Munster U-16 League, Conference 2, Killarney v Killorglin, 26/10/19, played at Ballymalis.

Killorglin 12 - Killarney 17

Report by Stephen O'Brien, Photos courtesy of Mary MCarthy

Killarney made the short trip to Killorglin for the 3rd round of the u-16 league on Saturday 26th of Oct. Following a rotten run of injuries away to Castleisland derailing a very promising first half on the opening day, & where almost nothing broke Killarney’s way at home to Dingle in the previous rounds, the black and red army arrived at Ballymalis intent on playing the rugby they knew they were capable of and it didn’t take long for them to show it.

Killorglin attacked with tight carries and hard running from the kick-off but patient and composed defence awaited them in the Killarney ranks with no man shirking responsibility for his tackle and having seized possession by winning the first scrum of the day against the head, set the tone & attacked without mercy from their own half. A slick lineout & strong rolling maul provided attacking momentum & had Killarney pouring forward in waves to support ball carriers all the way to the Killorglin ’22 where the backs cut loose and Cormac Rowe finished a beautiful score in the corner to take an early 5-0 lead.

Killarney didn’t rest there and they soon doubled their lead. A statement of intent was made as Killarney continued to hold the line in defence with tireless tackling and rucking to deny Killorglin any attacking momentum. Killarney again pierced the defence with some excellent play & found themselves within reach of the Killorglin line and some neat support from the pack had Mikey Moriarty crossing to make the score a deserved 10-0.

The first half without doubt belonged to Killarney though a try for Killorglin against the run of play on the stroke of half time took the shine off the half time score at 10-5 to Killarney.

The second half had Killorglin throwing everything at Killarney on their home patch but Killarney soaked up the attack with some brilliant defence and commitment at the breakdown. Tenacious attacking in the Killorglin half drew a penalty that Killarney kicked to the corner and having taken advantage of the field position to unleash a fast and skilful backline, Cormac Rowe crossed the line a second time to score with the conversion added by Dara Looney to make the score 17-5.

Killorglin refused to quit though and added a 7 pointer themselves after pressure inside the Killarney ’22 forced a turnover that they took full advantage of. Despite Killarney’s physical exertion starting to take its toll in the late minutes they remained composed as Killorglin had their last throw of the dice. Guts, desire and determination were on display as Killarney defended with a surge of defiance, forcing a turnover with a series of shuddering tackles to give them the last say and finish the game off for a first and well-deserved win.

Final Score: Killorglin 12 - Killarney 17

Many thanks to the travelling support and hope to see them all again and more next week for the home game against Tralee/Listowel in Aghadoe.

Fantastic photos courtesy of Mary McCarthy