Seniors win epic derby in league decider

Seniors victorious in cracking derby:

Last Sunday our Seniors took on local rivals Killorglin in the postponed final round of the League. Killorglin topped the league all season, however the postponed match last weekend at Aghadoe saw Mitchelstown go top. The men from the Laune travelled the short distance to Aghadoe clear in the knowledge that a win would win them the league and promotion to Division 2.

However, Ger Moynihan’s men are in a serious vein of form at the moment. A cracking match ensued in front of a bumper crowd and the home side applied the pressure from the off, decamping to Killorglin’s half for much of the opening ten minutes. Following continuous infringements and penalty after penalty in favour of the home side, the referee awarded a penalty try on the 25th minute to give the home side the opening score, which was converted by the in form Paudie Sheahan. Killorglin followed with an unconverted try of their own only minutes later, working hard from the restart and putting pressure on Killarney. Killarney stalwart second row Alan Mulligan added his now trademark try to bring the score to 14 – 5 at half time following some fantastic teamwork, again converted by Paudie who maximised the strong wind at his back to best effect.

The visitors added a try early in the second half and Killarney Winger Brendan Fuller got to the end of a great passage of play to touch down for the men in Black and Red, which delighted the home crowd and in particular the huge Mitchelstown contingent who travelled up for the table topping decider. An excellently executed Killorglin drop goal was added by the visitors to bring the game to 19 points to 15 and it was game on!

Scrum half Paul O’Sullivan added to his excellent season tally with another cracker of a team worked try, sending the biggest cheer of the day around Aghadoe. Killarney’s scrum was simply sublime and they dominated to win on a scoreline of 24 – 15, which saw Mitchelstown crowned the League winners. Next Sunday it’s a trip to Dungarvan and the semi final of the Munster Junior Bowl competition and ahead of the final of the Martin O’Sullivan Cup the following week. We will have a bus travelling to the  Martin O’Sullivan Cup final in Ballincolling on the 26th. Contact Paul Murphy on 087-3745351 for details.

U 14’s:​

Last Saturday saw the U14 team travel to Tralee for the second last match knowing that a win would put them in the final of the west Munster League.Following the previous weeks disappointment in Castleisland a determined bunch too​k to the field and put their stamp on the game.Despite a sluggish start speedster Tomas Clifford scored an excellent try from the wing. This was followed up by a try after 20 minutes by Liam Randles.

​ ​

Forwards and Backs responded with some breath-taking interlinks which was topped off by a try by Rian Colleran in the corner.  A last try was scored by Tomas Clifford.  Stand in kicker Peter Walsh converted one of the tries.  The last 18 minutes saw subs being brought on to bolster the team.  To a man every player played and defended as best they could but a dogged Tralee were never going to give up and ran in a brace of tries and one conversion.  One of the outstanding features of the game was the follow through in ground plays where the training ground practice was bearing fruit.Final score Killarney 22 – Tralee 12​​ Next up is our last official game on Saturday v Abbeyfeale – KO 11a.m.  

 

U 16s:

Killarney hosted Bandon in the final round of the Munster Bowl. Very simply Killarney needed a win and for other results to fall in our favour. As is now an established custom, Killarney conceded an unconverted try within 5 minutes, and another within ten leaving the score 10-0 to the visitors.​

Killarney did however respond on 18 minutes when No 8 Craig McKenzie -Vass, barged over near the corner after a penalty line-out move straight off the training paddock delivered a much needed score to settle the nerve​s.​ Almost immediately Bandon scored a converted try​ and​ Killarney trailed by 22-5 at the break. It was now or never for Killarney and with a few adjustments especially at the breakdown, Killarney got back into the game and remarkably did not concede a single point in the second half, i​n fact Captain Richard Wallace scored at the death off a tap penalty, to win the half! Final score 22-10 to Bandon. We now have the cup to look forward to in a few weeks but will go back to do some serious soul searching in the m​eantime​.​

​

U18’s:

Playing away in Cork for the second consecutive Saturday Killarney returned over the County Bounds in a much better frame of mind. Though defeated they played extremely well against a very well drilled and competent opposition. The opening exchanges belonged to Old Christians who handled the ball well in the face of a stiff breeze.  Their possession game yielded early dividends with two well worked tries. Gradually Killarney found their feet and taking the ball through the phases scored an excellent converted try.

While the host team held the upper hand throughout they were not able to pull away from their opponents. Whenever Old Christians crossed the whitewash, Killarney responded with their own score to keep the contest competitive. Their handling, tackling and overall play showed a huge improvement on the previous week and augurs well for the concluding stages of this competition. Captain Dylan McCarthy and Alan Lynch, as ever, led from the front, each scoring a try in the process.  Others to shine for Killarney were Kieran O’Connor who moved his line well from the out half berth and added three conversions to boot. ​Final Score: ​Old Christians RFC 40 – Killarney RFC  26.

Minis:

Last Saturday, our Minis hosted Tralee RFC at Knockreer, in perfect if fresh playing conditions. Tralee brought teams from U8 to U12 and some serious rugby ensued with everyone getting some great game  time ahead of the next round of the West Munster Blitz in 2 weeks, in Tralee.

Next weekend, we welcome Abbeyfeale U8 section for a few matches and our own U8 will look forward to the challenge. Training continues between 10:30am and 12 midday. Contact Coordinator Liam Murphy on 087-4145662 with any queries.

 

Girls Rugby:

Girls rugby is well and truly growing in Killarney. Last weekend we fielded a team against Tralee RFC, with head coach Denise Treacy at the helm. The girls played two matches and did themselves and their club proud, scoring some fantastic tries. We also have some girls playing rugby at U12 and are set to have an open day for 5th and 6th class girls at Aghadoe over the next few weeks. Keep posted to Facebook for more details.