Sunday’s Well 5 Thomond 33

Thomond continued their imperious form in Division One of the Munster Junior League with a  five-try return. Unfortunately for the ‘Well; while there was plenty of grit and determination; and some powerful play up front; a series of errors kept them on the back-foot with Thomond’s clinical finishing and talent out in the backs seeing them pull away.

It was a day when two of the great stalwarts in the history of the club; the Egar brothers Tony and Billy were bestowed with deserved honorary life membership. Unfortunately the day wasn’t capped off with a joyous result to celebrate, in front of a boisterous crowd.

The ‘Well faced an uphill challenge within the opening two minutes as Mark Kelly was yellow-carded for a border-line ‘high tackle. What may have been no more than a penalty recently; under new directives led to a yellow card. This allowed Thomond a man advantage as well as establishing territory. They clawed two quick tries from Luke Costelloe and Jordan O’Donnell, despite some big defensive efforts. The defensive line-out was strong and powerful while there was some excellent hard hitting tackles.

However; Thomond were most dangerous from deep; and their strong kicking game allowed them dominate territory. They looked to counter from any kicks that didn’t go deep into touch; with their first try coming from a ball gathered on the left and spread out immediately to the right-wing, but running also with purpose forward and not purely laterally to create the openings.

The ‘Well grew slowly into the game. Their line-out, particularly on defence and a powerful; scrum gave them a chance to grow into the game – but they couldn’t force any major chances.

Still very much in the game at half-time, Thomond got some generous luck. Again they established field territory and an attack saw the ‘Well hold out with fierce tackling. Thomond attempted a kick-through and it looked to be covered going over the line but the ball bounced off the post-pads. The ‘Well scrambled to recover but from their own-line, the clearance was blocked down under immense pressure and touched down by Keelan McMahon,

Luke Costelloe secured the bonus-point for Thomond after the ‘Well being held up on the line from a strong line-out. There was something to cheer for the home crowd when Cormac Kelliher finished off a period of consistent pressure, but Thomond had the last say.

Despite the result; the effort of the team couldn’t be faulted. The front-row of Evan O’Connell; Mike McCarthy and Tadgh McCarthy had a massive game in the loose and set-piece. Tadgh in particular impressed on his debut for the club. Conor O’Brien made some marvellous runs and impactful hits while Shane O’Neill and Aaron Walker also put themselves about.

Logan Henry and Jamie O’Leary covered excellently in defence and had a few bright breaks. While there is plenty to work on; there are strong foundations to push on for the rest of the season; with two major Cups and a need to secure an All-Ireland Cup spot next season through a top-four finish.

Scorers: Sunday’s Well: Cormac Kelliher try

Thomond: Luke Costelloe, Jordan O’Donnell, Keelan McMahon, Luke Costelloe, Conor Radcliffe tries; Evan Cusack (3), Adam Guerin cons.

Sunday’s Well: Gary Downey; Alex Guerin, Logan Henry, Jamie O’Leary, Kieran Maye; Harry McHenry, Fabien Loughrey; Evan O’Connell (c), Tadhgh McCarthy, Michael McCarthy; Kevin Holland, Shane O’Neill; Cormac Kelliher, Mark Kelly, Conor O’Brien. Replacements: Damian Kozik, Ian Murphy, Aaron Beale, James Mulcahy, Finn MacFhlannchadha, Eric Kingston, Aaron Walker. 

Thomond: Jamie McCarthy; Eoghan Sherlock, Patrick Ryan, Luke Fitzgerald, Luke Costelloe; Evan Cusack, Evan Maher; Kiam McGrath, Colin Slater, Jordan O’Donnell; Joe Costelloe, Riann O’Dwyer; Jack Cosgrave, Ryan O’Donovan-Ahern, Kealan McMahon. Replacements: Antone Sheehy, Darren Radcliffe, Conor Radcliffe, Morgan Bateman, Aidan Quinlivan, Adam Guerin, Gary Bateman.