Charleville rise to the Challenge of Ballincollig for Shield win

YET again it was provincial matters that stole the attention this week with Munster recording what was seen by many as another terrific triumph over a touring side, but by others as another historic achievement by the men in red.

The Maori All Blacks may have come up short against the mighty red army but they left Limerick with the praise of the rugby world heaped upon their shoulders after they too paid tribute to the late “Axel” Foley with a simple yet moving gesture.

Ireland followed up Munster’s heroics with another clinical display, this time against a Canada side that never really looked like having the measure of the men in green – particularly after their history making exploits in America the week before.

All eyes now go back on the international side as they look to record back to back wins over the mighty All Blacks. How times have changed.

Not a lot of action from a local rugby perspective last weekend with minimal cup action taking centre stage.

Charleville were the big winners of the week – seeing off Ballincollig in the Junior Clubs Challenge Shield first round tie. This was a big scalp for the north Cork side as Ballincollig would have plenty pedigree at this level. 32-15 was the final score line with Charleville worth every bit of their 17-point winning margin.

Jack Doyle, Gavin Kelleher and Mattie O’Neill will take the plaudits for the victor’s while the pack will take the praise for the penalty try that went their way. Michael O’Flynn added five scores with the boot - three conversions and two penalties spelled out what good form he is in.

Charleville didn’t have everything their own way with tries from Taljaard Hardus and Shane Kavanagh making life tough for Charleville however this was always going to be Charleville’s day and they can now look forward to a game with in the quarter final round which is down for decision next week.

This will undoubtedly be another tough one for the men in red however winning has a way of catching on and Charleville will hope to keep a recent good run of form on track. Looking past Crosshaven, there is the prize of a game with Kinsale in the last four for the winners next weekend. IN the Martin O’Sulivan Cup Killarney were the big winners, seeing off a highly fancied Fermoy side by 10 points, 25-15. Fermoy would have fancied their chances of progressing in this competition however they struggled right from the off and trailed the Kerry men by 15-3 at the mid-way point.

Tries from Colin McCarthy and Paul O’Sullivan set Killarney on their way to the win with Paudie Sheehan adding a conversion and a penalty in the opening period. Aaron Jones scored Killarney’s final try with Sheehan adding another conversion and a penalty.

Eddie O’Connell scored a first penalty for Fermoy with tries from Peter Murphy and Tom Murphy and a conversion from O’Connell rounding off the Cork side’s scoring. THE other action for local sides was in the second tier of Munster Club rugby with Mallow squaring up to Iveragh while Muskerry entertained high flying Highfield. This was a tough Junior 2 game for the mid Cork men and the 27-7 away win for Highfield showed the gap that exists between these two teams right now.

Mallow fared a little better than their mid Cork neighbours with a hard fought 16-13 away win against Iveragh. Tries from Garvan O’Brien and Mike Sweeney did the main damage with Kieran Willis adding a brace of crucial penalties. IT was a tough day at Knocknacolon last Saturday when Bruff came to town to take on Kanturk in a AIL Division 2C basement battle. This has proved to be a tough season so far for the north Cork side and unfortunately for Kanturk it didn’t get any easier as they were comprehensively dismissed by the visitors, 36-8. Bruff led at the half way point by 14-8 thanks to a try and two conversions from Tony Cahill as well as a deserved penalty try. A brace of second half tries from Mike Cooke added to the home side’s pain with tries from Jack Burns and John Cleary securing the win.

Kanturk went in for a first half try from Olan Daly which was converted by Conor Cremin however they failed to score in the second period which will have done nothing for the team’s confidence levels.

Kanturk have a weekend off from league action next weekend and will hoe that the break will let them recharge the batteries and prepare for what is likely to be an intense few months ahead. CHARLEVILLE’S clash with Crosshaven in the Junior Clubs Challenge Shield is the only first team action this weekend. All other sides will be back in action the following weekend with a full schedule all the way from there to the busy Christmas period.