Weekend Results Round up 16-17 December
Our age grade boys teams had a clean sweep at the weekend with U14s, U16s, and U18.5s winning in their respective competitions. Our U16 girls lost to Clonakilty away in a friendly, while our Seniors beat Killorglin 10-6 in the quarter final of the Martin O’Sullivan Cup.
Saturday 16 December
U16 friendly – Clonakilty RFC 35 Killarney/Listowel/Iveragh Eagles 5
First outing for the U16 girls playing in an amalgmation with Listowel and Iveragh.
Bank of Ireland U16 Munster Cup – Group 3 Midleton RFC 10 Killarney RFC 12
U16s won a hard fought match against a big Midleton team on a heavy pitch. Despite spending the early moments mainly restricted to our own half – Killarney struck first when Cian Stack pounced on a misplaced pass to kick ahead and win the race to touchdown close to the posts. Cian then converted his own try – it wasn’t until the end that we saw the significance of that. Midleton continued to press but good defensive work kept them scoreless until halftime.
Turning around 7-0 down, Midleton forced their way back into the match with a try soon after half time. Killarney struck back almost immediately, when Liam McCarthy burst over from close range to put us 12-5 ahead. Midleton came back and eventually got a second try, but unable to convert it we faced into the last 10 minutes with a precarious two point lead and for the final period – down to 14 after a yellow card. A superb defensive shift saw us keep Midleton out and record an impressive win on the road.
Tries: Stack, McCarthy; Con: Stack.
Sunday 17 December
U14 West Munster Plate semi-final – Killarney RFC 20 Iveragh Eagles 5
After 2 draws and a narrow one point defeat away to Charleville in the last 3 matches , our U14s registered their first win against first time visitors Iveragh. Gearóid Moynihan, Darragh Doyle, Ryan van der Merwe, and Shane Tomlinson were among the try scorers as the growing teamwork and cohesion seen in the last few weeks crystallised into a comprehensive win.
Final of the plate will be vs Killorglin in the New Year.
Bank of Ireland U18.5 Munster Cup – Group 4 Midleton RFC 8 Killarney RFC 10
After a tough defeat to Bandon on the previous Saturday, the U18s scored an impressive away win at Midleton. Killarney took an early 3-0 lead with a penalty from Finn Kennelly, but went into the break tied 3-3. Midleton opened the scoring in the second half with an unconverted try to lead 8-3, but Killarney came back as Shane O’Sullivan scored from a close range ruck with Gearóid Sugrue adding the vital conversion.
Despite heavy pressure, Killarney saw out the remaining minutes to record a great win away showing great resolve.
Try: O’Sullivan; Con: Sugrue; Pen: Kennelly
Martin O’Sullivan Cup – Killarney 10 Killorglin 6
In a repeat of the 2019 and 2020 finals, Killarney progressed to a semi-final against Ennis.