Local clubs reflect on ups and downs

WE are as good as done with Munster Junior league rugby at this point with the promotions and relegations involving north and mid Cork sides all resolved.

Mallow’s triumph in the J2 brought great joy to the St Joseph’s Road club in recent weeks while Kanturk’s relegation from the J1 was difficult to take for a club that played AIL rugby just a few years ago.

Mallow is a club on the up right now with serious talent in their senior side however the Blackwater Valley club has a very impressive underage structure in place that is likely to make the men and indeed women in green a powerful force in the coming years.

For Kanturk, an equally impressive set-up for the younger exponents of the game will see them fight back in time however the immediate future will see the Duhallow club battle away against the likes of Charleville, Muskerry and Fermoy in a division that has plenty to entertain the north Cork rugby loving public.

Division 2 really was dominated by north and mid-Cork sides this year with Mallow cruising to victory followed by Fermoy, Charleville and Muskerry all in the top seven.

Fermoy will take on third from bottom, Ballincollig, this weekend in their last league fixture of the year. Fermoy could move up to third in the table with a positive result which would be a great achievement for a side that only escaped division 3 in recent times. Fermoy have been hugely successful this season with eight league wins from 12 to their name.

Ballincollig have been far less impressive and could easily find themselves put to the sword if they are not careful this weekend.

Charleville should also be very proud of their achievements as they continue to improve year on year. The boys in red put in a host of very credible displays this season and while they still have a game left to play they will need to be content with a good top half finishing spot.

Muskerry were probably the most disappointed of the four local sides in J2 action this year as their mid table finish hardly does justice to the effort put in by the Ballyanly boys. Muskerry rallied late in the season to see off any chance of relegation however that is far from enough for a club with such pedigree and history at this grade of club rugby. Like the others, Muskerry will look to next year as another opportunity to show they are an improving and competitive club.

Last but by no means least was the up and coming club in local rugby. Mitchelstown only came into the league a couple of years ago and in quick time managed a promotion and relegation in just two seasons. Mitchelstown showed just two years ago that they could beat the odds when they won promotion to the J2 at the first time of asking. Unfortunately, the north Cork side slipped back to the J3 on the last day of last season and this time they came to within a whisker of gaining their second promotion in three years.

Mitchelstown lost just once in the 2018/19 season managing nine wins in that time but they failed to make it into the top spot only because they didn’t secure enough bonus points along the way. An ill-fated run through the play-offs followed and Mitchelstown will now have to plan for a second year in the J3 – tough on a side that really were good enough to move back into the J2.

All told it was a very positive year for local rugby and with the clubs now looking forward to a well-earned summer break shortly minds will begin to drift towards the next challenge ahead and it will all start yet again.

Sunday March 24 at 2.30pm Munster J-League Division 2 Ballincollig v Fermoy