U16 & U18 Cup Finals At Thomond On Sunday

After months of hard work, for the clubs of Ennis, Garryowen, Kinsale, Skibbereen, Mallow and Thurles, Sunday marks a momentous day, as they aim to capture the U18 and U16 Cups, and U18 plate title at this very venue.

The action begins at noon on the Thomond Park main pitch, as Mallow and Thurles meet in the middle in the U18 plate final.

Mallow began the knockout stages with a low-scoring gritty battle over North Cork rivals Charleville at home two weeks ago.

In the semis they faced a Bandon outfit who had gotten to the U16 final the season, and in contrast to their quarters, the semi-final saw a high scoring affair with the north triumphing over the west, with a 22-13 victory.

Thurles also faced a local derby, this time in the semi-final stage, having beaten Thomond comfortably in the quarters. Nenagh Ormond stood between the black-and-whites and a plate final appearance, and a three point victory (10-3) was enough to see them into the last stage.

2pm sees the U16 Cup reach its conclusion in an all-Cork affair, as Kinsale are the home side against Skibbereen, only an hour down the road via Clonakilty.

Both of these sides finished second in their groups, but had somewhat different paths to the final. Kinsale had a relatively comfortable time of things, defeating Ennis 17-10 at Snugmore before getting over the challenge of a traditionally strong Waterpark side 17-7 in Youghal.

A converted try was enough to see Skibbereen come away from Galbally with a semi-final place, and squeaked into the final on the first-try rule against Cobh Pirates at Wilton.

As if that wasn’t enough rugby in one afternoon, the day concludes with Munster’s premier underage competition, as Ennis and Garryowen do battle in the U18 Cup final at 3.45.

Ennis have been in flying form, going five from five in the round robin, and continued that strong form into the knockout stages, running in 29 points in their defeat of Skibbereen on the Lees Road.

The semi-final saw a tough contest against Tralee, in which the Banner side came through 20-17 winners in the end, and have been free scoring all competition.

Garryowen meanwhile lost twice in the group stages against Waterpark and Dolphin, but after beating Midleton 31-7 away from home, they extracted their revenge on the Waterford side, a shock 20-15 defeat handing them a place in the final across the city.

A treble-header ticket is just €10 for adults and €5 for juveniles. A €25 family (two adults & three juveniles) ticket is also available for the three games.

Bank of Ireland Munster U18 Plate final: Mallow v Thurles, Thomond Park, 12pm
Bank of Ireland Munster U16 Cup final: Kinsale v Skibbereen, Thomond Park, 2pm
Bank of Ireland Munster U18 Cup final: Ennis v Garryowen, Thomond Park, 3.45pm