Nenagh Ormond under 16s played Midleton in the Munster U16 Cup final on Sunday last in Virgin Media Park. Having beaten Cobh in the semifinal and Midleton seeing off Waterpark a real high quality game was expected and indeed it was. Midleton won the toss and decided to play with the wind. Nenagh knew they would have to work really hard as kicking into the wind was never an option. The first 20 minutes was very tense with both sets of defence holding firm. However, just after the 20 minute mark Nenagh had the first breakthrough. Aron Griffin who carried excellently all day made the initial break in midfield. Aidan Steed then brought play into the 22. Off that ruck Luke Slattery brought us within 10 metres of the line. Kaden Fogarty and Cody O’Connor moved the ball wide where Oisin Higgins found a gap but was hauled down just short of the line. And from that ruck Ben Madden picked and drove his way over the line. The conversion was missed to leave the score 5-0. For the remainder of the half Midleton threw everything at Nenagh to try and cross the whitewash but the defence held firm. Off one penalty Oisin Higgins put in a perfect dominant tackle and Cian Murphy whose wing had most of the action dealt with everything that came at him. Near the end of the first half Nenagh gave away a penalty for offside and Midleton kicked at goal and converted it. The referee blew the half time whistle with the score at 5-3 in Nenagh’s favour.
As the start of the second half kicked off the wind seemed to have died and any advantage that was there faded away. Midleton got out of the blocks early and their scrum half sniped down the blind side and scored. The conversion was missed leaving the score 8-5 to Midleton. After that try Midleton got a further penalty which they kicked to stretch their lead to 11-5. That score seemed to spur Nenagh and after a knock on Nenagh got some territory in the opposition 22. After multiple carries in the forwards by Shaun Murphy, Aidan Steed, Robbie O Brien the ball was eventually moved out wide where Oisin Higgins found a gap, side stepped the fullback and scored. The conversion was missed to leave the score at 11-10. Midleton came back at Nenagh again and scored another try and conversion. That left it a two score game. Nenagh didn’t sit back and from then on played some unbelievable rugby to get themselves back into the game. After multiple phases they were awarded a penalty just outside the 22 and Cody O’Connor kicked it to leave it 18-13 to Midleton. Nenagh kept that momentum going with carries from Eoin Hogan, David Mulcahy, Tadhg Teefy, and some deft foot work from Harry Walsh in a tight space. With the clock at 59 minutes Cian Murphy was put into space down the wing, and as he was close to the line he was high tackled which could have resulted in a penalty try. The referee gave a penalty only and from this penalty Marcus Finn found Aron Griffin who carried and powered his way over the line. Cody O’Connor kicked the difficult conversion to leave it 20-18 with the clock in injury time. The referee indicated there was two minutes remaining. From the drop off Midleton regained possession and after a couple of phases the referee adjudged Nenagh to be offside at a ruck. In the context of the game, it seemed a harsh call. Midleton kicked the penalty to leave score 21-20 and time was up.
It was a heartbreaking defeat to take given the effort the team put in. In this competition Nenagh used 27 players through the group stages and knock out phase. Each and every one of them can be proud of competing in a top tier competition in Munster at under 16 level. To get to a final where the end result was decided in last play is a testament to the work they have put in. Thanks to all the support who travelled to Cork. Training continues Wednesday. Nenagh now have two North Munster competitions to look forward to.
