions and a penalty. Ben Kennedy, Stephen Le Roux and Rory Pierce replied with tries for the Pirates and Billy Cain added two conversions and a penalty.

A try from Dale Murphy converted by Paddy Gaynor was not enough for Fethard who lost away to Ballincollig 40-7.

Carrick-on-Suir are the new leaders in Division Three after their 31-14 away win in Scariff. Ryan O’Donohoe and Jack O’Connell each scored two tries and Kieran Kinsella got one. Fionn Barry converted three of the tries. Mark Walsh and David Slevin replied with tries for Scariff and Shane Kavanagh converted both.

Waterford City made the long trip to the Kerry Gaeltacht and defeated Corca Dhuibhne 29-22. Aaron Smith, Liam Drago, Mikey O’Connor and Alec Fitzmaurice were the Waterford try scorers, with O’Connor kicking three conversions and a penalty. Brian Devine, Kentin Bouyer, Odhran Ó Shlataire and Niall Flannery replied with tries for the home side and Tip Delaney added one conversion.

Ardscoil Old Boys defeated Dungarvan 29-7 with two tries from Dara Philips, and one each by Jamie Moore and Robin Healy. Moore kicked three conversions and a penalty. Con Williams scored a try for the home side and David Hickey converted.

Killarney booked their place in the final of the Martin O’Sullivan Cup with a 41-10 home win against Youghal. Thomas Clifford scored three tries for Killarney and Diarmuid Carr, Dion O’Neill and Stephen Dalton got one each. Donnchadh Grealy kicked three conversions and a penalty, with Brendan Fuller also adding a conversion. Jordan Yellop scored a try for Youghal, which Nathan O’Halloran converted, and Adam Malone added a penalty.