Munster Club U16 Cup

Nenagh Ormond 19-18 Cashel-Kilfeacle

Nenagh Ormond Under 16s welcomed Cashel-Kilfeacle to New Ormond Park on Sunday for the third round of the Munster Club Cup. Finding themselves in a very tight group and with one loss and one win in the previous two rounds, Nenagh needed a win in this match to keep their hopes alive of automatic qualification for a quarter final place. Nenagh played with the considerable wind in the first half but unfortunately found it hard to settle into the game and keep their composure when opportunities arose. Cashel-Kilfeacle, on the other hand, managed to take full advantage of the couple of opportunities they got.

The first came when Nenagh knocked on the ball in the Cashel-Kilfeacle 22 and the visitors got their hands on it. The referee played advantage but Nenagh were not switched on and Cashel-Kilfeacle flashed the ball wide. Since Nenagh had been on the attack their back three were up in the line and there was a clear run to the try line for the winger who touched down in the corner. The try was converted and Cashel-Kilfeacle were ahead by 7 points. From the kick-off, they caught the ball deep inside their own half and held possession well. Nenagh’s defence was far too narrow and they managed to get the ball through the hands to score out wide again for a 12 point lead. The remainder of the first half saw Nenagh gradually coming into the game more but there was no further score before half time.

Coming back out 12 points down, the Nenagh lads knew something had to change and from the kick off they looked more lively, offloading out of the tackle to keep the ball alive and make good ground. However, they still couldn’t get the last pass to stick and on a couple of occasions lost the ball in the ruck. During this third quarter, Cashel made two visits to the Nenagh half and both times came away with 3 points through penalties slotted by their excellent kicker. At 18 points down the game looked to be lost but these lads have become a team that pulls together and never gives up.

The comeback started with an excellent break down the left touchline by Aaron Delahunty who scored in the corner. Minutes later outhalf Adam Steed dummied beautifully and slipped through the gap before passing it to James Finn who scored under the posts and, with time running out, Finn drop-kicked the conversion to bring the score back to 12-18. With under three minutes remaining on the clock, Cashel-Kilfeacle had possession and were attacking just inside the Nenagh half when Finn read the pass perfectly, intercepted and raced all the way to the line to score. He slotted the conversion to seal the 19-18 win.

Four teams in this group are now on two wins apiece, one of those being Nenagh’s next opponents Clonmel who we travel to next Sunday for a 12.30pm kick off.

Nenagh Team: Adam Cleere, Liam Cooney, Aaron Delahunty, James Finn, Kieran Tinkler, Adam Steed, Andrew Ferris, Christian Storey, Sean Fitzgerald, Paddy Ryan, Darragh Tucker, Tom Kennedy, Eoghan Tighe (capt.), John Brislane, Tom Lillis. Reps: Jack Gleeson, Josh Moloney, Tomás Byrne, Evan Rainsford, Luke Graham, Arainn O’Sullivan, Cormac Kennedy.