Rucks, mauls and balls: Local club rugby is back
JUNIOR rugby in Kerry is in somewhat of a transitional stage at the moment with a number of clubs bidding to get back to the heights that they experienced some years ago.
Four Kerry sides will be operating in the third tier of the competition with Tralee, Killorglin, Killarney and Corca Dhuibhne operating in the murky waters of the J3 League. Castleisland are the lone survivor in the second tier as the ply their trade in J2.
Tralee are a club with a proud tradition and will feel that they can do much better than J3 rugby. They have lost a number of players for various reasons over the last number of years and have struggled because of this. They finished in sixth place on the J3 league table last year but rallied well after a poor start to their campaign. They also enjoyed a good run in the Munster Junior Cup last season so the hopes are high that they can negotiate promotion to J2 rugby this year. They started their campaign well two weeks ago with a good 15-12 victory over Killarney.
Killorglin finished just behind Tralee in J3 last season and finished their league campaign with two wins out of nine. In fairness to the mid Kerry side they proved a match for most teams in the competition but results didn’t always go their way. With a vibrant youth structure and some good talent coming through, they should be very competitive in this division once more this season. They haven’t made the start they wanted though and they will hope to bounce back from their 22-19 defeat to Dungarvan last weekend.
Killarney suffered an annus horribilis last season and were relegated to J3 after finishing bottom of J2 with just 2 wins out of 12. They should be very competitive in J3 however, and are well capable of mounting a challenge to return to J2 rugby. Their 15-12 defeat to Tralee in round one last weekend is a setback, but they showed glimpses of quality in their game that day to give hope for a successful season.
Rugbaí Chorca Dhuibhne finished in ninth place in the J3 table last season with two wins out of nine games. With limited playing numbers the west Kerry side are fighting a brave battle to remain competitive in Munster junior rugby, and there is massive credit due to the club for the manner in which they do so. They have some fine young players coming through their youth ranks and when they have a full team on duty they are more than capable of beating any team in their division. Corca Dhuibhne enjoyed a huge 53-5 victory over Dunmanway last weekend and it is sure to give then confidence for the rest of the season.
Castleisland are the operating in the J2 league and can look back on last season with a degree of satisfaction. They were in the promotion hunt up to the last three games of the competition but a couple of costly losses were a boy blow to their chances. They finished the season in sixth place with six wins out of 12 and will have to improve their away results if they are to harbour any hopes of playing top flight junior rugby.
The club’s youth structure is in a very good place at the moment, and there are high hopes for the senior side to make the step up this season. A home win against Ballincollig last weekend should give them the confidence to push on.