Munster U16 Cup Round 4

Newcastle West 20 - Nenagh 7

Report by Barry Meehan

The scoreline does not reflect how close this game was but Nenagh ultimately paid the price for not retaining possession for long enough to put sustained pressure on the Newcastle West defence. Nenagh started well and took the game to the home team but turned the ball over at the breakdown and lineout. Newcastle kicked the penalties to the corner, retained possession and scored two tries to take a 12-0 lead. The rest of the first half was evenly contested and Nenagh finally managed to get a foothold in the game. From a lineout in the Newcastle half the ball was moved wide to Hugo Healy who broke the first line of defense and offloaded to Oscar Griffin.  While Newcastle West managed to clear their lines Nenagh came again, went through the phases staying patient in possession until the Newcastle West defense cracked and Ronan Devlin powered over from close range with Charlie Talbot added the extras to leave the half time score 12-7.

Early in the second half Nenagh laid siege to the Newcastle try line and had opportunities to score again but the chance was missed. As the half wore on the physically bigger Newcastle West team started to take control through their big forwards and excellent kicking game and while Nenagh tried hard they struggled to get into their rhythm.  Eventually the home team scored their third try from a rolling maul. Nenagh were still in the game and a clever restart allowed Hugo Healy to regain possession. The forwards worked hard and carried into the 22 but eventually were bundled into touch. A late Newcastle West penalty left the final score at 20-7 in their favour.  Our next game is Friday night away to Young Munster night in Round 5.