U16 North Munster Cup Semi-Final

Last Sunday Nenagh Ormond and Newcastle West Under 16s contested the North Munster Cup Semi-Final. The Limerick side were at home and, as well as the journey, Nenagh had to contend with several injuries which made numbers tight. Despite this, the Nenagh lads arrived ready to work hard together and this excellent attitude saw them put in a composed performance which sees them through to the final of the North Munster Cup.

Nenagh put Newcastle West under pressure from the kick off but the home side tackled well and when Nenagh eventually won a penalty they elected to go for the posts. James Finn slotted the kick to put them three points ahead. However, from about 10 minutes in Nenagh took hold of the match and, despite a good rush defence and some breaks out wide from the home side, Nenagh began to make inroads through strong carries from the forwards. A steal from Darragh Tucker in a ruck inside the Newcastle West 10 metre line gave Nenagh their first opportunity. The ball went wide and two great passes from Tomás Byrne and Aidan Fogarty got the ball out to Finn on the wing for the try.

Five minutes later a hard, straight line from prop Jack Gleeson took Nenagh into opposition territory again where some good offloading put Byrne through and over the line. An intercept try for Adam Steed and a great step from Fogarty to beat the defence, along with two conversions from Finn, put Nenagh well ahead at the break.

The visitors also started the second half well with a try from centre Adam Cleere. However, Newcastle West kept working away and when they got into the Nenagh 22 in the third quarter they took their opportunity with a well worked try. A further try from Nenagh’s number 8 Tom Lillis was followed by a second Newcastle West try and conversion before the final whistle.

This was a good performance from the pack, with both Lillis and Sean Fitzgerald leading the way with some excellent carries. Nenagh’s lineout was strong with Cormac Kennedy getting into the air quick and second row Darragh Tucker made a nuisance of himself at the breakdown, stealing the ball in several opposition rucks. The passing from both centres was crisp, inviting the outside backs to come onto the ball at pace, and it was great to see what we have been working on at training put into action out on the pitch.

This win puts our Under 16s through to the final of the North Munster Cup against Bruff, details to be confirmed.

Team: Liam Cooney, Luke Graham, Adam Cleere, Tomás Byrne, James Finn, Adam Steed, Andrew Ferris, Jack Gleeson, Cormac Kennedy, Arainn O’Sullivan, Darragh Tucker, Paddy Ryan, Aidan Fogarty, Sean Fitzgerald (c), Tom Lillis. Rep: Sam Lloyd.