Nenagh Ormond U16 31 Kinsale U16 29

Nenagh Ormond under 16s played Kinsale RFC last Sunday in the 3rd round of the Pan Munster Cup competition. Whilst most games in the province were called off, this game went ahead on the 3G all weather pitch. Both teams were unbeaten going into this game and a real tussle unfolded. Kinsale were quick out of the blocks and scored an unconverted try in the corner.  Nenagh responded quickly, a good counterattack by Harry Walsh allowed Luke Slattery to carry deep into the opposition 22 where he offloaded to Cody O’Connor who scored in the corner. 5 all and game on!  Kinsale responded with 2 tries. Their forwards were carrying very well, and their powerful centres were doing a lot of damage with ball in hand. That left the score at 19-5 to Kinsale and an uphill battle ahead for Nenagh. After a handling error by Kinsale in the opposition 22, Nenagh gained some vital territory. From the resulting scrum Cian Murphy made a half break and then Luke Slattery carried off the back of the ensuing ruck to get Nenagh close to the line.  Kaden Fogarty moved the ball back infield to Tadhg Teefey who had a lot to do but managed to power his way over for the score with 3 tacklers hanging out of him. That scoreboard now showed 19-12 in favour of Kinsale and they didn’t sit back, scoring again leaving Nenagh two scores behind at 24-12. From a scrum outside the Kinsale 22 Nenagh went wide and from there Harry Walsh cut back in and made good yards. A brilliant carry from Robbie O’Brien created an overlap on the left and some excellent hands from Cody O’Connor and Luke Slattery put Shaun Murphy away to score in the corner. That was the final score before halftime and left it 24 -17 to Kinsale.

At the start of the second half Nenagh seemed to up the ante and scored first. A good half break by Cody O’Connor who then had the composure to offload to Luke Slattery which brought Nenagh deep into the 22. They then moved the ball wide to Cian Murphy who drew the last defender and passed to Aron Griffin who showed good pace to score in the corner. Cody O’Connor kicked a brilliant conversion to leave it all square at 24 all. The next fifteen minutes of the game was played between both 22s with neither team giving an inch. However, Kinsale got their breakthrough with four minutes to go. Some good work by their pack allowed them to score an unconverted try. That left Kinsale up by 5 points with only minutes to go. Nenagh, after gaining possession back, made 2 uncharacteristic mistakes due to opposition pressure and it looked like the game was going to end with a Kinsale win. In the last minute Kinsale were pounding the Nenagh tryline but some great defensive work kept them out. From a ruck Kinsale tried to move the ball wide but great awareness by Cody O’Connor allowed him to intercept the pass and he ran 70 metres to score under the posts. Kaden Fogarty added the extra two points, and the referee blew the final whistle. It was a tough game with both teams contributing to an entertaining spectacle. Kinsale were a well drilled team, and the result could have gone either way. The two teams will do it all again in the reverse fixture next weekend in Kinsale.  Thanks to the parents who provided refreshments after game. Training continues Wednesday evening.