Vital points gained for Thurles with excellent away win in West Cork

Munster Junior 1 Rugby League 

Thurles RFC 34

Clonakilty 31

Thurles first team made the long journey to West Cork last Sunday to play Clonakilty in the penultimate round of the Munster Junior 1 league season.

It was a day across the league when the league winners were confirmed when Thomond overcame closest rivals Kilfeacle to claim a second consecutive title since dropping back to this league from the AIL two years ago.

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Also confirmed on the day was the first relegation victim with Crosshaven losing their league status with a visit to Thurles to come in their last game next week. At the start of this round, Thurles sat in 10th position in the league with Clonakilty just one point behind in 11th, with Mallow, Newcastle West and Crosshaven in 12th, 13th and 14th position with just five points separating these five league positions.

Therefore, the result of this game would have a significant effect going into next weekend’s final games for Thurles and Clonakilty, and with a couple of other teams with two remaining fixtures.

In good rugby conditions, Thurles kicked off with the wind and slight slope in their favor. The opening exchanges were intense, but it was Thurles who struck first.

After sustained pressure in the Clon 22, Peter Kinane’s surge set up Ciaran Ryan to crash over for a converted try after 11 minutes.Clonakilty responded swiftly, scoring from a well-executed lineout maul to level at 7-7 by the 18th minute.

Thurles regained the lead four minutes later when a James Maher penalty made it 10-7. They extended their advantage to 17-7 after a brilliant line break from Ciaran Ryan and an offload to Sam Quinlan for a second try, converted by Maher.
Clon hit back just before halftime with another maul try, leaving the score at 17-12.

Maher slotted a penalty in stoppage time to give Thurles a 20-12 half-time lead. Clonakilty struck early in the second half, capitalizing on poor Thurles defense to make it 20-19.

Thurles quickly responded, with James O’Mara finishing a well-worked move to push the lead to 27-19. The decisive moment came in the 66th minute when Luke Fogarty intercepted on halfway and sprinted under the posts, making it 34-19.

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Both sides saw yellow cards in the closing stages, and despite two late Clon tries, including a penalty try at the death, Thurles held on for a crucial away win.

A massive squad effort, inspired by the second team’s heroic extra-time cup win, saw standout performances from James Butler and Jack Kavanagh in the front row.

Thurles RFC: Shane Nugent, Jack Kavanagh, Dan Lanigan Ryan, Peter Kinane, Sam Quinlan, Mark Cummins, Ciaran Ryan, Seamus Holohan, James Maher, Luke Fogarty, Sonny Dwyer, James O’Meara, Sean McGrath, Matty Kelly.

Replacements: Ciaran Murphy (for Shane Nugent), Richie Holohan, Donnacha Ryan (for Dan Lanigan Ryan) Brandon Meaney (for James Butler), Jack Flanagan (for James Maher), Kieran O’Hagan (for James O’Mara).