Nenagh Ormond U16s hosted a very good Bandon side on Sunday afternoon in Lisatunny in the quarter final of the Munster Cup. It was a tight game from beginning to end with the gap never more than a score.

The home side opened with a super try out wide from Marcus O’Mahony after some very well worked phases from the forward pack. Bandon responded just minutes later with a converted try to go two points ahead. Further tries at either end (O’Mahony again for Nenagh, converted by Cillian Healy) brought the sides level at 12 all before a penalty kick from Healy put Nenagh ahead 15-12. Then, just before halftime, Bandon got another foothold in Nenagh territory and managed to score again to go into the half time break two points in front.

Not long into the second half Bandon got over for their fourth try, widening their lead to 7 points but, with still just one converted try in it, Nenagh became even more determined. Both teams fought hard but it wasn’t until 8 minutes from the end that Ryan Gratton touched down to pull the score back to 20-22. Nenagh worked even harder after that and were very unlucky not to score, even getting over the tryline once again only to be penalised for a double movement.

While a defeat by such a narrow margin was tough to take, this hard working, talented group can all be very proud of both this excellent performance and a great Cup campaign overall.

As is often the case in sport, the lads will have no time to dwell on this game as they head straight back to work this week in preparation for their North Munster League Final against Bruff on March 19th.