Nenagh Ormond under 15s had the privilege of playing in Thomond Park on Sunday last in the final of the Munster under 16 development bowl. Nenagh had beaten Garryowen and Fermoy in the lead up to the final. Conditions were perfect and it paved the way for a very entertaining game. From the kick off Nenagh took the game to Listowel, moving the ball through the hands, going through multiple phases and creating mini gaps. Nenagh got the first try after 7 minutes. Anluan White made the initial break up the left wing and the ball was moved swiftly into midfield where Aleks Monko made a half break. Then another carry from Aidan Ryan brought us within three metres of the line. Luke Slattery picked at the ruck and powered his way over the line to score. Kaden Fogarty added the extras. That score seemed to spur Listowel on, and they came back at Nenagh with real intent. Nenagh did very well to hold them out with brilliant tackling from Aleks Monko, Aidan Steed, Luke Slattery and Ben Madden to name a few. Eventually the pressure told, and Listowel scored from a quick tap penalty which they converted to tie the game. Listowel kept the momentum going and Nenagh struggled to get any momentum finding themselves defending a lot. However, they showed great resilience to keep Listowel out with Anluan White turning over two crucial lineouts at key moments. There were also some crucial turnovers at the ruck by James O’Dwyer and Aidan Steed. After weathering the storm Nenagh seemed to gain confidence and started to retain more possession. From a lineout in the opposition half Ben Madden made a break passing to James O’Dwyer who made further ground. After being tackled he offloaded to Tommy Powell who was hauled down short of the line. The ball was moved back across the field, and it looked like Cian Murphy was going to score but was denied agonisingly. From that ruck the ball was moved into midfield where Shane Gleeson popped up, threw a dummy and spotted a gap in which he slipped through and then on being tackled was able to reach out to touch down. The extras were added and there was a feeling it was a key score in the context of the game. The half time score was 14-7.
Listowel kicked off the second half and had Nenagh on the back foot straight away. Nenagh struggled to get their hands on the ball and found themselves defending for large parts of the game again. Some very strong tackles from Fionn Wallace, David Mulcahy, Shaun Murphy and Cody O’Connor kept Listowel at bay holding Listowel up over the line. Nenagh finally lifted the siege after ten minutes. From a scrum Ben Madden got Nenagh into good field position. Luke Slattery carried next to get Nenagh inside the 22. Kaden Fogarty then threw a long pass to Cody O’Connor who took it into contact. Shaun Murphy stepped into scrum half and shifted the ball through the hands where Tommy Powell made good yards in a tight space. The ball was recycled quickly and passed to Aidan Steed who came at pace and powered his way over the line with three players hanging out of him. That score gave Nenagh a two score cushion but it didn’t last long. Listowel came back again, and only for Harry Walsh at full back, who made two brilliant try saving tackles on a player twice his size, the game could have gone a different way. Listowel did get over for a second converted try soon after which left the score 19-14, a one score game. Listowel threw everything at Nenagh but the Nenagh defence held firm. From a scrum in Nenagh’s own 22 it looked like a clearance kick was on to relieve the pressure, but Cody O’Connor had other ideas. He took on his man and beat him on the outside and then kicked over the full back to bring play into the opposition 22. Cody kept going and tackled their winger, and the Nenagh pressure forced Listowel to kick the ball. James O’Dwyer got in half a block and the ball landed in Shaun Murphy hands on the 22. Shaun took on the defender and threw a dummy and sailed through the gap and dotted down under the posts. That score sealed the game. The conversion was added to leave the final score 26-14. Overall, it was a heroic performance especially in defence. Well done to all the players and thanks to all who made the journey to support us.
Squad: Fionn Wallace, Tomas Tierney, David Mulcahy, Aleks Monko, Aidan Steed, Shane Gleeson, Robbie O’Brien, Shaun Murphy, Aidan Ryan, Luke Slattery, Anluan White, Harry O Gorman, Sean Seymour, Kaden Fogarty, Cody Sheedy, Marcus Finn, Cody O’Connor, Ben Madden, Cian Murphy, Joe Fahy, Tommy Powell, Harry Walsh, James O’Dwyer.
Training continues on Wednesday and Nenagh next play Young Munster at home on Sunday in the North Munster under 15s cup.
