U16 Munster Club Development Cup

Waterford City 12-17 Nenagh Ormond

Nenagh Ormond Under 16s travelled to Waterford on Sunday morning where they faced a very determined Waterford City side in the quarter final of the Munster Club Development Cup. Although the rain held off until after the match, a strong wind was blowing across the pitch making lineouts, passing and kicking all somewhat of a lottery at times.

Nenagh lacked a bit of energy after the long trip and they found it difficult to go up through the gears. Despite this, they did have a number of chances in the opening ten minutes and managed to get on the scoreboard first. Having made their way into Waterford territory, outhalf Adam Steed gave a short flat pass to James Finn who ran a hard, straight line to hold the defence and he passed wide to Adam Cleere. Cleere used his excellent footwork and outpaced the defence to score.

After this the two teams returned to a tug of war but Nenagh looked to be managing Waterford well when they came on the attack. However, a clever kick through into Nenagh’s 22 allowed Waterford to regain possession and get in for a try under the posts. The try was converted to put the home side two points in front.

As the half wore on Nenagh had a few more chances but it was beginning to look like there wouldn’t be another score before the break. Then, just minutes before the half time whistle when Waterford were on the attack again, James Finn read the pass perfectly, intercepted and raced in under the posts. He also slotted the conversion to put Nenagh up by 5 points at the break.

The energy was better in the second half and the third Nenagh try came from a scrum inside the Waterford half. Some good handling and running lines got the ball to Kieran Tinkler who broke up the touchline to well inside the opposition 22. The forwards kept it tight with runs from Tom Lillis and Paddy Ryan pushing the defence back before a final pick and go took second row Darragh Tucker over the line.

Waterford, at 7-17 down, upped their game, making good ground and putting the Nenagh defence under pressure. They eventually won a scrum in Nenagh’s 22 from which they passed the ball out to the backs before switching back to the blindside. Nenagh got bodies there but were scrambling and Waterford went over in the corner to bring the score back to 12-17.

Waterford were now within touching distance and they knew it. They spent the final 7-8 minutes camped in Nenagh’s 22 and it took a huge defensive effort from all 15 Nenagh players on the pitch to keep them out.

After a three week break and having to travel to Waterford, Nenagh had to dig deep to secure this win. There was some superb passing in very windy conditions and the workrate in the forwards in the second half was excellent. Special mention must go to hooker Luke Conneally who carried hard and defended well in his first match at U16.

Our Under 16s now look forward to the semi-final next Saturday against Killarney.

Team: Aidan Fogarty, Kieran Tinkler, Adam Cleere, James Finn, Liam Cooney, Adam Steed, Andrew Ferris, Paddy Ryan, Luke Conneally, Arainn O’Sullivan, Darragh Tucker, Christian Storey, Tom Kennedy, John Brislane (c), Tom Lillis. Reps: Luke Graham, Joe Shanahan, Evan Rainsford, Cormac Kennedy, Jack O’Flaherty.