Munster Rugby Final glory for Nenagh Ormond

Senior: In a tricky game for both sides given they would have had an eye on the playoff ties to follow, Nenagh Ormond ultimately did what was necessary in gaining a bonus point win over UL Bohemian on Saturday to securing third spot in Division 2A for 2023.

Their final tally of 61 points was a total fitting of many past champions but credit to Queens University who got over the line after many close-run attempts in previous seasons to secure automatic promotion with 69 points.

The outcome is that Nenagh must travel to second placed Blackrock College this Saturday in the Promotion semi-final and if they can overcome that significant hurdle, they will have a shootout with Banbridge or MU Barnhall for the final spot in Division 1B next year. Having come within seconds of a win in Stradbrook earlier in the season, Nenagh will not fear the challenge on Saturday, but Blackrock have a very strong home record and will relish having home advantage for such a huge tie. Either way we encourage all Nenagh fans to make every effort to get to Dublin and help carry the lads another step to their season’s goal. With a potential home final to follow should Barnhall come through on the other side the potential prize at stake is massive. Kick-off is at 2.30pm. Please follow our social media pages for updates throughout the week.

Under 18.5: Nenagh Ormond 22-19 Muskerry

Nenagh Ormond played the much-anticipated Munster Plate final in Thomond Park on Saturday.

The day was bright, and a nice breeze blew straight down the pitch towards the Ballynanty end, with a shower during the second half making the conditions that little bit trickier, when the game went down to the wire.

Muskerry were the gallant opponents, and it was the opposition that settled better, and they were unlucky not to open the scoring after two minutes when a pass to their dangerous left winger was deemed forward by the referee, a let off for Nenagh, as he streaked away under the posts.

Nenagh were on the defensive for the most part for the first fifteen minutes and we suffered a blow when full back and kicker Darragh Gleeson was forced from the field after a knock to the head. From a scrum, Muskerry kicked the ball dead but for some reason the referee awarded a 22 drop-out instead of a scrum to Nenagh from where the ball was kicked and from the drop out the dangerous Muskerry winger caught the ball on the full and beat the tackle on the touch line to streak away for an unconverted try.

Then after 23 minutes Nenagh finally got some continuity going. From a scrum on their own 22, there were great carries by Dylan Crowe, Nicky Nie and Sam Lancaster, with some French style offloading, play continued all the way to the Muskerry ten-metre line, where a clever blind-side switch by Josh Powell saw Jack Meagher race down the touchline and produce a superb one-handed finish to equalise as the difficult conversion was wide.

The rest of the half was keenly fought, and the break arrived with the score 5-5. The message from the coaches at half time was the team had not played at all but were still in the fight and that the wind in the second half would make it difficult for Muskerry to make their way up the field and that the game was there if they upped the tempo.

A good early kick from Josh Powell saw - them get good field position on the 22 but they lost the lineout and a very loose pass by the Muskerry scrum-half, that went over his out-half’s head, saw them scramble the ball into touch about six-metres out. The throw from Dylan Doris to Fionn O’Meara, who was dominant in the middle line jumping all day, saw a good maul set up and Dylan Crowe scored to out Nenagh 10-5 ahead.

A good break after a missed tackle saw Muskerry attack into the 22 again but a fantastic turnover by Josh Powell allowed Nenagh to clear the lines. Nenagh were getting some joy from the maul but on 45 minutes a loose kick allowed Muskerry to run back from their own half to score a very good try wide and a magnificent conversion by their out-half saw them retake the lead, 12-10.

With two assistant referees’ flags for a high tackle and an off-the-ball pull against Muskerry sixteen minutes into the second half, it was clear that discipline was going to be key in the titanic contest, with both teams very evenly matched. Having suffered with some poor discipline during the campaign, it was a massive improvement by Nenagh as they kept their cool under the pressurised atmosphere of the final on such a big stage. From the resulting line-out on the next phase, Josh Powell made another sniping run and produced an outstanding one-handed inside pop pass to Diarmuid Coleman, who timed his run to perfection to race away for a brilliant try under the posts, Powell’s conversion was good and Nenagh were back on top, 17-12.

Nenagh were definitely playing better in this half and began to move the ball and with some good kicking pinned Muskerry in their own half. A break out from their flanker up the touchline saw the inside pass going to ground and a let off for Nenagh, as it was clear that the Cork boys were not going to lie down, and the battle raged for the next ten minutes with defences from both sides on top.

Again, from a long kick that was touched down by Muskerry a 22 drop-out was knocked on and from the scrum Nenagh attacked to where Alex Maloney was put clear by Conor McGrath, and he was tackled into touch in the corner. Muskerry won the lineout, but they dropped the ball behind their line and Nenagh had an attacking five-metre scrum and were in good position but a good tackle by their scrum-half on Fionn O’Meara as he picked the ball saw Nenagh lose momentum and a ball was stripped and Muskerry took a quick-tap penalty.

With six minutes left, Nenagh just needed to defend the scrum just inside their own ten-metre line, but Muskerry got the ball to their dangerous winger in the outside centre channel, and he took a very good line to race way under the posts for a converted try to leave the score 19-17 to Muskerry.

A good chase from the kick-off saw Muskerry knock-on to give Nenagh a scrum tight to the touchline and it was clear that they needed something special with the clock very much against them at this stage. The backs passed the ball out of contact and Mason Cawley tried a speculative kick that was blocked, and a penalty was awarded as it was hacked forward. From the lineout, Muskerry went through multiple phases to get to out of the 22 but Jack O’Callaghan won a magnificent jackal penalty with the game moving into injury time. The kick saw a lineout on Nenagh’s own ten-metre line, O’Callaghan made a half break and got a good offload to Mason Cawley, who offloaded one-handed to Conor McGrath, and he moved towards the 22 where he was high tackled and was awarded a penalty. Josh Powell kicked the penalty to about eight metres out. The throw was good, and a good maul was set and to the great excitement of the travelling supporters, Dylan Crowe dotted down with the final play for a famous 22-19 victory.

It was a titanic contest by two very evenly matched teams and great credit must go to Muskerry who were a fine team and played their part in a magnificent final. Great credit must go to the boys for not panicking and keeping their discipline and staying in the fight and eventually coming out victors at the death. All the boys played well but man of the match Josh Powell was our point of difference and Dylan Crowe had a storming game up front and Jack O’Callaghan came up with the big plays at the death to show his class.

Next up is the North Munster Cup on Wednesday evening at 7.00pm in Lisatunny and with a lot of sore bodies we plan to rotate the team for the guys who didn’t get a run on Saturday. Special thanks to the parents and supporters for all their assistance getting us to far flung places like Clonakilty and Old Christians during the campaign, there will be a night to present medals at some stages in the coming weeks to celebrate both this win and the North Munster league victory from a few weeks ago.

Squad: Nickie Nie, Dylan Crowe, Jess Robbins, Cillian Ryan (capt), Sam Lancaster, Jack Meagher, Ivan Struzia, Fionn O’Meara, Josh Powell, Diarmuid Coleman, Conor McGrath, Jack O’Callaghan, Mason Cawley, Alex Maloney, Darragh Gleeson, Luke Grey, Luke Comerford, Mikey Morgan, Cathan Gaffney, Ryan Inhoff, Sean Tormey, Tommy Wilkinson, Tristen Madden, Dylan Doris, Dan Kenneally, Sean Ryan, Oisin Moloney.

Under 16: Ennis 7-17 Nenagh Ormond

Nenagh Ormond backed up their impressive quarter final win over Bruff with another win in Sunday’s semi-final of the North Munster Cup against Ennis.

They are now through to the final where Young Munster await. Fixture details are to be confirmed. Please stay in touch with our social media pages for updates.

Under 15: Nenagh Ormond 48-3 Shannon

Nenagh Ormond U15's travelled to Thomond Park on Saturday to contest the final of the U16 Development Bowl against Shannon.

The lads started very confidently with a try in the first few minutes from Shay Óg Kennedy after great forward play. The lads looked good, and things were working well for them, exploiting balls over the top and pressuring Shannon's full back. Billy Hodgins played super rugby, fast off the gain line and crossing the whitewash for the next two tries with Dean Carey converting one of them.

Shannon got a penalty in front of the posts and popped it over for their only points of the game. Captain Sean Kennedy got another try after 25 minutes to put Nenagh 22-3 up going in for half time.

The lads continued with great heart and determination in the second half with an almost immediate try from Adam Boland with Carey again converting. Soon after Ben Deegan made a super line break to score a great try with Carey again converting. Adam Boland scored a brilliantly worked try to bring the score to 43-3 with Dean Carey converting again.

With all replacements on the pitch, the boys continued their dominance with another great try from Sean Kennedy, bringing the final score to an impressive 48-3 win.

All the lads gave one-hundred percent, and it was a great experience for them to have such a great win in Thomond Park.

The U15's are out again on Wednesday v Garryowen at 7.30pm in Dooradoyle in the North Munster Cup. All support would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to all the boys and their parents for their continued dedication.

Under 13: Nenagh Ormond 21-5 Shannon

Nenagh Ormond travelled to Shannon for the semi-final of the North Munster Cup on Sunday.

This game was always going to be a battle given that they met in the Plate final a few weeks previous which Shannon won. It was a tense game, with Nenagh playing well but looking nervous when in good positions. Nenagh kicked off and threatened a good few times to score but unfortunately the ball was turned over on the Shannon line. However, Nenagh stuck to the task and off a penalty, instead of carrying the ball straight up, Marcus moved the ball to Shaun Murphy, who passed to Kaden who in turn shifted it to Donagh who had a bit of space to run into and dotted down for the first score. Oisin added the extras with a monumental kick from out wide.

Nenagh continued to play a lot of the game in Shannon’s half with great carries from Anluan, Shaun, Sean, Shane, and Scott but didn’t turn the possession into points. The first half ended 7-0.

Shannon kicked off the second half and the ball was knocked on. From the resulting scrum Shannon tried to move the ball wide and the eagle-eyed James Dwyer spotted the floating ball, gathered it, and sprinted three quarters of the length of the field to score. Kaden added the extras.

Back came Shannon and after some sloppy play we allowed them to score out wide. At 14-5 the game was still in the melting pot. Nenagh had a huge impact from the bench in the last fifteen minutes, Cody, David, Hugo, Freddie, Sean, Joe, Girvan, and Callum all put in a serious shift while others were getting tired. Nenagh we were down to fourteen men as the bench showed its worth and helped score a try while down a man. Aidan Ryan made a great carry from the 22 and seemed to carry half of the Shannon team over the line with him, the try resembling a try scored by a great Newport man Ginger McLoughlin for Ireland against England many years ago. Kaden added the extras to leave it 21-5. A great effort by all on such a big day. There was some brilliant defence during the game and two try-saving tackles spring to mind. Oisin Hogan made a tackle in the second half when their winger was destined to score, and Cody made a similar tackle when another Shannon player had the line at his mercy.

The final is next Sunday against Garryowen in Tom Clifford Park at 12 noon. All support would be greatly appreciated.

Fixtures: Senior: v Blackrock College in Stradbrook on Saturday @ 2.30pm – AIL Playoff Semi-Final

Under 18.5: v Shannon in Lisatunny on Wednesday @ 7.30pm - North Munter Cup

Under 15: v Garryowen in Dooradoyle on Wednesday @ 7.30pm - North Munster Cup

Under 13: v Garryowen in Tom Clifford Park on Sunday @ 12.00pm – North Munster Cup final

Under 10 & 11 Boys/Under 12 Girls: Seapoint Minis Tournament on Sunday @ 10.00am.

Under 9: Blitz v Birr in Nenagh College on Sunday @ 10.00am.

Under 8: Blitz v Old Crescent in Lisatunny on Sunday @ 10.00am

Under 7: Blitz v UL Bohemians in Lisatunny on Sunday @ 10.00am