Mallow earn tight win away to Abbeyfeale
ROUND Two of the Munster Junior Leagues brought plenty in the way of competitive action last Sunday with those likely to vie for honours come season’s end looking to set down a marker for those daring to challenge the status quo.
MUNSTER J-LEAGUE DIVISION 1
Abbeyfeale 17 Mallow 18
MALLOW came into their J1 clash with Abbeyfeale full of the joys of life after an impressive opening day win but there was little doubt that an away fixture at the Limerick venue was going to be another level up for the side that stormed through the J2 last season.
Despite the challenge Mallow managed to eke out their second win on the bounce leaving the home side to rue the chances that got away. A final score of 18-17 is a reflection of just how tight this tie was and Mallow sit joint top of a crowded J1 table.
Abbeyfeale looked well on their way to win this one with tries from Tom Hassett, Adrian Enright and Michael Roche with Derry O’Connor adding one of three conversions – something that would come back to haunt the Limerick side come the final whistle.
For Mallow, tries from Owen Glynn and Michael Linehan heaped the pressure on the home side with the ever-reliable boot of David Breen converting one while also adding a brace of hard earned penalties.
Mallow will now look to make it three wins from three this Sunday as they entertain St Senan’s in the Blackwater Valley. Senan’s have only played one game to date and that ended in disappointment for the Limerick side so they will see this as a chance to get their season off to a belated positive start.
MUNSTER J-LEAGUE DIVISION 2
IN Division 2, Kanturk, Dungarvan and St Marys hold top spot after all three secured their second win from two last weekend.
Kanturk’s demotion to the J2 was a tough blow for a very successful and proud club however they are made of tough stuff at Knocknacolan and all at the club are focused on returning to the top tier of Munster Junior Rugby.
Tralee 12 Kanturk 32
On the opening weekend the boys from the banks of the Allow battled past Charleville and in Round 2 it was Tralee that felt the full force of what the men in green are all about.
The final score line was 32-12 and that was a pretty accurate assessment of the difference between these two sides right now.
This one was all about the away side with truies from Olan Daly, Gearoid Lyons, Conor O’Sullivan, and Sean O’Brien doing the main damage as well as securing the bonus point.
Paul O’Keeffe was again on song with the boot racking up three of the four conversion attempts as well as a brace of penalties.
Kanturk won’t have much time to sit on their laurels as they prepare to entertain Fethard & District this Sunday in Duhallow. The away side have lost their two opening fixtures of the campaign so they will be coming to Kanturk looking to get their season off and running however they are likely to meet a side full of the joys of life and in no mood to let this game slide.
Muskerry 22 Old Christians 31
After squeezing past Kinsale in Round 1, Old Christians made the trip to Ballyanly to take on a Muskerry side that had racked up all of 60 points against Castleisland in their opening day out.
Both sides looked evenly matched coming into this one with Christians perhaps slight favourites and on the day that is exactly the way it panned out as the visitors took the spoils in a really competitive game by 31-22.
Both sides managed three tries with Eddie Delahunt, Cian Smith and Chris Hartnett touching down for the winners while Shane Breen, Jonathan Buckley and Shane O’Riordan bagged five pointers for the home side.
This one came down to the boot and on that front Muskerry couldn’t match Old Christian’s John Marnell who landed a brace of conversions and four penalties. Robert Cahill did his bit in front of the posts adding the extras on two occasions as well as one penalty. The penalty count went against Muskerry in the scoring zones and ultimately that is what did for them.
Muskerry are at home again this Sunday with Thurles making the trip to mid-Cork. The Tipp side have one win from their opening two games but will be full of the joys of life after hammering Castleisland last time out. Pretty tight one to call a few days out – this one likely to go all the way.